Weighing the Evidence Was Cleopatra Black

That Cleopatra was an African queen is certain—Egypt is, after all, in Africa—but was Cleopatra black? Cleopatra VII is usually just known as Cleopatra, though she was the seventh royal Egyptian ruler to bear the name Cleopatra. She was the last of the Ptolemy dynasty to rule Egypt. She, like many other Ptolemy rulers, first married one brother and then, on his death, another. When her third husband, Julius Caesar, took Cleopatra back to Rome with him, she certainly caused a sensation. But did the color of her skin have anything to do with the controversy? Theres no record of any reaction to the color of her skin. In whats called the argument from silence, many conclude from that silence that she did not have dark-colored skin. But an argument from silence only indicates possibility, not certainty, especially because we have little record of the motivation for those reactions. Depictions of Cleopatra in Popular Culture Shakespeare uses the word tawny about Cleopatra—but Shakespeare wasnt exactly an eyewitness, missing meeting Egypts last Pharaoh by more than a millennium. In some Renaissance art, Cleopatra is portrayed as dark-skinned, a negress in the terminology of that time. But those artists were also not eyewitnesses, and their artistic interpretation may have been based on trying to depict Cleopatras otherness, or their own assumptions or conclusions about Africa and Egypt. In modern depictions, Cleopatra has been played by white actresses including Vivien Leigh,  Claudette Colbert, and  Elizabeth Taylor. But the writers of those movies were, of course, also not eyewitnesses, nor are these casting decisions in any sense credible evidence.  However, seeing these actresses in these roles may subtly influence what assumptions people have about what Cleopatra really looked like. Are Egyptians Black? Europeans and Americans became quite focused on the racial classification of Egyptians in the 19th century. While scientists and most scholars have by now concluded that race is not the static biological category that 19th century thinkers assumed, many of the theories around whether the Egyptians were a black race assume race is a biological category, not a social construction.   It is during the 19th century that attempts to classify the Egyptians into what were assumed to be the key races were common.  Whether other people of nearby lands—Jews and Arabs, for example—were white or Caucasians rather than Negroid was also part of this argument.  Some argued for a separate brown race or Mediterranean race. Some scholars (notably  Cheikh Anta Diop, a Pan-Africanist from Senegal) have argued for a sub-Saharan black African heritage of the Egyptians. Their conclusions are based on such arguments as the Biblical name Ham and the naming of Egypt as kmt or the black land. Other scholars point out that the association of the Biblical figure of Ham with dark-skinned sub-Saharan Africans, or a black race, is relatively recent in history, and that the black land name for Egypt has long been held to be about the black soil that is part of the phenomenon of Nile flooding. The most commonly accepted theory, outside the Black Egyptian theory of Diop and others, is whats known as the Dynastic Race Theory, developed out of research in the 20th century. In this theory, the indigenous people of Egypt, Badarian people, were invaded and overrun by Mesopotamian people, early in Egypts history.  The Mesopotamian people became the rulers of the state, for most of the dynasties of Egypt. Was Cleopatra Egyptian?   If Cleopatra was Egyptian in heritage, if she was descended from native Egyptians, then the heritage of Egyptians in general is relevant to the question of whether Cleopatra was black. If Cleopatras heritage was not Egyptian, then the arguments about whether Egyptians were black are irrelevant to her own blackness. What Do We Know About Cleopatras Ancestry? The Ptolemy dynasty, of which Cleopatra was the last ruler, was descended from a  Greek Macedonian named Ptolemy Soter. That first Ptolemy was established as ruler of Egypt by Alexander the Greats conquest of Egypt in 305 B.C.E. In other words, the Ptolemies were imperialist outsiders, Greeks, who ruled over native Egyptians. Many of the Ptolemy ruling family marriages were incestuous, with brothers marrying sisters, but not all the children born in the Ptolemy line and who are ancestors of Cleopatra VII are known to have had both father and mother who were Ptolemies. Here is the key evidence in this argument: We are not certain of the heritage of Cleopatras mother or her paternal grandmother. We just dont know for sure who those women were. Historical records are not conclusive of what their ancestry is or what land they come from. That leaves 50% to 75% of Cleopatras ancestry and genetic heritage unknown—and ripe for speculation.   Is there any evidence that either her mother or paternal grandmother was a black African? No.   Is there any evidence that either of those women were not black Africans? No, again. There are theories and speculation, based on sparse evidence, but no certainty where either of these women came from or what might be, in nineteenth century terms, their racial heritage. Who Was Cleopatras Father? The father of Cleopatra VII was Ptolemy XII Auletes, son of Ptolemy IX. Through his male line, Cleopatra VII was of Macedonian Greek descent.  But we know that heritage is also from mothers. Who was his mother and who was the mother of his daughter Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt? Standard Genealogy of Cleopatra VII In one standard genealogy of Cleopatra VII, questioned by some scholars, Cleopatra VIIs parents are Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V, both children of Ptolemy IX.  Ptolemy XIIs mother is Cleopatra IV and Cleopatra Vs mother is Cleopatra Selene I, both full sisters of their husband, Ptolemy IX.  In this scenario, Cleopatra VIIs great-grandparents are Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III. Those two are full siblings, children of Ptolemy VI of Egypt and Cleopatra II, who are also full siblings—with still more intermarriages of full siblings back to the first Ptolemy.  In this scenario, Cleopatra VII has Macedonian Greek heritage, with little contribution from any other heritage for generations.  (The numbers are an addition from later scholars, not present in the lifetimes of these rulers, and may obscure some ambiguities in the records.) In another standard genealogy, Ptolemy XIIs mother is a Greek concubine and Cleopatra Vs mother is Cleopatra IV, not Cleopatra Selene I.  Cleopatra VIs parents are Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II rather than Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III. The ancestry, in other words, is open to interpretation based on how one views the available evidence. Cleopatras Paternal Grandmother Some scholars conclude that Cleopatras paternal grandmother, mother of Ptolemy XII,  was not Cleopatra IV, but was a concubine. That womans background has been assumed to be either Alexandrian or Nubian. She may have been ethnically Egyptian, or she may have had a heritage which wed today call black. Cleopatras Mother Cleopatra V Cleopatra VIIs mother is usually identified as her fathers sister, Cleopatra V, a royal wife. Mention of Cleopatra Tryphaena, or Cleopatra V, disappear from the record around the time that Cleopatra VII was born.   Cleopatra V, while often identified as a younger daughter of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III, may not have been the daughter of a royal wife.  If this scenario is accurate, Cleopatra VIIs maternal grandmother may be another Ptolemy relative or someone unknown, perhaps of a concubine of Egyptian or Semitic African or black African background. Cleopatra V, if she died before Cleopatra VII was born, would not be her mother. In that case, Cleopatra VIIs mother would likely have been either a Ptolemy relative, or, again, someone unknown, who might have been of Egyptian, Semitic African, or black African heritage. The record is simply not conclusive as to the ancestry of either Cleopatra VIIs mother or maternal grandmother.  The women may have been Ptolemies, or they may have been of either black African or Semitic African heritage. Race: What Is It and What Was It in Antiquity? Complicating such discussions is the fact that race itself is a complex issue, with unclear definitions. Race is a social construct, rather than a biological reality. In the classical world, difference was more about ones national heritage and homeland, rather than something wed today call race. Theres certainly evidence that Egyptians defined as other and less those who were not Egyptians.  Did skin color play a part in identifying other at the time, or did Egyptians believe in the heritability of an otherness of skin color?  Theres little evidence that skin color was more than a marker of difference, that skin color was conceived of in the way that 18th and 19th century Europeans came to conceive of race. Cleopatra Spoke Egyptian We do have early evidence that Cleopatra was the first ruler in her family to actually speak the native Egyptian language, rather than the Greek of the Ptolemies.  Such could be evidence for an Egyptian ancestry, and could possibly but not necessarily include black African ancestry. The language she spoke doesnt add or subtract any real weight from an argument about black African ancestry. She might have learned the language for political reasons or just from exposure to servants and an ability to pick up language. Evidence Against a Black Cleopatra: Incomplete Perhaps the strongest evidence cited against Cleopatra having black ancestry is that the Ptolemy family was quite xenophobic—against outsiders including the native Egyptians they ruled for about 300 years. This was more as a continuation of Egyptian custom among rulers than it was racial prejudice—if daughters married within the family, then loyalty was not divided. But its not likely that those 300 years passed with only pure heritage—and, in fact, we can be skeptical that either Cleopatras mother and father had mothers who were of pure Macedonian Greek ancestry. Xenophobia could also account for active cover-up or simply omitting mention of any other ancestry than Macedonian Greek. Evidence for a Black Cleopatra: Flawed Unfortunately, the modern proponents of the Black Cleopatra theory—starting with J. A. Rogers in Worlds Great Men of Color in the 1940s—have made other obvious errors in defending the thesis (Rogers is confused about who Cleopatras father was, for instance). They make other claims (like that Cleopatras brother, whom Rogers thinks is her father, had obvious black features) without evidence. Such errors and unsubstantiated claims dont add strength to their argument. A BBC documentary, Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer, looks at a skull which might be from a sister of Cleopatra—or rather, the documentary looks at the reconstruction of a skull, since no actual skull was found in the tomb—to show features which have similarities to both Semitic and Bantu skulls. Their conclusion was that Cleopatra could have had black African ancestry—but that is not conclusive evidence that she did  have such ancestry. Conclusions: More Questions Than Answers Was Cleopatra black? Its a complicated question, with no sure answer. It is likely that Cleopatra had ancestry other than pure Macedonian Greek. Was it black African? We dont know. Can we say for sure it was not? No. Was her skin color very dark? Probably not.

Winter Skate Characteristics and Information

The winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata)  is a fish - a type of  cartilaginous fish that has wing-like pectoral fins  and a flat body. Skates resemble a stingray, but have a thicker tail that doesnt have any stinging barbs. The winter skate is one of dozens of species of skates.  . Description: Skates are a diamond-shaped fish that spend most of their time on the ocean bottom. Their gills are on their ventral side, so they breath through spiracles  on their dorsal side. Through the spiracles, they receive oxygenated water. Winter skates have a rounded appearance, with a blunt snout. They look similar to little skates (Leucoraja erinacea).  Winter skates can grow to about 41 inches in length and up to 15 pounds in weight. On their dorsal side, they are light brown with dark spots, and have a lighter, translucent patch on each side of their snout on front of the eyes.   Their ventral side is light with brown blotches. Winter skates have 72-110 teeth in each jaw. Stingrays can protect themselves with stinging barbs on their tail. Skates do not have tail barbs, but have thorns in various places on their body. On young skates, these thorns are on their shoulders, near their eyes and snout, along the middle of their disc and along their tail. Mature females have large thorns on the posterior edge of their dorsal fins and spines on their tail, along the edges of their disk and near their eyes and snout.   So although skates cannot sting humans, they must be handled with care to prevent being punctured by the thorns. Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Elasmobranchii Order: Rajiformes Family: Rajidae Genus:  Leucoraja Species:  ocellata Feeding: Winter skates are nocturnal, so they are more active at night than during the day.   Preferred prey include polychaetes, amphipods, isopods, bivalves, fish, crustaceans and squid.   Habitat and Distribution: Winter skates are found in the North Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland, Canada to South Carolina, U.S., on sand or gravel bottoms in waters up to 300 feet deep. Reproduction: Winter skates are sexually mature at 11-12 years. Mating occurs with the male embracing the female.It is easy to distinguish male skates from females because of the presence of claspers, which hang down from the males disk on either side of the tail. These are used  to transmit sperm to the female, and eggs are fertilized internally. The eggs develop in a capsule commonly called a mermaids purse - and then are deposited onto the ocean floor.   Once eggs are fertilized, gestation lasts for several months, during which time the young are nourished by the egg yolk.   When the young skate hatch, they are about 4-5 inches long and look like miniature adults.   The lifespan of this species is estimated at about 19 years.   Conservation and Human Uses: Winter skates are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. They take a long time (11-12 years) to become old enough to reproduce and produce few young at a time. Thus their population grows slowly and is vulnerable to exploitation.   Winter skates are harvested for human consumption, but are usually caught when fishermen are targeting other species.   References and Further Information: Bester, C. Winter Skate. Florida Museum of Natural History: Icthyology. Accessed February 27, 2015.Coulombe, Deborah A. 1984. The Seaside Naturalist. Simon Schuster. Kulka, D.W., Sulikowski, J. Gedamke, T. 2009.  Leucoraja ocellata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3.  Accessed February 27, 2015. Packer, D.B., Zetlin, C.A. and J.J. Vitaliano. Winter Skate, Leucoraja ocellata, Life History and Habitat Characteristics.  NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-179. Accessed February 28, 2015.NOAA FishWatch. Winter Skate.  Accessed February 27, 2015.

Developmental case study Free Essays

It is important to know and understand the developmental milestones and be aware of the problems so children can be supported and offered the intervention if need. The bible provides a framework for Christian teacher’s hereafter and actions that teachers can nature kindness, patience, humility and love of their own lives and the lives of their students (Galatians 5:22-26). By understanding children development is like a road map to explore the perspectives of children developmental theorists use to understand how children grow and change. We will write a custom essay sample on Developmental case study or any similar topic only for you Order Now The developmental case study is greatly improve the ability to interact with children with the better understanding of the stages of development, greater sight into how children behave, think and feel in certain ways which is a helpful way to gain and feel more comfortable in talking, playing and working with them. It is also important to realize that development is an ongoing process through out the lifespan and having a greater understand of how people continue to grow and change can help appreciate and manage all stages of life. Participants Observation There are two participants in this developmental case study. First is a four years old boy, Monterey, who is a single child from African-American ethnicity. He attends NC Pre-K program, which provides high quality early educational experiences for four years old who are not attending preschool for various reasons and prepares children for kindergarten. Monterey is a very happy and high energetic child. He enjoys participate his friends in dramatic play center, running in the playground and eagerly to learn the new things during circle time. The second participant is ten years old girl, Kimberly, who is in fourth grade. Kimberly family are originally from Honduras, Kimberly is a bilingual student who speak fluently both English and Spanish. Her family moved to United States of America when she was three years old and she started to learn English when she attended preschool at the age of four. Kimberly is very easy to get along and likes to play with younger children as she spends her late afternoon with mother, who is the reechoes assistant teacher. She likes to watch television, exercises with her older sister but not heavy active activities. She is a honor student, very bright and very curious about everything around her. The Whole Child Concept The â€Å"whole child† concept is based on the accepted principle that all areas of human growth and development are integrated. All areas of growth are knitted together in mutually supportive network creating the uniqueness of each child. Teachers learn what makes each child special, what they look like when the children move their bodies or change their expressions. The observant teachers read through the way they express the â€Å"whole child† (Gordon Browne, 2013, p. 67). To define the â€Å"whole child†, observant teacher uses six developmental domains to express how children grow and develop, which are developmental of social-emotional, physical, cognitive, language, cultural identity and creativity. In this development case study mainly focuses on three developmental domains in each participant, which are: Social-emotional development, includes children relationship with themselves and others, self-concept, self-esteem and ability to express their feeling. Physical placement, includes gross mother, fine motor and perceptual motor activities. Cognitive development, includes curiosity, ability to perceive and think, memory, attention span, general knowledge, problem solving, analytical thinking, beginning reading and computing skills. Developmental Case Study Monterey is four years old and according the social-emotional development during preschool years, a young child’s social life evolved in relatively predictable way. The social network grows from the relationship with parents or other guardians and including family members. Social interactions extend from home to child-care arrangement or preschool. Erick Erosion’s theory of social development suggests that during the preschool year, children must resolve the personality crisis of initiative versus guilt. The child’s successful solution in this stage results in a sense of initiative and ambition tempered by reasonable understanding of the permissive (Slaving, 2012, p. 62). Monotone’s social-emotional development is age appropriated. He is learning what is acceptable and what is not. His emotional regulation skills expand and able to identify his feelings, as his language skill develop. Monterey enjoys being around his peers, during preschool years, peers begin to play the important roles. Peers conflict let children see that others have thoughts and feeling different from their own. Most of preschool interactions occur during play, which reflects the four levels of social interaction (solitary play, parallel play, associative play and cooperative play). Monterey spends most of the time in dramatic play center and he achieves in the cooperative play level, which occurs when children Join together to reach common goals, sharing and taking turn. Play also allows boys to express themselves through dramatic play and to learn how to negotiate social-emotional challenges. It is through imaginary scenarios that young children work through family situations, pretend to be, negotiate role and problem-solve other real-life situations (Groper et al. , 2011, p. 36). Movement is a hallmark of early childhood and dramatic changes occur in both gross motor skills and fine motor skills (McDermott Ramrod, 2013, p. 164). During preschool years, gross motor skills become smoother and better coordinated as a result of muscular control increasing. Young children infuse pretend role in into their physical play. In gender difference, boys have a larger proportion of muscle tissues Han girls, they are more physically active and participate in more rough-and-tumble play than girls (Gordon Browne, 2013, p. 341). In this observation, even though Monotone’s physical appearance is smaller than his friends in the classroom, he tends to play rough-and-tumble like other boys who are bigger than him, which in this case, size does not matter in his physical development. Monotone’s fine motor skills make major strides in his age by dressing himself, eating with utensils, building blocks, putting small puzzles pieces together, writing his name legibly and cutting by using scissor to follow certain patterns. Level Weights believed that the adults in the society foster children’s learning, engage children in meaningful and challenging activities and help them make sense of their experiences. Weights emphasized the importance of adult guidance in promoting cognitive achievements. Children’s learning involves the acquisition of information from others and deliberate teaching. Development occurs as the child internalizes, be able to think and solve the problem without the help of others, this ability is called self-regulation. There are three key concepts in Weights theory, which are a zone of proximal development (ZAP), scaffolding and private speech or self-talk. As Monterey being observed, he clearly shows one of the key concepts of Weights theory, Private speech or self-talk. There are many times when he is working on play dough, puzzles and building blocks, he usually talks himself out loud about his plan in what to do next. When thought and language first merge, children often talk to themselves. Self-talk serves an important function in cognitive development. By talking to themselves, children learn how to guide their own behavior through complex maneuvers (McDermott Ramrod, 2013, p. 17) and self-talk increases when children are performing more challenges task. Language development in children age three to seven years is tied with their thoughts, during these years, children talk aloud to themselves. After a while, self-talk becomes internalized so he children can act without talking out loud (Gordon Browne, 2013, p. 09). Children talk to themselves for self-guidance, self-direction and help children think about their behavior and plan for their actions. ZAP and scaffolding are also important keys in helping children develop their cognitive skills. ZAP helps hillier master their skills with the assistance of another skilled person and scaffolding is a useful structure to support children’s lea rning. Children who get advice to help them master the activities within their abilities tend to be more successful in their cognitive skills and development. Kimberly is ten years old girl, who is very curious about everything around her. By the time, children enter elementary school, they have developed skills for more complex thoughts, actions and social influence. The primary grade children will normally be spent working through Erosion’s fourth stage, industry versus inferiority. They contribute to their sense of industry and accomplishment. During this stage, children start to prove that they are â€Å"grown up† or â€Å"l can do it myself† stage. This stage also includes the growth of independent action, cooperation with groups and performing socially acceptable ways. Most children make great strides in terms of their ability to recognize emotions in themselves and others, control their emotions and communicate about their emotion with language. As Kimberly was being observed, her emotional regulation continues to evolve. She can substitute one activity to another, change the way they think about troubling situation. Only one thing that she tends to do is keeping her feeling to herself. According to McDermott Ramrod (2013), elementary and middle school students also tend to keep their feelings to themselves that suggest they are vulnerable (p. 37). Kimberly tends to move on to the new thing and does not like to be asked about the problem that bothers her. Throughout the school year, children have opportunities to face many circumstances to develop their emotional regulations and how to properly express their social expressions. Most children have a similar appearance during middle childhood, the body size increases and their legs are longer in pr oportion to the body. This steady growth results in an increase in height and weight. Girls mature somewhat quickly than do boys. As children progress through middle childhood, they become increasingly sensitive about their physical appearance (McDermott Ramrod, 2013, p. 165). This shows in Kimberly perspective of others in their appearances. She likes to ask why people wear certain types of outfit, hairstyles and the way people look. She was asked to explain about her ideas about her own curiosity, her answers give the result f what she wishes she could have or looks like. Self-conscious increases as children get close to puberty, which children start to notice the changes of their appearances. Many children exaggerate their own physical flaws, the reality is that appearance is influential in social relationship and affect how they feel about themselves (McDermott ramrod, 2013, p. 165). Jean Pigged referred the period of cognitive development of children age between seven to eleven years old is concrete operational stage. During this stage, children become increasingly skilled in the understanding of logical and concrete information. Even though, they still struggle with hypothetical or abstract concepts, they still be able to focus on multiple aspects of problem, thinking in different viewpoints and become less egocentric. They begin to have longer attention span and better able to remember information for longer period. Play still plays an important part in children during this age group. Middle childhood play fosters cognitive development. Children exercise their executive skills when planning pretense scripts. Using symbols in games, designing constructions and organizing games with rules (Bergen Foregoer, 2009, p. 428). Play also shows the ability to use what they already know to construct new knowledge. During the observation, Kimberly shows how she relates her cognitive skills with play ideas by creating new games, rules and being adjust them to be appropriated to younger children in her mother’s classroom. Play is the essence of creativity in children throughout the world, it is universal and reflects the children’s growth, life and how they look at the world. Not only cognitive development, play promotes learning for the whole child, providing benefits for all developmental domains. Conclusion Once, everyone was a child. Learning about child development can provide additional insight of how a child becomes later in life. The better understand of the age process, the better prepare when the issues emerge. Teachers, educators, parents and educator are not only gained the process of understanding but will be able to recognize what is normal and not normal in the children development. Bible also makes clear that each person is unique. All are able to contribute to life in a special way, using their distinctive gifts (Romans 12:4-8). Study human development tends to follow remarkably predictable patterns, which indicate the typical placement of each ages and stages. How to cite Developmental case study, Free Case study samples

Global Environmental Issues free essay sample

I’m going to speak about the problems of the environment which the world is facing at the moment and what we should do to protect our Earth. Nowadays, environmental problems are the most burning for the society. Air, water, land and nuclear pollution badly damage the nature. People cut down trees and destroy the habitat of thousands of animals. As a result, many species are in danger of extinction. Factories pollute our rivers and lakes with dangerous chemicals. The increasing number of cars in towns and cities has led to the growth of harmful gases in the atmosphere. There is much litter everywhere, our parks and forests are full of rubbish. Scientists believe that the problem of global warming is becoming more and more serious. The results of human activity such as acid rains, greenhouse effect and ozone layer destruction cause the changes of the climate on our planet and destroy it. We will write a custom essay sample on Global Environmental Issues or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All these facts have a bad influence on our health. More and more people suffer from allergies and breathing problems. It’s almost impossible to find a healthy person nowadays. People are becoming more and more aware that our planet is under threat and it’s all our fault. Fortunately, it’s not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and the technologies to take care of our planet. There are a number of simple things we can do if we want to help our planet. For example, if we stop wasting paper and start recycling it, we’ll save some of the millions of trees which are cut down every year. We should also stop making unnecessary car journeys to cut down air pollution. We can create parks for endangered species of animals. But the most important thing we must do is to open our eyes and act immediately. The Earth is our home and we should protect and save it for ourselves and for the future generations.