It is striking that East Asian, South East Asian and South Pacific Populations appear relatively unscathed by the second and subsequent waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic compared to the rest of the world. This is more so with the more infectious G614 mutation of COVID-19. Adherence to social distancing measures and face protection do not explain the almost 30-fold difference in infection incidence between Asian and European/American populations. The populations in the Indian Subcontinent are an exception, as infections rates were elevated compared to other Asian countries. Differences in immune responses between European and African populations have been alluded to because of archaic introgression of immune-related Neanderthal genes in the European genome. As opposed to the European genome, the Asian genome has a higher introgression of the Neanderthal’s sister species’ genes, the Denisovan genes, which are more commonly found in East and South East Asia and the South Pacific populations. Contrastingly the Denisonvan genes are scantily found in the populations of the Indian Subcontinent.Lockdown in China and bordering nations, led to significant reductions in atmospheric pollution, which itself significantly attenuates pulmonary immunity. Following lockdown in January the G614 variant emerged in China. With improved immunity following lockdown, the Denisovan immunity-related gene may have been allowed to be expressed more effectively, protecting Asian populations against the more infectious G614 variant of SARS-CoV-2 during the subsequent waves of the pandemic.
The history of literature will be reconstructed in terms of developmental psychology. From myth over epic, drama, and tragedy to novel there is a historical development of narration discernible. The modern novel, as it has developed over the past centuries, has a greater competence to reflect social and psychological realities, the full complexity and depth of life, than archaic, ancient, and medieval forms of narration. Growth of consciousness and mind both in authors and readers during history is the cause to this advancement of literature. Thus, developmental psychology explains both the development of mind and narrative forms in history.
This article develops a reflection which considers geographical and philosophical discourse as contaminated interpretations, not as two separate and distinct areas. Humanistic geography is based on these assumptions: at its core is the analysis of the subjective value of the relationship between individuals and places. Starting from this framework, the article analyses the topos of the pandemic in The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Plague (1947) by Albert Camus, Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez alongside contemporary testimonies of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comparative analysis allows to examine the ongoing relevance of this literary for a wider reflection on the relationship between subject and object, between human beings and the world, on historical time, the indefinite past, and on the concept of space. In pandemic periods, temporality appears not as a process, but as a cyclical succession of recurring phases, as it lacks the experience of a transformation directed towards a future end. So, what is subjectivity in a fleeting and fragile space like that of pandemic confinement? To answer this question, the article’s analysis draws on the philosophical work of De Martino and Benjamin, linking them to the current pandemic crisis. What becomes clear, as the article demonstrates is a relationship of mutual co-implication between geography and philosophy, based on a re-configuration of subjectivity and on the relationship between subject and object.
This research demonstrates in a documented manner the continuity in the direct male line, from father to son, of the Da Vinci family starting with Michele (XIV century) to fourteen living descendants through twenty-one generations and four different branches, which from the XV generation (Tommaso), in turn generate other line branches. Such results are eagerly awaited from an historical viewpoint, with the correction of the previous Da Vinci trees (especially Uzielli, 1872, and Smiraglia Scognamiglio, 1900) which reached down to and hinted at the XVI generation (with several errors and omissions), and an update on the living.Like the surname, male heredity connects the history of registry records with biological history along separate lineages. Because of this, the present genealogy, which spans almost seven hundred years, can be used to verify, by means of the most innovative technologies of molecular biology, the unbroken transmission of the Y chromosome (through the living descendants and ancient tombs, even if with some small variations due to time) with a view to confirming the recovery of Leonardo’s Y marker. This will make available useful elements to scientifically explore the roots of his genius, to find information on his physical prowess and on his possibly precocious ageing, on his being left-handed and his health and possible hereditary sicknesses, and to explain certain peculiar sensory perceptions, like his extraordinary visual quality and synesthesia. Open Access to this article is sponsored by the Leonardo Da Vinci DNA Project, Inc.
After Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805-1871) all following stage magicians borrowed his aspect, elegance, and gesture. Even his name became iconic, as the most famous and very talented Hungarian illusionist Erik Weisz (1874-1926) paid homage to his famous predecessor, adopting the pseudonym of Harry Houdini. Also, the comics illusionist, Mandrake the Magician, has the elegance, detachment, and manners of Robert-Houdini. The success of the comic character was large in the United States, and all over the world, featuring the same skills of the in the flesh stage wizards. Mandrake the Magician was a mental superhero without physical powers who can have extraordinary adventures fighting evil with the force of his mind. In a media discourse, the illusionism of Mandrake the Magician is as real as that of Bobert-Houdin when stopped the revolt of Marabouts in Algeria, and even when he was in a theater to perform his famous ethereal suspension. The comic stories of the elegant American magician were credible within the media discourse but also because in the real world something similar did happen.
This is a report on the first Peking Man fossil discovery in 1921 indicating the existence of a taxon later named Homo erectus, which was a new start in paleoanthropology. It is also the story of Otto Zdansky through archival documents and personal letters which are related in this article. Otto Zdansky is well known for his findings and description of the first fossils of Sinanthropus pekinensis in the form of three teeth; but is less known for his concern in analyzes of dental micro-wear undertaken in 1980-81 by P.-F. Puech which shows that these Peking Man teeth are not only relics of humanity, but also a research base.
John Maxwell Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003, is well-known for his references to animals in his fiction, and for his active engagement against cruelty enacted on animals. This inclination is particularly visible in those works featuring the character, Elizabeth Costello, the fictional Australian writer who is also a strong and well-known advocate against cruelties on animals. Many studies have been conducted on Coetzee’s animals, from different perspectives from anthropological, philosophical and ecological, but less attention has been placed on focusing on the roles of particular species, or groups of species, described in his works (with few exceptions mostly on dogs). Hence, this paper aims at furthering the understanding of the role of non-human primates referenced in Coetzee’s fiction, from bio-anthropological and ecological perspectives. In particular, it addresses Coetzee’s fiction featuring Elizabeth Costello, namely, The Lives of Animals (1999), Elizabeth Costello: Eight Lessons (2003), Slow Man (2005), and Moral Tales (2017). By accounting and analyzing non-human primates (mostly great apes) and their settings (mostly anthropized), the research concludes that Coetzee exhibits a scientific knowledge of non-human primates and related ethical and conservation issues which allows him to contribute to the scientific debate on the place of human beings in nature.
“Japan and its culture have often provoked great curiosity and a desire to interpret, always presenting a subject of great attractiveness and intrigue. This book strives to present a slightly different aspect through a deep analysis of topics that have become somewhat “cult” due to the great interest aroused by the mysterious and heroic nature of Samurai and Bushidō, and presents evidence in some cases almost contrary to the ideas commonly held in the West. By indicating patterns and behavioral legacies, further reading gradually reveals a world that is different or little known compared to the society that many are convinced they have understood. These analyses attempt to provide interpretative keys that will perhaps also contribute to a better understanding of the contemporary society of Japan and the way that certain convictions, despite the coexistence of unfettered modernity and technology, remain well established in the cultural heritage of the extraordinary Japanese people.”
Especially in the period between 1880 and 1940 it was common in linguistics to describe parallels between the languages of children and those of archaic peoples. This effort was by no means unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the great monograph, which presents these parallels systematically and from the basics, has probably not been written by anyone. Of the many parallels, the following work only examines the phenomenon of the absence of generic names in archaic languages. Research attributed this absence to the lack of abstract and logical thinking in archaic cultures. Basically, developmental psychology shows that even children do not initially have an understanding of generic names and abstract concepts and therefore systematically misinterpret them when confronted with them. It is therefore obvious that the absence or lack of generic terms and abstract terms in primitive languages is due to the peculiarities of children’s thinking. Consequently, the phenomenon is rooted in the peculiarities of archaic thought, which is largely identical to the thought of children.
A hypothetical rational process of establishing a unit of time with a meaningful connection to both, the length of the day and that of the tropic year, would lead to a natural candidate which represents the average error per year in a cycle of 365,2422 x 128 = 46751.0016 days, that is: 0.0016/128 = 1/80,000. However, if we multiply that unit by the number 1.08 we obtain: 80,000 x 1.08 = 86,400, that is the actual unit of time. The odds are that such a process was done by an ancient unknown civilisation which influenced on one side the Eurasian continent, where the second and a trigonometric system on base 60 were adopted and the number 108 and its multiples and submultiples (54, 108, 216, 432, 86400 etc) represent the scientific, mythological and sacred numerology of all ancient civilisations. On the other side central America, where a numerical system on base 20 was adopted and a calendar based on the cycle of 128 years. It can be demonstrated that it belongs to a family of 18 calendars, characterised by an ever rolling week and an auxiliary year which together with the solar year are submultiples of an auxiliary century. There are precise relations between all these units, allowing to design astronomical “clocks” with the same characteristics of the central American calendar for whatever length of the week.
Classifying people into different categories on the basis of many different features (e.g., skulls, race, language, culture, race, genes, and most recently big-data) has been common practice in the anthropological sciences. Furthermore, human beings have also been placed into different categories through the application of boundary terms, such as the term “stakeholder”. This term is now widely used in several different sectors: from business, politics, environmental programmes, to sustainability initiatives and governance of the United Nations (UN). However, its current utilization and interpretations within the framework of ongoing global crises and challenges affecting humankind have not been extensively discussed within current transformations at the societal and individual levels. The paper aims at providing an overview of the different meanings attributed to the term, starting with its initial use (in the gambling realm), its consolidated application in the corporate/business world, and current widespread use in UN activities and governance frameworks addressing global challenges. Building on this background, the paper calls on anthropologists to define a more dynamic and adaptive meaning of the term “stakeholder” which will enable to identify the immense diversity of humankind so as not to leave anybody behind when addressing global challenges.
Trees are tall plants that can live a long time. They mutely attend events of humans for many years, even centuries, and millennia. A forest or a single tree can survive many human generations. When they get old, they can perform the social role as a monument, reminding the value of time and the environment. The present paper is dedicated to the Monumental and Legacy Trees in Sicily. It aims at showing the nexus between the necessary care of veteran trees and the cultural values that the entire society can achieve through their conservation for the present and the future. After the definition of Monumental Trees, the paper deals with the multiple meanings that even a singular tree has in religion, mystics, education, environment, heritage, and also in tourism. The paper gives geographical knowledge on the principal Sicilian Monumental Trees, deepening the fascinating stories of some of the more typical of them. The olive tree is a millennial symbol of the Mediterranean landscape; the almond tree remembers the eternal springtime of Sicily with its very early blossoming in February; oak trees, holm oak, cork oak, and chestnuts are gigantic monuments of the holiness and boldness of Sicilian mountains. The author argues that future life of old trees depends on policies regarding both environment and cultural tourism.
