Classical Period Research Articles

Classic Maya mirror conjurors of Waka', Guatemala

AbstractThe Classic period lowland Maya used iron-ore mosaic mirrors and deposited mirrors in the burials of rulers and other people. Depictions of mirrors suggest that they were used for scrying, as were mirrors in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish arrival. Maya mirror users of this kind were conjurors, who used a variety of other divining and conjuring instruments and materials, including plates and shallow bowls. Three rulers at El Peru-Waka', now called Waka' by researchers at the site, an ancient city in northwestern Peten, Guatemala, were buried with mirrors and associated divining and conjuring materials. Following a brief introduction to the city and its temples, we describe the arrangement of mirrors and associated materials in three royal tombs. We suggest that the mirrors in these tombs were used in conjuring supernatural beings into existence, particularly Akan, a death god and wahy spirit who was a patron of the Waka' realm. We propose that the rulers and mirror conjurors of Waka' were oracles and that Waka' was known for prophecy. References to Sihyaj K'ahk' in text and iconography at Waka', and his association with oracular paraphernalia such as mirrors, lead us to propose a prophetic aspect of the visit of Sihyaj K'ahk' to the site eight days prior to his famous arrival at Tikal in a.d. 378. We suggest that the three rulers we discuss were mirror oracles sustained by the prestige of the prophecy of Sihyaj K'ahk'.

Greek history

I commence this review with a major contribution to the study of women in the ancient Greek world. The public invisibility of women in the poleis of the archaic and classical period is a well-known phenomenon; equally well-known is the fact that this starts to change from the Hellenistic period onwards, when developments in the culture of evergetism and in honorific practices created a niche for women to be publicly visible and honoured by their communities. Przemysław Sierkierka, Krystyna Stebnicka, and Aleksander Wolicki have published a two-volume collection of all public honorific inscriptions for Greek women from the classical to the Roman imperial period. The work excludes honorific inscriptions for Hellenistic queens and female members of the Roman imperial family, thus focusing on honours for Greek citizen women and foreign women. The first volume includes a book-size introduction to the history of public honours for Greek women, examining diachronic changes and offering an overview of the language of inscriptions and the repertory of honours provided. At the same time, the introduction offers an extensive discussion of the role of women in the public life of Greek cities in the long term. The first volume also includes the corpus of inscriptions from Aegean Greece, the Balkans, and Sicily and Italy in the West; the second volume largely focuses on Asia Minor, while also including the few relevant inscriptions from Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, and Cyrenaica. Each inscription is described in detail, while the Greek text is accompanied by an English translation and followed by a focused commentary. In line with the other major corpus under review here, this editorial choice to provide translation, bibliography, and commentary will make these volumes an impressive research tool for both specialists and non-specialists. I admit that I was really surprised by the quantity of the surviving material: the volume includes 1128 inscriptions from 238 communities. While many of these inscriptions are short, formulaic, and repetitive, the information provided on a substantial number is truly fascinating for Greek social history and the history of women.

Scientific Creativity of P. Sokalskyi: Classic Features and Non-Classical Manifestations

The purpose of the article is to find the "manifestations of scholarship" in the fundamental work of P. Sokalskyi in the context of the then state of development of scientific knowledge as such, the development of Ukrainian musical science. The research methodology is found in the use of special historical (comparative and historical-typological), epistemological, and generalising methods of analysis. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time in Ukrainian musicology an attempt was made to analyse the individual scientific achievement of the scientist in the context of the characteristic features of the classical and non-classical periods in the development of science in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. It is substantiated that P. Sokalskyi's research embodies the features of the first period and demonstrates signs of the next — non-classical — stage of its development. At the same time, it has a peculiarly national feature — the focus on the search for the national originality of music, the signs of a national musical style. Conclusions. The analysis of the major study proved that its Author, having materialised the state of Ukrainian musicology in the second half of the nineteenth century, went down in its history as one of the founders of the ideals and norms of scientific thinking, scientific approaches, and objective research methods. It also outlined specific promising areas of further research interests.Key words: history of Ukrainian musicology, classical and non-classical manifestations, individual scientific creativity.

German Instrumentalism of the Eighteenth Century in Intersection with the Post-Avant-Garde Heritage of the Present

The purpose of this article is a stylistic analysis of the musical and artistic tendencies of eighteenth-century German music, in which not only the antitheses of the respective typological achievements, but also their certain diffuse vagueness, their connection with the political background of the convergence of confessional divisions, with a complex interweaving of religious and national-social factors – constituted the fertile ground for creative discoveries correlated with the "disappearance of trends" in post-avant-garde music. The research methodology is the intonation approach, as it was mentioned in the works of B. Asaf'ev's followers in Ukraine (see publications of D. Androsova, O. Markova, O. Muravska), as well as based on the development of the instrumental performance of the Odessa school (works by Z Bukatskyi, K. Mülberg). The scientific novelty of the work is noted in the originality of the presentation of the meaning of the stylistic diffusions of instrumental art of this era and the basic understanding of the ecclesiastical expressive component in them, which provided and provides an independent stylistic flavour with appropriate typological combinations, correlated with the playful mosaicism of post-avant-garde and post-post-avant-garde of the present. Conclusions. The stylistic eclecticism of the Baroque and Early Classical period of German art is based, firstly, on the religious and applied inseparability of the principles of Italian and German instrumentalism of the eighteenth century against the background of the existence of the German cultural idea and the coexistence of national traditions with it and the inertia of the latter’s unity in cultural use. And, secondly, the lack of expression German presence in opera until the 1780s, in which the antithetical positions of the styles were concentrated, stimulated typological intersections in instrumentalism, evaluated in their artistic significance of playful concertos in the post-avant-garde existence. Key words: instrumental music, German style in music, style of the era, baroque, classicism, post-avant-garde.

Shattered glass of Beirut: collaboration between the Archaeological Museum (American University of Beirut) and international partners following the 2020 port explosion

The Archaeological Museum at the American University of Beirut (AUB) lies approximately 3 km west of the main port of Beirut, the site of the massive explosion that sent a catastrophic shockwave through the city on 4 August 2020. A display case containing Classical and early Islamic period glass vessels was smashed against the museum’s stone floor, shattering 72 vessels into thousands of shards. This paper overviews how the Archaeological Museum (AM) responded to the situation with international partners to document, collect, identify, study, conserve and restore the broken pieces, and how this process of recovery would ultimately imbue the vessels with new historical resonance. In particular, the paper presents a collaborative project with the British Museum (BM) that developed from broader international-AM efforts. The partnership had three objectives: (i) to reconstruct eight of the shattered vessels in conservation laboratories at the BM; (ii) to provide training for a museum professional from the AM as part of the restoration programme in London; and (iii) to conduct scientific analyses of the broken shards before conservation. A fourth objective was realized August–October 2022, when the reconstructed vessels were featured in a single-room exhibition at the BM titled Shattered Glass of Beirut, jointly developed by AM and BM curators, in which the vessels helped tell a broader story about the port explosion and its effects on the people of Lebanon.

DIGITALIZATION IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Rapid innovations in the field of technology have become a driving force in ensuring a new management approach and sustainability, especially in companies. Namely, this rapid transformation has made it necessary for managers with technical knowledge and equipment to come to the fore in company management and use technological infrastructure and systems in all companies. While the managers of the classical period were not allowed to make decisions, today, thanks to the specialized communication networks of all units, the ease of information flow has been the most critical factor in developing joint decision-making. In addition, the fact that the managers made technological facilities, tools, and equipment applicable and usable in the companies significantly changed the competitive sustainability face. The use of technology and digitalization in business management and all other units has brought a new digital perspective to business. From the beginning of the industrial revolution to Industry 5.0, the last point reached digital transformation plans are applied as a new road map for the future in units such as marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, and supply chain in management. In this research, digitalization studies in management marketing, accounting, human resources, entrepreneurship, and supply chain management in 2022 were examined in the literature. This research emphasized that digitalization is indispensable in these areas and has significant and beneficial effects in providing positive performance.

Human–environment interactions at Ta'ab Nuk Na, a submerged Maya salt works site in Belize

Abstract Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta'ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involved removing nonorganic material from the sediment and sorting the organic material under magnification. This procedure established that most of the organic material was red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Red mangroves tolerate salt water, but under conditions of sea-level rise, the plants grow vertically to keep their leaves above water. Sediment, leaves, and detritus trapped in the prop roots form mangrove peat, which serves as a proxy for sea-level rise. AMS dating of fine red mangrove roots determined that the local sea levels rose at Ta'ab Nuk Na throughout the Late Classic period and continued into the Postclassic period. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the wood-post samples yielded Late Classic–period dates. Comparing the radiocarbon dates from the wooden posts and the sediment core samples determined that the site was abandoned before the rising seas flooded the area. Evidently, sea-level rise did not play a role in site abandonment.

Zum Irrtum des Erblassers im klassischen römischen Recht

Summary On error of the testator in classical Roman law. – The paper discusses the different ways in which the classical Roman jurisprudence treated the testator’s error, be it a mistake concerning the choice of words, be it a false estimation of facts misleading the testator’s voluntas. In either case, the jurists may have treated the erroneous disposition as void or reformulated it according to the testator’s intention. However, it is shown that – contrary to some voices in the literature – no general rules on dealing with errores can be recognised. Rather, the Roman jurists and emperors decided each case on its own without referring to an underlying principle. It is only in the late classical period that some tendencies of an abstract thinking regarding this topic can be discerned.

Governance, Monumentality, and Urbanism in the Northern Maya Lowlands During the Preclassic and Classic Periods

Governance, Monumentality, and Urbanism in the Northern Maya Lowlands During the Preclassic and Classic Periods

Сравнительное изучение антропологических аспектов греческой вазописи и этрусской живописи

Introduction. The fine arts of archaic Greece and Etruria experienced a noticeable influence of the East. The transition from archaic to classical time influenced the forms of depicting the morphological features of a person in antique art. Comparative study of the anthropological features of the antique population of the Mediterranean on the greek painted pottery and etruscan murals of the archaic and classical times was the purpose of our study. Materials and methods. The material was collected in the online-collections of ancient collections of museums. We used the method of a composite portrait in a digital version, the calculation of the frequency of features in our study. Studied features was – beard growth, hair color and nature of the hair. Results and discussion. On the etruscan murals of the archaic period, the frequency of depicting straight nature of the hair in women is the highest (7,7 %) in all samples; for different groups of painted pottery, it does not exceed 7 %. The degree of beard growth according to vase painting and etruscan murals is characterized by a strong and very strong growth. A greater manifestation of hair pigmentation polymorphism according to painted pottery is noted in the images of the classical period. Dark hair predominates in all groups, grey-haired was depicted only in male characters. Hair depigmentation on painted pottery is observed in images of the classical and late classical periods and did not exceed 6 % in the total sample. Pigmentation on etruscan murals indicates a lightening of the hair in the group towards reddish-red shades, depigmentation does not exceed 8%. Features of the depiction of pigmentation in to vase painting and murals, despite the different technique and coloring, reveal common tendencies of variability characteristic of the Mediterranean groups. Composite portraits based on painted pottery reflect the historical transformation of the anthropo-aesthetic ideas of the greeks through the fine arts of the archaic and classical times. Conclusion. Color in greek painted pottery performs not only a decorative function, but is also an artistic means of conveying morphological variability. Involvement of antique written sources of the description of population and the philosophy of color in antique culture can help in the anthropological reading of vase painting and further study of pigmentation polymorphism. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Liederkreis: Towards a Pedagogical Insight

The German term, Liederkreis, translated as a song cycle, refers to a group or cycle of individually completed songs, designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit. This paper employs a bibliographic strategy, seeking to trace the evolution of this musical genre, and determine its implication for music pedagogy, premised on the theory of contiguity. Saturated data, collected through document review, were subjected to thematic-textual analysis. Findings suggest that song cycles emerged, towards the end of the Classical period and rose to their highest point in the Romantic period, with Beethoven having the credit for pioneering the genre. The study also revealed that in Leiderkreis, key relationship is important and plays a coherent role by making the songs an organic, composite whole in a manner which could be either formal or dynamic. It was concluded that Liederkreis has rich pedagogical prospects due to its focus on the strengths, talents, abilities of every student. The study recommended deliberate and adequate use of Liederkreis in the music classroom. By doing so, students could learn to value each other’s uniqueness in strengths, abilities, and competencies thereby promoting a community of learners where music teaching and learning becomes simplistic and organic, allowing all to grow and bloom. Future research will examine the extent to which Liederkreis has been employed in various music instructional contexts.

Pend-nâme-i Attâr’ın Türkçe Şerhlerinde Kadına Bakış Açısı ve Eril Dilin Tespiti

One of the mirrors that best reflects the definition, meaning, feeling, course, change, and transformation of the image of women, which is hidden and censored in the subconscious of social memory, is literary literature. In pend-nāmas, one of the genres that show the view of classical Turkish literature on things, women, and society, the ideal society is imagined, and what the individual should do for this is explained in a simple and understandable style. This study aims to determine the perspective of the poet, the commentator, and thus the society on women, to try to read the place of women in society and to identify the masculine language used in these texts based on the commentaries made by the commentators of the classical Turkish literature period on Pend-nāme-i Attâr, one of the essential works of Persian literature. Although feminist research and gender studies have developed since the 1970s-1980s, it is possible to trace women in texts written in much earlier periods, considering that women are the mothers of society and the generation begins with her. Thus, it will be easier to follow the development of the centuries-long story of women and the changing perspective over time. In this study, in which the document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used, the largest Pend-nāme-i Attâr commentaries written in the 18th and 19th centuries in Turkish literature were preferred. The commentaries of the commentators on the source couplets in which women are in question were determined, and the intention was read. As a result, based on these commentaries, it was understood that it was not "women" but "women with bad morals" who were criticized. It has been concluded that the view that women with bad morals are beings who cause men to fall into heedlessness and, therefore, should be avoided has gained weight. The reason for the heavy criticism is that women have a high transformative and transformative effect on men and, thus, on society. In short, a woman is a man's weakness, and resisting her requires a strong will. Being aware of this, the masculine mentality actually appeals to its own ego by giving her advice. This emphasizes the fact that men and women are complementary beings and that the degradation of one inevitably leads to the degradation of the other. It is scientifically unsatisfactory to draw general conclusions from a few texts. For this reason, other texts of classical Turkish literature, which has a wide range of genres, should be analyzed one by one, and different perspectives, if any, should be identified. Subsequently, the reasons for the exclusion of women, their being regarded as half-witted, and their being regarded as passive being who must be constantly taken care of and managed will be explained with more concrete and realistic justifications.

:Choral Constructions in Greek Culture: The Idea of the Chorus in the Poetry, Art and Social Practices of the Archaic and Early Classical Period

:<i>Choral Constructions in Greek Culture: The Idea of the Chorus in the Poetry, Art and Social Practices of the Archaic and Early Classical Period</i>

Scientific Tafsīr Approach in Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen's Tafsīr in Terms of Technology Signs

Summary Scientific tafsīr; It is the name given to the Tafsīr approach that advocates interpreting the verses of the Qurʾān by making use of scientific data and technological developments and uses it effectively in the interpretation of the Qurʾān. Although the traces of this understanding, which is based on the assumption that the Qurʾān points to the developments that emerged with the advancement of science and technique, can be traced back to the Abbasid period, its real prevalence was in the 19th century, in the modern period. Some Muslim scholars and thinkers, who grew up in a climate dominated by the idea that people will turn away from religions thanks to the guidance of reason and science, have tried to demonstrate that the Qurʾān does not contradict science through scientific Tafsīr. In this paper, it will be tried to put forward the approach to scientific Tafsīr in the Tafsīr of Omar Nasuhi Bilmen, a scholar of fiqh and Tafsīr who grew up in Turkey, named Turkish Translation of the Glorious Qurʾān and its Tafsīr. However, in this paper, I will not dwell on the examples in which Bilmen made use of scientific data in the explanation of the kevnî verses. Instead, in order to clarify his stance on this issue, I have considered it appropriate to consider some verses from the Qurʾān in which he finds signs of technological developments in his commentary. Based on the method advocated by al-Shatibi in the classical period, some scholars and thinkers in the modern period stated that any meaning unfamiliar to the first interlocutors could not be the purpose of the Qurʾān; They also argued that it would not be correct to interpret the fixed truths in the Qurʾān with these constantly changing scientific data, and they opposed scientific Tafsīr. Today, those who defend scientific Tafsīr are generally labeled as “modernist thinkers” who are influenced by the spirit of the period. However, this approach reflects a generalist attitude that has not been sufficiently considered. Because while many names who are known for their modernist views oppose scientific Tafsīr, many scholars such as Bilmen, who is considered to be in the line of traditional ulama, applied scientific Tafsīr methods. This paper is important in terms of showing that only "modernist" names do not adopt scientific Tafsīr. The aim of this paper is to determine both Bilmen’s approach to scientific Tafsīr and to correct the generalist view in this subject. In this paper, a qualitative analysis was made in Bilmen’s Tafsīr, and verses with high representative power were selected for our subject and his approach to the subject was tried to be determined based on his comments. In this context, it was determined that he found signs for electricity in the Qurʾān in al-Nūr 24/35, and for future transportation vehicles such as trains, automobiles, bicycles and airplanes in al-Naḥl 16/8. Again, he says in the Tafsīr of Hūd 11/40 that the possibility of Noah’s ship being a steamship is not far. Again, in his interpretation of the verse of al-Aՙrâf 7/44, he explained the ability of the people of Paradise and Hell to speak from afar, with the sound transmission technology. As a result, it has been seen that Bilmen accepts that the Qurʾān as a miracle informs some scientific and technological developments before science discovers it, and even tries to rationalize some mutashabih issues based on the developments in technology.

Quantum recurrence times in nanostructures

We compute the classical and revival times of electron currents in several bulk nanostructured, semiconductor materials. We have used a nonparabolic Schrödinger equation to model the conduction band of semiconductors. We have calculated the classical and revival periods for quantum dots of Si, Ge and InAs quantum dots. The obtained results are of the order of tenths of nanoseconds to picoseconds, which are within reach of current technologies.

1953-2012 Yılları Arasında ‘Türk Dili’ Dergisinde Yayımlanan Ali Şir Nevâyî Konulu Yazıların İncelenmesi

Regarding literature history, periodicals have an essential place in our cultural life. Periodicals, which are the places where historical, literary, and intellectual activities arise and grow or are followed, and public opinion is formed, are the most important reference sources for the next generations as well as providing detailed information about the cultures of nations. One is Türk Dili (Turkish Language - ISSN 1300-2155), a monthly language and literature journal published since October 1951 by the Turkish Language Institution, Turkey's leading scientific and cultural institution. The journal publishes essays, poems, stories, criticism, and similar literary products, scientific or popular articles dealing with the current problems of Turkish and Turkish literature and translations. In our study, the studies published on ʿAlī Shīr Navāʾī, which were transferred to the Periodicals Database of the journal and made available for access, were scanned. Navāʾī is a poet who is recognized as a unique poet in world literature for the degree of his art, his services to the development of national literature, his numerous works, and his significant influence on the life of society and nation as a statesman. The purpose and importance of this study are to investigate and determine the extent to which the journal Türk Dili, which is a well-established publication of a well-established state institution, gives space to Navāʾī, the famous Turkish sage, who is remembered with respect and admiration by the poets in the Anatolian field, whose poems are written in verse and who is recognized as the person who has rendered the most outstanding service to the Turkish language after Kashgarlı Mahmut. The breakdown of the texts scanned from the studies published on Navāʾī in the Periodicals Database of the journal is shown chronologically in a table. In addition, these texts were categorized by content analysis method. The study concluded that the journal, which continues to be published, has given wide coverage to Nevâyî since its establishment, published a special issue for the poet, and emphasized the poet in the articles accessed from the Periodicals Database (1953-2012). However, it is thought that Navāʾī, about whom memorial meetings are organized in many European countries and whose corpus is published in various languages, should be given more attention in Turkey. Considering the place/impact of Navāʾī, the fifteenth-century classical period poet of Chagatai literature, in Turkish language and literature, it is understood that these works and activities are essential but insufficient. According to our current knowledge, no research is aimed at analyzing the studies on Navāʾī in any periodical publication. It is hoped that this first research, thought to contribute to the field, will pioneer in enriching different periodicals.

ΚΑΤΕΣΚΑΨΑΝ ΙΕΡΑΠΥΤΝΙΟΙ: THE DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SECOND CENTURY BC AND THE RESILIENCE OF THE CRETAN POLIS

Recently there has been a revival of interest in both the historical and archaeological dimensions of the destruction of cities. The destruction of the principal settlement of a polis is one thing, the effective eradication of the political community quite another. What did it take to destroy a political community? The historical record is full of references to destructions of one polis by another in late Classical to Hellenistic times in Crete. And though not all of these destructions led to the end of the political community in question, some did, and between the Classical period (where we know of 49 poleis) and the Roman conquest of Metellus (where we know of only 24) the numbers of Cretan poleis were drastically reduced. The destruction of Praisos by Hierapytna between 145 and 140 BC (Strabo 10.4.12) was one such case. This seems to form part of a horizon of destructions (of Dreros, Apollonia and Phaistos) that took place between 200 and 140 BC. Florence Gaignerot-Driessen has demonstrated that there is a clear ritual dimension to this in the case of Dreros, a dimension indicated elsewhere by the use of the verb κατέσκαψαν. Excavations at Praisos have shed light on this question. This paper argues that, while there is no evidence for a widespread destruction by fire, there is clear evidence for the ending of Praisian sanctuaries and the forced abandonment of houses and (most intriguingly) the abandonment of large storage vessels. A particular archaeological ‘signature’ of these abandonments, evident at Dreros, Phaistos and Praisos, is the abandonment of the ‘household pithos’, which in many cases seem to be older than the houses in which they have been found. The paper also argues that these archaeological signatures of what had to be destroyed in order to eradicate a political community in turn shed light on what made this particular form of ‘citizen state’ so resilient.

The Formation of the Sonnet in Kurdish Modern Poetry

If Kurdish poetry was dominated by Persian and Arabic poetry in the classical period, in the modern period, either directly or indirectly, through Turkish literature, it has been influenced by European literature. The sonnet as a European poetic form has been used by Kurdish modernist poets, especially rhymes of the sonnet fragments. This research, entitled "The Formation of the Sonnet in Kurdish Modern Poetry", is an attempt to present the reflection and the use of the form and rhyme of the sonnet in the poetry of Kurdish modernist poets, who renewed Kurdish poetry between 1918 and 1970. The research problem is related to the novelty of the sonnet form and rhyme and its application in Kurdish Modern poetry. Sonnets have been discussed in previous studies more in terms of rhyme because they are rarely constructed as they are in terms of form. However, Kurdish modernist poets have worked on the structure of the sonnet with many techniques, innovations and variations, which requires a more detailed and comprehensive study. For this reason, the study is based on the literary theories and employs qualitative descriptive analysis approach in order to investigate the texts used the framework of sonnet forms and employed sonnet rhymes.

Klasik ve Modern Dönem Tefsir Kaynaklarında Ayetlerin Yorumlanmasında Kafkasya-Azerbaycan Coğrafyasına Dair Zikredilen Rivayetlerin Tespit ve Tahlili

Bu çalışmada Kafkasya ve özellikle Güney Kafkasya’nın Azerbaycan coğrafyasına ait klasik ve modern Tefsir kaynaklarında zikredilen olay ve yerlerin tespit ve tahlili yapılmıştır. Bu konunun temellenmesi için öncelikli olarak bölge tarihi ile ilgili kaynaklar taranıp literatür tespitinde bulunulmuştur. Yapılan araştırmalar sonucunda Kur’ân tarihine dair kırâat ilmi ile alakalı olarak zikredilen birtakım olayların Azerbaycan bölgesinde meydana geldiği görülmüştür. Yine kaynaklarda ayetlerin tefsiri yapılırken coğrafyaya ilişkin cereyan eden birtakım hususlara da değinildiği tespit edilmiştir. Kur’ân kıssaları bağlamında kaynaklara bakıldığında Kehf sûresinde anlatılan Zülkarneyn kıssasındaki Ye’cüc ve Me’cüc’ün zulmüne karşılık bölge halkının isteği üzere Zülkarneyn’in inşa ettiği seddin yüksek ihtimalle bu coğrafyada bulunduğu görülür. Bir görüşe göre “Ashâbü’r-ress” isimli topluluğun, Azerbaycan bölgesinde yaşamış ve peygamberlerini öldürmüş bir kavim oldukları ve peygamberlerini dinlemedikleri için cezalandırıldıkları şeklinde rivâyet de mevcuttur. Ayrıca Kur’ân’da Hızır-Mûsa kıssasına bağlı olarak zikredilen “Mecmau’l-Bahreyn” ile ilgili zikredilen birtakım rivâyetler de bu bölge ile ilişkilendirilmektedir. Sonuç olarak bu çalışmada klasik ve modern dönem kaynaklar üzerinden Kafkasya-Azerbaycan bölgesinde vuku bulan olay ve mekânlara dair rivâyetler incelenmiş, söz konusu coğrafyanın Tefsir ilmi literatüründeki önemi ortaya konmuştur.

Paleoenvironmental study of the Late Preclassic period in the Northern Mesoamerican Frontier

The Northern Mesoamerican Frontier was a complex multicultural region characterized by frequent human settlement changes and shifts in agricultural conditions during the Late Preclassic period (~400 BCE-150 CE). Here, we report a high-resolution paleoenvironmental record from the varved sedimentary sequence of the crater maar La Alberca which spans the Late Preclassic (~400 BCE-150 CE) to part of the Early Classic period (~150 CE-250 CE) corresponding to Late Chupicuaro phase (400 BCE-100 CE) and Mixtlan phase (0–250 CE). Our work aims to study the paleoenvironmental conditions during the rise of agriculture in the Northern Mesoamerican Frontier and provide insights related to landscape alteration by human activity. To reach these aims, a multiproxy investigation was conducted by means of varve counting, high-resolution XRF scans, magnetic susceptibility, pollen data and fecal stanol biomarkers as a proxy for human population change. Our results reveal two varve type. Type 1 is characterized by the alternation of detrital-organic layers and aragonite layers, type 2 by alternating detrital-organic layers with an organic layer formed by diatom frustules and aragonite layers. This study suggest that the increase of erosion by human activity during the Late Chupicuaro phase (400 BCE-100 CE) and the start of the Mixtlan phase (0–250 CE) coincide with a high percentage of Amaranthaceae pollen, a rise of sedimentation rates, increase in nutrient content and the increase of human waste flux interpreted with the (Coprostanol + epi) :((Coprostanol + epi)+cholestanol biomarker. Moreover, a wetter period (~137 BCE-37 CE) interpreted during the Late Chupiacuaro phase and the start of the Mixtlan phase could suggest favorable environmental conditions for the establishment of agriculture.