sydhe
King of Kongs
(6) After the Arab conquests in the latter part of the first millennium, many of the lands which converted to Islam also became Arabic-speaking (Egypt, for instance, while others did not (Persia and Turkestan, for example). What was the simplest criterion determining whether Arabic became the language of the people?
Five points.
The countries which became Arabic speaking all spoke Afroasiatic languages. Arabic is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, which also includes Aramaic, Egyptian, Berber languages, Phoenician, Punic, Hebrew, etc. (Tunisia still had Punic speakers in the 7th century despite centuries of Roman rule) Spain, Persian and northern India spoke Indo-European languages. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic family. It’s much easier to learn a language related to your own.
Most of these lands were part of the Roman Empire at some point, but Arabic didn’t replace the native language in Spain or Portugal.
7) What was the first (and I think the only) city to host events in both the Summer and Winter Olympics? What events did they host?
Three points for city, three points for what they hosted in each Olympics.
Karuizawa, Japan. They hosted the equestrian events at the 1964 Summer Olympics, which were awarded to Tokyo, and the curling events at the 2002 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Nagano.
Nine total.
8) These pictures together suggest a famous person. Who is the person, and what do the pictures refer to?
The great Japanese admiral Tōgō Heihachirō. The two maps show the site of his defeat of the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur (Lüshunkou), and the island of Tsushima between Korea and Japan. (The larger pictures show Dalian peninsula and Tsushima Strait, the latter being where he defeated the Russian Baltic Fleet). The fourth picture is the Tōgō Shrine in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. And the flag is that of the nation of, well, Togo.
Two points per picture, four for the person.
9) Pilots in the 1930s were surprised to “discover” one of the world’s most ancient agricultural societies in a place where no such society had been expected to exist, one that had survived there for more that 5000 years and were responsible for one of the world’s major crops, and likely a second one. Where was this society located? What were the crops? Who was the pilot who discovered it?
Highland New Guinea, one of the original sites where agriculture was developed. It appears they developed the major crop of sugar cane, they also cultivated taro and old world yams [not sweet potatoes, which were developed in South America] and they may well have cultivated the banana, although bananas may have been cultivated in sourtheast Asia. Agriculture seems a bit older in New Guinea. The pilot was Richard Archbold.
Three points for location, two per crop, four for the pilot.
10)Another lost civilization existed from 500 BC to around 670 AD. The name by which they are known is not their own; in fact their name for themselves is unknown. Some of their last reported contacts were with the Eastern Roman Empire during the reign of Justin II, and the early Umayyad Empire. They had eight major towns, most of which have not been escavated. Despite conflicts with the Romans they were never subdued. Now their lands would mostly be regarded as uninhabitable. Who were they and where did they live?
The Garamantes lived in the Fezzan region of Libya, in one of the more inhospitable regions of the Sahara. I suspect they may have lapped over into Egypt. They had a major underground irrigation system that used water from underground springs and the water table deep under the Sahara. The last record of the Garamantes is from around 668 AD, when the kingdom submitted to the Muslims. It’s possible the Tuareg are descended from them.
Five for the name of the civilization, four for where they lived (region and country/countries).
140 points total.
Closing date for the quiz is 11:59 p.m. UT on March 25.
__________________
Five points.
The countries which became Arabic speaking all spoke Afroasiatic languages. Arabic is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, which also includes Aramaic, Egyptian, Berber languages, Phoenician, Punic, Hebrew, etc. (Tunisia still had Punic speakers in the 7th century despite centuries of Roman rule) Spain, Persian and northern India spoke Indo-European languages. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic family. It’s much easier to learn a language related to your own.
Most of these lands were part of the Roman Empire at some point, but Arabic didn’t replace the native language in Spain or Portugal.
7) What was the first (and I think the only) city to host events in both the Summer and Winter Olympics? What events did they host?
Three points for city, three points for what they hosted in each Olympics.
Karuizawa, Japan. They hosted the equestrian events at the 1964 Summer Olympics, which were awarded to Tokyo, and the curling events at the 2002 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Nagano.
Nine total.
8) These pictures together suggest a famous person. Who is the person, and what do the pictures refer to?
The great Japanese admiral Tōgō Heihachirō. The two maps show the site of his defeat of the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur (Lüshunkou), and the island of Tsushima between Korea and Japan. (The larger pictures show Dalian peninsula and Tsushima Strait, the latter being where he defeated the Russian Baltic Fleet). The fourth picture is the Tōgō Shrine in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. And the flag is that of the nation of, well, Togo.
Two points per picture, four for the person.
9) Pilots in the 1930s were surprised to “discover” one of the world’s most ancient agricultural societies in a place where no such society had been expected to exist, one that had survived there for more that 5000 years and were responsible for one of the world’s major crops, and likely a second one. Where was this society located? What were the crops? Who was the pilot who discovered it?
Highland New Guinea, one of the original sites where agriculture was developed. It appears they developed the major crop of sugar cane, they also cultivated taro and old world yams [not sweet potatoes, which were developed in South America] and they may well have cultivated the banana, although bananas may have been cultivated in sourtheast Asia. Agriculture seems a bit older in New Guinea. The pilot was Richard Archbold.
Three points for location, two per crop, four for the pilot.
10)Another lost civilization existed from 500 BC to around 670 AD. The name by which they are known is not their own; in fact their name for themselves is unknown. Some of their last reported contacts were with the Eastern Roman Empire during the reign of Justin II, and the early Umayyad Empire. They had eight major towns, most of which have not been escavated. Despite conflicts with the Romans they were never subdued. Now their lands would mostly be regarded as uninhabitable. Who were they and where did they live?
The Garamantes lived in the Fezzan region of Libya, in one of the more inhospitable regions of the Sahara. I suspect they may have lapped over into Egypt. They had a major underground irrigation system that used water from underground springs and the water table deep under the Sahara. The last record of the Garamantes is from around 668 AD, when the kingdom submitted to the Muslims. It’s possible the Tuareg are descended from them.
Five for the name of the civilization, four for where they lived (region and country/countries).
140 points total.
Closing date for the quiz is 11:59 p.m. UT on March 25.
__________________
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