Mesolithic era Essay Example

Mesolithic era Paper It is thought too that the women, while the males were out hunting the animals- collected berries and other wild shrubs to cook with the meal as part of their diet. Thus, Mesolithic eating habits would not have had a significant impact on the landscape of Ireland. In contrast, Neolithic people are known as the first farmers in Ireland. It is wrong to think that Mesolithic people discovered farming and then became Neolithic people; rather Neolithic ways of life began to spread to Ireland from settlers across the sea and brought this new way of life with them. Neolithic folk were involved in cultivating the land they lived on and grew crops and vegetation as a food source, they still hunted and gathered in berries and nuts but now their diet was supplemented on a regular basis by the produce of their crops, and by the domesticated animals they kept such as pigs, sheep, cattle and hunting dogs. Evidence from Cashelkeelty, County Kerry, suggests that this happened between 3900BC and 3000BC http://www. wesleyjohnston. com/users/ireland/past/pre_ norman_history/neolithic_age. html. Findings around Neolithic sites, which have been excavated, have provided evidence of a new technology as described by J. P. Mallory T. E. McNeill; they go on to say There was also a new technology that has been especially developed for this new agricultural economy. The first farmer colonists introduced their own variety of polished stone axes for clearing away forests, flint tools for harvesting their crops, grinding stones for processing the cereal, and pots made from clay to assist in cooking and serve as containers. We will write a custom essay sample on Mesolithic era specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mesolithic era specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mesolithic era specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Even the tools used for hunting changes as these early farmers brought their own type of flint arrowheads and javelins, and now that there was easy access to animals whose hides were particularly useful to man, we begin to find abundant evidence for flint scrapers. (1991. P. 30. ) Such dramatic changes to diet brought would have brought about significant changes to the physical landscape of Ireland; people were now starting to cut away areas of woodland so they could cultivate the land for farming and building their settlements. The effects of this are evident today, with the creation of blanket bogland throughout Ireland and particularly around areas where Neolithic artefacts are discovered. Ireland has 12,000 kmi of bogland, consisting of two distinct types, blanket bogs and raised bogs. Blanket bogs are the more widespread of the two types. They are essentially a product of human activity aided by the moist Irish climate. Blanket bogs formed on sites where Neolithic farmers cleared trees for farming. As the land so cleared fell into disuse, the soil began to leach and become more acidic, producing a suitable environment for the growth of heather and rushes. The debris from these plants accumulated and a layer of peat formed. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Geography_of_Ireland#Bogs. The continuous falling debris has caused these bogs to grow and an example of the height to which they have grown is all too evident in the Ceide Fields, located in North County Mayo. Thus, most of Irelands upland peat bogs (although not the lower ones are actually features inadvertently created by Neolithic farmers). In relation to housing Mesolithic people did not build permanent settlements, this was due to their way of life, being from a hunter-gatherer culture, these individuals tended to be nomadic, moving from season to season, going where the food was. During the summer and early autumn months it is thought that these people settled beside coastal areas- were it was cooler and throughout the winter and spring they settled more inland, taking refuge and protection from the weather amongst the dense woodland. There is no absolute evidence for these assumptions however; tools from the Mesolithic era have been located around or close to coastal areas. The Curran (Near to present day Larne, County Antrim) is a raised beach where archaeologists have found thousands of flint tools, and in County Offaly, archaeologists uncovered evidence of a Mesolithic settlement at Lough Boora. Neolithic peoples contributed to the changing of the landscape through the settlement dividing which are evident in the Ceide Fields of northern County Mayo. The Ceide Fields are a series of stone field boundaries discovered preserved under peat on the edge of a cliff in Mayo. At the time, they were made; the climate would have allowed them to grow crops there, although today it is a bog. It would be on this land, beside that which they cultivated that their dwellings would be built. Neolithic settlers built more structured and permanent buildings for settlement than the Mesolithic. A Neolithic house was rectangular and made either from tree trunks sunk vertically into the ground or from woven branches covered with mud. A large beam leaning against the ridge of the roof supported the gables at each end. The roof itself was made from timber beams with reed thatch covering it. A small hole in the roof allowed smoke to escape because, unlike the Mesolithic Irish, the Neolithic farmers lit their fires and cooked indoors. We know what these houses looked like because, although most of the wood itself has gone, the post-holes have survived and engineers can thus determine the houses structure. http://www. wesleyjohnston. com/users/ireland/past/pre_norman_ history/neolithic_age. html.

Differential Reproductive Success in the Science of Evolution

Differential Reproductive Success in the Science of Evolution The term differential reproductive success sounds complicated, but it refers to a rather simple idea common in the study of evolution. The term is used when comparing the successful reproduction rates of two groups of individuals in the same generation of a species population, each exhibiting a different genetically determined characteristic or genotype. It is a term that is central to any discussion of natural selection- the cornerstone principle of evolution. Evolutionary scientists might, for example, want to study whether short height or tall height is more conducive to a species continued survival. By documenting how many individuals of each group produces offspring and in what numbers, scientists arrive at a differential reproductive success rate.   Natural Selection From an  evolutionary perspective, the overall goal of any species is to continue to the next generation. The mechanism is ordinarily rather simple:  produce as many offspring as possible to ensure that at least some of them survive to  reproduce and create the next generation. Individuals within the population of a species often compete for food, shelter, and mating partners to make sure that it is their DNA and their traits that are the ones passed down to the next generation to carry on the species. A cornerstone of the theory of evolution is this principle of natural selection. Sometimes called survival  of the fittest, natural selection is the process by which  those individuals with genetic traits better suited to their environments live long enough to reproduce many offspring, thereby passing the genes for those favorable adaptations to the next generation. Those individuals lacking the favorable traits, or possessing unfavorable traits, are likely to die off before they can reproduce, removing their genetic material from the ongoing  gene pool. Comparing Reproductive Success Rates The term differential reproductive success refers to a statistical analysis comparing successful reproduction rates between groups in a given generation of a species- in other words, how many offspring each group of individuals is able to leave behind. The analysis is used to compare two groups holding different variations of the same trait, and it provides evidence of which group is the fittest. If individuals exhibiting variation A of a trait are demonstrated to reach reproductive age more often and produce more offspring than individuals with variation B of the same trait, the differential reproductive success rate allows you to infer that natural selection is at work and that variation A is advantageous- at least for conditions at the time. Those individuals with variation A will deliver more genetic material for that trait to the next generation, making it more likely to persist and carry on to future generations. Variation B, meanwhile, is likely to gradually vanish.   Differential reproductive success can manifest in a number of ways. In some instances, a trait variation might cause individuals to live longer, thereby having more birth events that deliver more offspring to the next generation. Or, it may cause more offspring to be produced with each birth, even though lifespan remains unchanged. Differential reproductive success can be used to study natural selection in any population of any living species, from the largest mammals to the smallest microorganisms. The evolution of certain antibiotic-resistance bacteria is a classic example of natural selection, in which bacteria with a gene mutation making them resistant to drugs gradually replaced bacteria that had no such resistance. For medical scientists, identifying these strains of drug-resistant bacteria (the fittest) involved documenting the differential reproductive success rates between different strains of the bacteria.

Effective Persuasion Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effective Persuasion Skills - Essay Example However, in order to persuade him effectively, I had to listen to him elucidate the year’s theme for the show and the manner that he wanted me to communicate the theme to the audience using the hairstyle. One important lesson that life has taught me pertains to the importance of listening in order to give a well thought-out response. Allow me to briefly explain my journey towards working with Mr. Clark. I used to be a performer in the show choir directed by Mr. Clark throughout high school. Typically, a show choir has forty performers who can sing and dance at the same time. Nonetheless, I attended Aveda Fredric’s school, a cosmetology school, after my high school graduation and learnt the skills important to a hairstylist. Upon completing the course, I obtained a license with the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology to practice cosmetology and, fair enough, I became the hair stylist for my high schools show choir under Mr. Clark. As the choir’s hairstylist, I have to design a new hairstyle each year r epresenting the year’s theme using my creative skills. In this regard, Mr. Clark approached me with this year’s theme. He explained the idea behind the year’s show, the design and concept of the costumes, all-important aspects that should go with the hairstyles design. Moreover, Mr. Clark informed me that the group would be participating in the World Choir Games this July at Cincinnati. It is important to point out that each year has a new concept and theme for the show and it requires creativity (a skill I have perfected overtime) to incorporate the hairstyle to the show’s theme. In this regard, the theme to this year’s show was â€Å"Around the World in 80 Days† and the hairstyle had to match the theme. Once he explained every detail of the future show, I knew that the time had come to assert my authority and use my creativity in designing the year’s hairstyle. However, I knew this was a herculean task, although not an insurmountable one. I said to him, â€Å"With all due respect, sir, there is need for us to be more creative and think beyond the horizon this year. We need to come up with different hairstyles representative of each country’s cultures and ethnicity where the group will be performing.† Knowing Mr. Clark as a conservative who likes maintaining things in a neat, clean, and uniform approach, I had to ask him to allow changes that will make the group more successful this year. In my previous two years of working in the group, I had noticed that designs have been uniform and easy all through for both groups. This formed my opinion to have a different hairstyle this year. You realized that I mentioned two groups; it is pertinent to point out that Mr. Clark is an accomplished director in charge of another group, known as Pure Elegance, an all-girls high school group well in their fourth year of performances. I had to convince Mr. Clark that we had to ha ve a different hairstyle for this year’s shows. In this regard, I told him that we had two choices to consider. As for option number one, I explained to him that we would have to go with the conservative approach of the usual uniform hairstyle with no changes. However, this was not the ideal situation, since it would be challenging to the audience to understand the relationship between the theme and the hairstyle. The second and the ideal option to my mind, as I explained to him, was a suggestion of moving and thinking