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Tabula rasa
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Roman tabula or wax tablet with stylus.
Tabula rasa (/ˈtæbjələ ˈrɑːsə, -zə, ˈreɪ-/) refers to the epistemological idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Proponents of tabula rasa generally disagree with the doctrine of innatism which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Generally, proponents of the tabula rasa theory also favour the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate when it comes to aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behaviour, knowledge and sapience.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Philosophy
3 Science
3.1 Psychology and neurobiology
3.1.1 Social pre-wiring
3.2 Computer science
4 See also
5 Notes and references
6 Bibliography
7 External links
History[edit]
Tabula rasa is a Latin phrase often translated as "blank slate" in English and originates from the Roman tabula used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothing it.[1] This roughly equates to the English term "blank slate" (or, more literally, "erased slate") which refers to the emptiness of a slate prior to it being written on with chalk. Both may be renewed repeatedly, by melting the wax of the tablet or by erasing the chalk on the slate.
Philosophy[edit]
See also: Empiricism
In Western philosophy, the concept of tabula rasa can be traced back to the writings of Aristotle who writes in his treatise "Περί Ψυχῆς" (De Anima or On the Soul) of the "unscribed tablet." In one of the more well-known passages of this treatise he writes that:
Haven't we already disposed of the difficulty about interaction involving a common element, when we said that mind is in a sense potentially whatever is thinkable, though actually it is nothing until it has thought? What it thinks must be in it just as characters may be said to be on a writing-tablet on which as yet nothing stands written: this is exactly what happens with mind.[2]
This idea was further developed in Ancient Greek philosophy by the Stoic school. Stoic epistemology emphasizes that the mind starts blank, but acquires knowledge as the outside world is impressed upon it.[3] The doxographer Aetius summarizes this view as "When a man is born, the Stoics say, he has the commanding part of his soul like a sheet of paper ready for writing upon."[4] Diogenes Laërtius attributes a similar belief to the Stoic Zeno of Citium when he writes in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers that:
Perception, again, is an impression produced on the mind, its name being appropriately borrowed from impressions on wax made by a seal; and perception they divide into, comprehensible and incomprehensible: Comprehensible, which they call the criterion of facts, and which is produced by a real object, and is, therefore, at the same time conformable to that object; Incomprehensible, which has no relation to any real object, or else, if it has any such relation, does not correspond to it, being but a vague and indistinct representation.[5]
In the eleventh century, the theory of tabula rasa was developed more clearly by the Persian philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina in Arabic). He argued that the "...human intellect at birth resembled a tabula rasa, a pure potentiality that is actualized through education and comes to know," and that knowledge is attained through "...empirical familiarity with objects in this world from which one abstracts universal concepts," which develops through a "...syllogistic method of reasoning; observations lead to propositional statements, which when compounded lead to further abstract concepts." He further argued that the intellect itself "...possesses levels of development from the static/material intellect (al-‘aql al-hayulani), that potentiality can acquire knowledge to the active intellect (al-‘aql al-fa‘il), the state of the human intellect at conjunction with the perfect source of knowledge."[6]
In the twelfth century, the Andalusian-Islamic philosopher and novelist, Ibn Tufail, known as "Abubacer" or "Ebn Tophail" in the West, demonstrated the theory of tabula rasa as a thought experiment through his Arabic philosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqzan, in which he depicted the development of the mind of a feral child "from a tabula rasa to that of an adult, in complete isolation from society" on a desert island, through experience alone. The Latin translation of his philosophical novel, entitled Philosophus Autodidactus, published by Edward Pococke the Younger in 1671, had an influence on John Locke's formulation of tabula rasa in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.[7]
Female Figure (Sibyl with Tabula Rasa) by Diego Velázquez, c. 1648
In the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas brought the Aristotelian and Avicennian notions to the forefront of Christian thought. These notions sharply contrasted with the previously held Platonic notions of the human mind as an entity that preexisted somewhere in the heavens, before being sent down to join a body here on Earth (see Plato's Phaedo and Apology, as well as others). St. Bonaventure (also thirteenth century) was one of the fiercest intellectual opponents of Aquinas, offering some of the strongest arguments toward the Platonic idea of the mind.
The writings of Avicenna, Ibn Tufail, and Aquinas on the tabula rasa theory stood unprogressed and untested for several centuries.[citation needed] For example, the late medieval English jurist Sir John Fortescue, in his work In Praise of the Laws of England (Chapter VI), takes for granted the notion of tabula rasa, stressing it as the basis of the need for the education of the young in general, and of young princes specifically. "Therefore, Prince, whilst you are young and your mind is as it were a clean slate, impress on it these things, lest in future it be impressed more pleasurably with images of lesser worth." (His igitur, Princeps, dum Adolescens es, et Anima tua velut Tabula rasa, depinge eam, ne in futurum ipsa Figuris minoris Frugi delectabilius depingatur.)
The modern idea of the theory, however, is attributed mostly to John Locke's expression of the idea in Essay Concerning Human Understanding (he uses the term "white paper" in Book II, Chap. I, 2). In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that at birth the (human) mind is a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. The notion is central to Lockean empiricism. As understood by Locke, tabula rasa meant that the mind of the individual was born blank, and it also emphasized the freedom of individuals to author their own soul. Individuals are free to define the content of their character—but basic identity as a member of the human species cannot be altered. This presumption of a free, self-authored mind combined with an immutable human nature leads to the Lockean doctrine of "natural" rights. Locke's idea of tabula rasa is frequently compared with Thomas Hobbes's viewpoint of human nature, in which humans are endowed with inherent mental content—particularly with selfishness.[citation needed]
The eighteenth-century Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau used tabula rasa to support his argument that warfare is an advent of society and agriculture, rather than something that occurs from the human state of nature. Since tabula rasa states that humans are born with a "blank-slate", Rousseau uses this to suggest that humans must learn warfare.
Tabula rasa also features in Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis. Freud depicted personality traits as being formed by family dynamics (see Oedipus complex). Freud's theories imply that humans lack free will, but also that genetic influences on human personality are minimal. In Freudian psychoanalysis, one is largely determined by one's upbringing.[citation needed]
The tabula rasa concept became popular in social sciences during the twentieth century. Early ideas of eugenics posited that human intelligence correlated strongly with social class, but these ideas were rejected, and the idea that genes (or simply "blood") determined a person's character became regarded as racist. By the 1970s, scientists such as John Money had come to see gender identity as socially constructed, rather than rooted in genetics.
Science[edit]
Psychology and neurobiology[edit]
Main article: Nature versus nurture
Psychologists and neurobiologists have shown evidence that initially, the entire cerebral cortex is programmed and organized to process sensory input, control motor actions, regulate emotion, and respond reflexively (under predetermined conditions).[8] These programmed mechanisms in the brain subsequently act to learn and refine the ability of the organism.[9][10] For example, psychologist Steven Pinker showed that—in contrast to written language—the brain is "programmed" to pick up spoken language spontaneously.[11]
There have been claims by a minority in psychology and neurobiology, however, that the brain is tabula rasa only for certain behaviours. For instance, with respect to one's ability to acquire both general and special types of knowledge or skills, Howe argued against the existence of innate talent.[12] There also have been neurological investigations into specific learning and memory functions, such as Karl Lashley's study on mass action and serial interaction mechanisms.
Important evidence against the tabula rasa model of the mind comes from behavioural genetics, especially twin and adoption studies (see below). These indicate strong genetic influences on personal characteristics such as IQ, alcoholism, gender identity, and other traits.[11] Critically, multivariate studies show that the distinct faculties of the mind, such as memory and reason, fractionate along genetic boundaries. Cultural universals such as emotion and the relative resilience of psychological adaptation to accidental biological changes (for instance the David Reimer case of gender reassignment following an accident) also support basic biological mechanisms in the mind.[citation needed]
Social pre-wiring[edit]
Twin studies have resulted in important evidence against the tabula rasa model of the mind, specifically, of social behaviour.
The social pre-wiring hypothesis refers to the ontogeny of social interaction. Also informally referred to as, "wired to be social." The theory questions whether there is a propensity to socially oriented action already present before birth. Research in the theory concludes that newborns are born into the world with a unique genetic wiring to be social[13].
Circumstantial evidence supporting the social pre-wiring hypothesis can be revealed when examining newborns' behaviour. Newborns, not even hours after birth, have been found to display a preparedness for social interaction. This preparedness is expressed in ways such as their imitation of facial gestures. This observed behaviour cannot be contributed to any current form of socialization or social construction. Rather, newborns most likely inherit to some extent social behaviour and identity through genetics[13].
Principal evidence of this theory is uncovered by examining twin pregnancies. The main argument is, if there are social behaviours that are inherited and developed before birth, then one should expect twin fetuses to engage in some form of social interaction before they are born. Thus, ten fetuses were analyzed over a period of time using ultrasound techniques. Using kinematic analysis, the results of the experiment were that the twin fetuses would interact with each other for longer periods and more often as the pregnancies went on. Researchers were able to conclude that the performance of movements between the co-twins were not accidental but specifically aimed[13].
The social pre-wiring hypothesis was proved correct, "The central advance of this study is the demonstration that 'social actions' are already performed in the second trimester of gestation. Starting from the 14th week of gestation twin fetuses plan and execute movements specifically aimed at the co-twin. These findings force us to predate the emergence of social behaviour: when the context enables it, as in the case of twin fetuses, other-directed actions are not only possible but predominant over self-directed actions."[13].
Computer science[edit]
In computer science, tabula rasa refers to the development of autonomous agents with a mechanism to reason and plan toward their goal, but no "built-in" knowledge-base of their environment. Thus they truly are a blank slate.
In reality autonomous agents possess an initial data-set or knowledge-base, but this cannot be immutable or it would hamper autonomy and heuristic ability.[citation needed] Even if the data-set is empty, it usually may be argued that there is a built-in bias in the reasoning and planning mechanisms.[citation needed] Either intentionally or unintentionally placed there by the human designer, it thus negates the true spirit of tabula rasa.[14]
A synthetic (programming) language parser (LR(1), LALR(1) or SLR(1), for example) could be considered a special case of a tabula rasa, as it is designed to accept any of a possibly infinite set of source language programs, within a single programming language, and to output either a good parse of the program, or a good machine language translation of the program, either of which represents a success, or, alternately, a failure, and nothing else. The "initial data-set" is a set of tables which are generally produced mechanically by a parser table generator, usually from a BNF representation of the source language, and represents a "table representation" of that single programming language.
See also[edit]
Innatism
Pu (Daoism)
Veil of ignorance
Notes and references[edit]
Jump up ^ Smith, Sir William (1898). Cornish, F. Warre, ed. A Concise Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: Spottiswoode and Co. pp. 608–9.
Jump up ^ Aristotle, De Anima, 429b29–430a1.
Jump up ^ Bardzell, Jeffrey (June 11, 2014). Speculative Grammar and Stoic Language Theory in Medieval Allegorical Narrative: From Prudentius to Alan of Lille. Routledge. pp. 18–9.
Jump up ^ Diels-Kranz 4.11 translated by Long, A.A.; Sedley, D.N. (1987). The Hellenistic Philosophers: Vol. 1. Cambridge, Ma: Cambridge. p. 238.
Jump up ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 43-46
Jump up ^ Sajjad H. Rizvi (2006), Avicenna/Ibn Sina (CA. 980–1037), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Jump up ^ G. A. Russell (1994), The Impact of the Philosophus autodidactus: Pocockes, John Locke and the Society of Friends, in: G. A. Russell (ed.), The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England, pp. 224–262, Brill Publishers, ISBN 90-04-09459-8.
Jump up ^ Rakic P. (July 1988). "Specification of cerebral cortical areas". Science. 241 (4862): 170–6. Bibcode:1988Sci...241..170R. doi:10.1126/science.3291116. PMID 3291116.
Jump up ^ Kalisman N, Silberberg G, Markram H; Silberberg; Markram (January 2005). "The neocortical microcircuit as a tabula rasa". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (3): 880–5. Bibcode:2005PNAS..102..880K. doi:10.1073/pnas.0407088102. PMC 545526  . PMID 15630093. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jump up ^ Le Bé JV, Markram H; Markram (August 2006). "Spontaneous and evoked synaptic rewiring in the neonatal neocortex". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (35): 13214–9. Bibcode:2006PNAS..10313214L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604691103. PMC 1559779  . PMID 16924105.
^ Jump up to: a b Pinker, Steven. The Blank Slate. New York: Penguin. 2002.
Jump up ^ M. J. Howe, J. W. Davidson and J. A. Sloboda. (1998). Innate talents: reality or myth? Behav. Brain. Sci., 21, 399–407; discussion 407–42.
^ Jump up to: a b c d https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951360/ Umberto Castiello, et al: National Institutes of Health
Jump up ^ The Jargon Files: "Sussman attains enlightenment", also see the article section Hacker koan: Uncarved block
Bibliography[edit]
Aristotle, On the Soul (De Anima), W. S. Hett (trans.), pp. 1–203 in Aristotle, Volume 8, Loeb Classical Library, William Heinemann, London, UK, 1936.
Avicenna, De Anima (Fi’l-Nafs), F. Rahman (trans.), London, UK, 1954.
Tufail, Ibn, The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan (Hayy ibn Yaqzan), Simon Ockley (trans.), pp. 1–195, Edm. Powell, London, Great Britain, 1708.
Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologica, Fathers of the English Dominican Province (trans.), Daniel J. Sullivan (ed.), vols. 19–20 in Robert Maynard Hutchins (ed.), Great Books of the Western World, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1952.
Locke, John, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Kenneth P. Winkler (ed.), pp. xix (Editor's Introduction) and 33–36 (Book II, Chap. I, 1–9), Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1996 [1689].
Baird, Forrest E.; Kaufmann, Walter (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-158591-6.
External links[edit]
The dictionary definition of tabula rasa at Wiktionary
Works related to Book II, Chapter I of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding at Wikisource
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text:
Dominican War of Independence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
See also: Dominican Restoration War
Dominican War of Independence
Schooner "Separación Dominicana" during the Battle of Tortuguero, by Adolfo García Obregón.
Date
1844–1856
Location
Hispaniola
Result
Dominican victory
Expulsion of Haitian government
Dominican Independence
Belligerents
Dominican Republic Haiti
Commanders and leaders
Pedro Santana
Antonio Duvergé
Felipe Alfau
Juan B. Cambiaso
Juan B. Maggiolo
Juan Acosta
Manuel Mota
José Mª. Cabral
José Mª. Imbert
J. J. Puello
Pedro E. Pelletier Charles Hérard
Jean-Louis Pierrot
Faustin Soulouque
Pierre Paul
Auguste Brouard
Gen. Souffrand
Gen. St.-Louis
Jean Francois
Casualties and losses
Haiti lost more than three times as many slain as did the Dominican Republic[1]
[hide]
v
t
e
Dominican War of Independence
Fuente del Rodeo
Cabeza de Las Marías
Azua
Santiago
El Memiso
Tortuguero
Fort Cachimán
Estrelleta
Beler
El Número
Las Carreras
Santomé
Sabana Larga
The Dominican Independence War gave the Dominican Republic autonomy from Haiti on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united under the Haitian government for a period of 22 years when the newly independent nation, then known as the Republic of Spanish Haiti, was invaded by Haiti in 1822. Previously known as the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, the criollo class within the country overthrew the Spanish crown in 1821 before unifying with Haiti a year later.
At the time Haiti had been more economically and militarily powerful and had a population 8 to 10 times larger than the former Spanish colony, having been the richest colony in the western hemisphere before the Haitian Revolution. Dominican military officers agreed to merge the newly independent nation with Haiti, as they sought for political stability under the Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer, and were attracted to Haiti's perceived wealth and power at the time. However, due to the Haitian government's mismanagement, heavy military disputes, and an economic crisis the Haitian government became increasingly unpopular. A conspiracy of Dominicans in Santo Domingo called La Trinitaria hastened the end of the Haitian occupation.
In 1844, the members of La Trinitaria chose El Conde, the prominent “Gate of the Count” in the old city walls, as the rallying point for their insurrection against the Haitian occupiers. On the morning of 24 February 1844, El Conde rang with the shots of the plotters, who had emerged from their secret meetings to openly challenge the Haitians. Their efforts were successful, and for the next ten years, Dominican military strongmen fought to preserve their country's independence from their Haitian neighbors.[2] In March 1844, a 30,000-strong two-pronged attack was successfully repelled by a poorly equipped and undertrained Dominican army under the command of the wealthy rancher Gen. Pedro Santana.[2] Four years later, it took a Dominican flotilla harassing Haitian coastal villages, land reinforcements in the south, and a British and French naval blockade to force the determined Haitian emperor into a one-year truce.[2] In the most thorough and intense encounter of all, Dominican irregulars armed with swords sent Haitian troops into flight on all three fronts in 1855.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
1.1 Ephemeral Independence
2 Unification of Hispaniola (1822-1844)
2.1 Resistance
3 War of Independence
4 Notes
5 References
Background
José Núñez de Cáceres.
At the beginning of the 1800s, the colony of Santo Domingo, which had once been the headquarters of Spanish power in the New World was in its worst decline. Spain during this time was embroiled in the Peninsular War in Europe, and other various wars to maintain control of the Americas. With Spain's resources spread among its global interest, Santo Domingo became neglected. This period is referred to as the España Boba era.
The population of the Spanish colony stood at approximately 80,000 with the vast majority being European descendants and free people of color. Santo Domingo's plantation economy never truly flourished, because of this the black slave population had been significantly lower than that of the neighboring Saint-Domingue, which was nearing a million slaves before the Haitian Revolution.
Ephemeral Independence
Late in 1821 the leader José Núñez de Cáceres proclaimed Santo Domingo's adhesion to the new “Republic of Gran Colombia”, created by Simón Bolívar, but the determination of the island elite to perpetuate their privileged status by maintaining intact all colonial-era institutions such as social hierarchy, land titles, and slavery doomed this limited experiment in liberty to failure two months later.[3]
Unification of Hispaniola (1822-1844)
Main article: Unification of Hispaniola
Jean-Pierre Boyer, the mulatto ruler of Haiti
A group of Dominican politicians and military officers[who?] had expressed interest in uniting the entire island, while they sought for political stability and support under Haiti, which at the time was still seen as having a great deal of wealth and power.[citation needed] Haiti had been by far the richest colony in the western hemisphere and was known as the Pearl of the Antilles.
Haiti's president, Jean-Pierre Boyer, conducted the third military campaign of Santo Domingo, this one was met with resistance, partly due to the previous invasion experiences, and because of Haiti's overpowering military strength at the time. The population of Haiti had a ratio of 8:1 compared to the Dominican population of 1822.
On February 9, 1822, Boyer formally entered the capital city, Santo Domingo, where he was met and received by Núñez who handed to him the keys of the Palace. Boyer then proclaimed: "I have not come into this city as a conqueror but by the will of its inhabitants". The island was thus united from "Cape Tiburon to Cape Samana in possession of one government."
Eventually the Haitian government became extremely unpopular throughout the country. The Dominican population grew increasingly impatient with Haiti's poor management and perceived incompetence, and the heavy taxation that was imposed on their side. The country was hit with a severe economic crisis after having been forced to pay a huge indemnity to France. A debt was accrued by Haiti in order to pay for their own independence from the European nation; this would give rise to many anti-Haitian plots.
Resistance
An assembly of the Trinitarios.
In 1838 Juan Pablo Duarte, an educated nationalist, founded a resistance movement called La Trinitaria ("The Trinity") along with Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez. It was so named because its original nine members had organized themselves into cells of three. The cells went on to recruit as separate organizations, maintaining strict secrecy, with little or no direct contact among themselves, in order to minimize the possibility of detection by the Haitian authorities. Many recruits quickly came to the group, but it was discovered and forced to change its name to La Filantrópica ("The Philanthropic"). The Trinitarios won the loyalty of two Dominican-manned Haitian regiments.[4]
In 1843 the revolution made a breakthrough: they worked with a liberal Haitian party that overthrew President Jean-Pierre Boyer. However, the Trinitarios'[5] work in the overthrow gained the attention of Boyer's replacement, Charles Rivière-Hérard. Rivière-Hérard imprisoned some Trinitarios and forced Duarte to leave the island. While gone, Duarte searched for support in Colombia and Venezuela, but was unsuccessful. Upon returning to Haiti, Hérard, a mulatto, faced a rebellion by blacks in Port-au-Prince. The two regiments of Dominicans were among those used by Hérard to suppress the uprising.[4]
In December 1843 the rebels told Duarte to return since they had to act quickly because they were afraid the Haitians had learned of their insurrection plans. When Duarte had not returned by February, because of illness, the rebels decided to take action anyway with the leadership of Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, Ramón Matías Mella, and Pedro Santana, a wealthy cattle-rancher from El Seibo who commanded a private army of peons who worked on his estates.
War of Independence
Duarte, briefly a member of the governing junta, for a time commanded an armed force as well. He was temperamentally unsuited for generalship, however, and the junta eventually replaced him with General José María Imbert.
One of the three main leaders of the Trinitaria movement that ignited the war in 1844 was army General Francisco Sánchez.
Other of the three main leaders of the Trinitaria movement that ignited the war in 1844 was army General Ramón Mella, but he and the other Trinitarians soon lost political control to General Pedro Santana, who commanded the army's victories in the field.
On February 27, 1844, some 100 Dominicans seized the fortress of Puerta del Conde in the city of Santo Domingo, and the following day the Haitian garrison surrendered.[4] As these Haitian troops withdrew to the west side of the island, they pillaged and burned.[4] Mella headed the provisional governing junta of the new Dominican Republic. On March 14, Duarte finally returned after recovering from his illness and was greeted in celebration. Haitian Commander, Charles Rivière-Hérard, sent three columns totaling 30,000 men to crush the Dominican uprising.[6] In the south, Hérard was checked by Dominican forces led by Pedro Santana at Azua on March 19. In the north, General Jean-Louis Pierrot and 15,000 Haitians were repelled in an attack on Santiago by the garrison commanded by José María Imbert.[6] As the Haitians retreated, they laid waste to land.[4]
Meanwhile, at sea, the Dominican schooners Maria Chica (3 guns), commanded by Juan Bautista Maggiolo, and the Separación Dominicana (5 guns), commanded by Juan Bautista Cambiaso, defeated a Haitian brigantine Pandora (unk guns) plus schooners Le signifie (unk guns) and La Mouche (unk guns) off Tortuguero on April 15.[4]
On June 17, 1845, the Dominicans, only a little over a year after winning independence from Haiti, invaded their former master in retaliation for Haitian border raids.[6] The invaders captured two towns on the Plateau du Centre and established a bastion at Cachimán.[6] Haitian President Jean-Louis Pierrot quickly mobilized his army and counterattacked on July 22, driving the invaders from Cachimán and back across the frontier.[1] In the first significant naval action between the Hispaniolan rivals, a Dominican squadron captured 3 small Haitian warships and 149 seamen off Puerto Plata on December 21.[1]
On March 9, 1849, President Faustin Soulouque of Haiti led 10,000 troops in an invasion of the Dominican Republic. Dominican General (and presidential contender) Santana raised 6,000 soldiers and, with the help of several gunboats, routed the Haitian invaders at El Número on April 17 and at Las Carreras[7] on April 21–22.[8] In November 1849, a small naval campaign was undertaken in which Dominican government schooners captured Anse-à-Pitres and one or two other villages on the southern coast of Haiti, which were sacked and burned by the Dominicans.[9] The Dominicans also captured Dame-Marie, which they plundered and set on fire.[10]
By late 1854 the Hispaniolan nations were at war again. In November, 2 Dominican ships captured a Haitian warship and bombarded two Haitian ports.[1] In November 1855, Soulouque, having proclaimed himself Emperor Faustin I of a Haitian empire which he hoped to expand to include the Dominican Republic, invaded his neighbor again, this time with a ravaging and looting army of 30,000 men marching in three columns.[1] But again the Dominicans proved to be superior soldiers, defeating Soulouque's army, which vastly outnumbered them.[11]
Notes
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Clodfelter 2017, p. 302.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Knight 2014, p. 198.
Jump up ^ Marley 2005, p. 98.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Scheina 2003.
Jump up ^ The members of La Trinitaria.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Clodfelter 2017, p. 301.
Jump up ^ The battle opened with a cannon barrage and devolved into a hand-to-hand bloodbath. Neither side took prisoners.
Jump up ^ As the remnants of the Haitian army retreated along the southern coastal road, they were under fire from a small Dominican squadron. The Haitians hastily burned the town of Azua and the hamlets of Neiba, San Juan, and Las Matas.
Jump up ^ Schoenrich 1918.
Jump up ^ Léger 1907, p. 202.
Jump up ^ It was the last Haitian invasion, but Haiti did not formally recognize the independence of the Dominican Republic until 1874.
References
Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). McFarland.
Schoenrich, Otto (1918). Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future. Library of Alexandria.
Marley, David (2005). Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
Scheina, Robert L. (2003). Latin America's Wars. Potomac Books.
Knight, Franklin W. (2014). The Modern Caribbean. UNC Press Books.
Léger, Jacques Nicolas (1907). Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors. The Neale Publishing Company.
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text:
Prehistoric technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
It has been suggested that Ancient technology be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2015.
Main article: History of technology
A reconstruction of a Neanderthal male from the Neanderthal Museum
Prehistoric technology is technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past using written records. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is prehistoric, including earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they may have used to start fires, hunt, and bury their dead.
There are several factors that made the evolution of prehistoric technology possible or necessary. One of the key factors is behavioral modernity of the highly developed brain of Homo sapiens capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. The advent of agriculture resulted in lifestyle changes from nomadic lifestyles to ones lived in homes, with domesticated animals, and land farmed using more varied and sophisticated tools. Art, architecture, music and religion evolved over the course of the prehistoric periods.
Contents
[hide]
1 Old World
1.1 Stone Age
1.1.1 Lower Paleolithic
1.1.2 Middle Paleolithic
1.1.3 Upper Paleolithic Revolution
1.1.4 Mesolithic period
1.1.5 Neolithic Revolution
1.2 Bronze Age
1.3 Iron Age
2 New World
2.1 Lithic
2.2 Archaic
2.3 Formative
3 Gallery
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
Old World[edit]
Human timeline
view • discuss • edit
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Human-like
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Ouranopithecus
Sahelanthropus
Orrorin
Ardipithecus
Australopithecus
Homo habilis
Homo erectus
Neanderthal
Homo sapiens
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Earlier apes
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Separation from gorillas
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Possibly bipedal
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Separation from chimpanzees
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Earliest bipedal
←
Earliest stone tools
←
Earliest exit from Africa
←
Earliest fire use
←
Earliest in Europe
←
Earliest cooking
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Earliest clothes
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Modern speech
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Modern humans
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Axis scale: millions of years.
Also see: Life timeline and Nature timeline
Stone Age[edit]
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used in the manufacture of implements with a sharp edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted roughly 2.5 million years, from the time of early hominids to Homo sapiens in the later Pleistocene era, and largely ended between 6000 and 2000 BCE with the advent of metalworking.[citation needed]
The Stone Age lifestyle was that of hunter-gatherers who traveled to hunt game and gather wild plants, with minimal changes in technology. As the last glacial period of the current ice age neared its end (about 12,500 years ago), large animals like the mammoth and bison antiquus became extinct and the climate changed. Humans adapted by maximizing the resources in local environments, gathering and eating a wider range of wild plants and hunting or catching smaller game. Domestication of plants and animals with early stages in the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) Mesolithic and New World (American continent) Archaic periods led to significant changes and reliance on agriculture in the Old World Neolithic and New World Formative stage. The agricultural life led to more settled existences and significant technological advancements.[1][nb 1]
Although Paleolithic cultures left no written records, the shift from nomadic life to settlement and agriculture can be inferred from a range of archaeological evidence. Such evidence includes ancient tools,[2] cave paintings, and other prehistoric art, such as the Venus of Willendorf. Human remains also provide direct evidence, both through the examination of bones, and the study of mummies. Though concrete evidence is limited, scientists and historians have been able to form significant inferences about the lifestyle and culture of various prehistoric peoples, and the role technology played in their lives.[citation needed]
Lower Paleolithic[edit]
The Lower Paleolithic period was the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the Oldowan ("mode 1") and Acheulean ("mode 2") lithic technology.[citation needed]
Early human (hominid) used stone tool technology, such as a hand axe that was similar to that used by primates, which are found to have intelligence levels of modern children aged 3 to 5 years. Intelligence and use of technology did not change much for millions of years. The first "Homo" species began with Homo habilis about 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago.[3] Homo habilis ("handy man') created stone tools called Oldowan tools.[4][5][6] Homo ergaster lived in eastern and southern Africa about 2.5 to 1.7 million years ago and used more diverse and sophisticated stone tools than its predecessor, Homo habilis, including having refined the inherited Oldowan tools and developed the first Acheulean bifacial axes.[7]
Homo erectus ("upright man") lived about 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago in West Asia and Africa and is thought to be the first hominid to hunt in coordinated groups, use complex tools, and care for infirm or weaker companions.[8][9] Homo antecessor the earliest hominid in Northern Europe lived from 1.2 million to 800,000 years ago and used stone tools.[10][11] Homo heidelbergensis lived between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago and used stone tool technology similar the Acheulean tools used by Homo erectus.[12]
European and Asian sites dating back 1.5 million years ago seem to indicate controlled use of fire by Homo erectus. A northern Israel site from about 690,000 to 790,000 years ago suggests that man could light fires.[13] Homo heidelbergensis may have been the first species to bury their dead about 500,000 years ago.[14]
Middle Paleolithic[edit]
The Middle Paleolithic period occurred in Europe and the Near East, during which the Neanderthals lived (c. 300,000–28,000 years ago). The earliest evidence (Mungo Man) of settlement in Australia dates to around 40,000 years ago when modern humans likely crossed from Asia by island-hopping. The Bhimbetka rock shelters exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India, some of which are approximately 30,000 years old.[citation needed]
Homo neanderthalensis used Mousterian Stone tools that date back to around 300,000 years ago[15] and include smaller, knife-like and scraper tools.[citation needed] They buried their dead in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones, although the reasons and significance of the burials are disputed.[16][17]
Homo sapiens, the only living species in the Homo genus, originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. As compared to their predecessors, Homo sapiens had greater mental capability and ability to walk erect, which provided freed hands for manipulating objects and far greater use of tools.[18] There was art created during this period. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, may be one of the earliest detectable forms of religious practice since it may signify a "concern for the dead that transcends daily life."[19] The earliest undisputed human burial so far dates back 130,000 years. Human skeletal remains stained with red ochre were discovered in the Skhul cave at Qafzeh, Israel with a variety of grave goods.[20]
Upper Paleolithic Revolution[edit]
During the Upper Paleolithic Revolution, advancements in human intelligence and technology changed radically with the advent of Behavioral modernity between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago.[3] Behavioral modernity is a set of traits that distinguish Homo sapiens from extinct hominid lineages. Homo sapiens reached full behavior modernity around 50,000 years ago due to a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving.[18][21]
Aurignacian tools, such as stone bladed tools, tools made of antlers, and tools made of bones were created during this period.[22] People began creating clothing. What appear to be sewing needles were found around 40,000 years ago and[23] dyed flax fibers dated 36,000 BP were found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia.[24][25] Human beings may have begun wearing clothing as far back as 190,000 years ago.[26]
Cultural aspects emerged, such as art of the Upper Paleolithic period, which included cave painting, sculpture such as the Venus figurines, carvings and engravings of bone and ivory. The most common subject matter was large animals that were hunted by the people of the time. The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain and Côa Valley Paleolithic Art are examples of such artwork. Musical instruments such as flutes emerged during this period.[citation needed]
Mesolithic period[edit]
The Mesolithic period was a transitional era between the Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, beginning with the Holocene warm period around 11,660 BP and ending with the Neolithic introduction of farming, the date of which varied in each geographical region. Adaptation was required during this period due to climate changes that affected environment and the types of available food.[citation needed]
Small stone tools called microliths, including small bladelets and microburins, emerged during this period.[27] For instance, spears or arrows were found at the earliest known Mesolithic battle site at Cemetery 117 in the Sudan.[28] Holmegaard bows were found in the bogs of Northern Europe dating from the Mesolithic period.[29]
Neolithic Revolution[edit]
The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution, representing a transition from hunting and gathering nomadic life to an agriculture existence. It evolved independently in six separate locations worldwide circa 10,000–7000 years BP (8,000–5,000 BC). The earliest known evidence exists in the tropical and subtropical areas of southwestern/southern Asia, northern/central Africa and Central America.[30]
There are some key defining characteristics. The Introduction of agriculture resulted in a shift from nomadic to more sedentary lifestyles,[31] and the use of agricultural tools such as the plough, digging stick and hoe (tool) made agricultural labor more efficient.[citation needed] Animals were domesticated, including dogs.[30][31] Another defining characteristic of the period was the emergence of pottery,[31] and, in the late Neolithic period, the wheel was introduced for making pottery.[32]
Neolithic architecture included houses and villages built of mud-brick and wattle and daub and the construction of storage facilities, tombs and monuments.[33] Copper metalworking was employed as early as 9000 BC in the Middle East;[34] and a copper pendant found in northern Iraq dated to 8700 BC.[35] Ground and polished stone tools continued to be created and used during the Neolithic period.[31]
Numeric record keeping evolved from a system of counting using small clay tokens that began in Sumer about 8000 BC.[36]
Bronze Age[edit]
A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade.
The Stone Age developed into the Bronze Age after the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution involved radical changes in agricultural technology which included development of agriculture, animal domestication, and the adoption of permanent settlements.[citation needed]
The Bronze Age is characterised by metal smelting of copper and its alloy bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, to create implements and weapons. Polished stone tools continued to be used due to their abundance compared with the less common metals (especially tin).[citation needed]
This technological trend apparently began in the Fertile Crescent, and spread outward.[citation needed]
Iron Age[edit]
An axehead made of iron, dating from Swedish Iron Age.
The Iron Age involved the adoption of iron or steel smelting technology, either by casting or forging. Iron replaced bronze,[37][38] and made it possible to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and cheaper to make than bronze equivalents.[39] The best tools and weapons were made from steel.[40]
Other societal changes often accompanied the introduction of iron, including practice changes in art, religion and agriculture. The Iron Age ends with the beginning of the historic periods, generally marked by the development of written language that enabled creation of historic records.[38][40]
The timing of the adoption of iron depended upon "the availability of iron ore and the state of knowledge".[37][38] Iron was smelted in Egypt about 6000 B.C. and iron replaced bronze in the Middle East about 1500 B.C. Chinese began casting iron about 5000 B.C. and their methods for casting iron was the precursor to modern steel manufacturing methods. Most of Asia, however, did not adopt production of iron until the historic period.[37]
In Europe, iron was introduced about 1100 B.C. and had replaced bronze for creating weapons and tools by 500 B.C. They made iron through the forging smelting process and integrated casting in the Middle Ages.[37] Large hill forts or oppida were built either as a refuge in time of war, or sometimes as permanent settlements. Agricultural practices were made more efficient with more effective and varied iron tools.[41] In Europe, the Iron Age is the last prehistoric period and is followed by the Middle Ages.[42]
Iron was extracted from metal ore starting about 2000 B.C. in Africa.[37]
New World[edit]
Main article: Archaeology of the Americas
The New World, or American, periods began with the crossing of the Paleo-Indians, Athabaskan, Aleuts and Eskimos along the Bering Land Bridge onto the North American continent.[43]
The Paleo-Indians were the first people who entered, and subsequently inhabited, the American continent during the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period. Evidence suggests big-game hunters crossed the Bering Strait from Asia into North America over a land and ice bridge (Beringia), that existed between 45,000 BCE – 12,000 BCE,[44] following herds of large herbivores far into Alaska.[45]
In their book, Method and Theory in American Archaeology, Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips defined five cultural stages for the Americas, including the three prehistoric Lithic, Archaic and Formative stages. The historic stages are the Classic and Post-Classic stages.[46][47]
Lithic[edit]
The Lithic period occurred from 12,000 to 6,000 years before present and included the Clovis, Folsom and Plano cultures.[47] Clovis culture was considered the first culture to use projectile points to hunt on the North American continent. Since then, a pre-Clovis site was found in Manis, Washington that found use of projectile points to hunt mastodons.[48]
Archaic[edit]
The Archaic period in the Americas was dated from 8,000 to 2,000 years before present.[47] People were hunters of small game, such as deer, antelope and rabbits, and gatherers of wild plants, moving seasonally to hunting and gathering sites. Late in the Archaic period, about 200-500 A.D., corn was introduced into the diet and pottery-making became an occupation for storing and caring food.[49]
Formative[edit]
The Formative stage followed the Archaic period in the Americas and continued until there was contact by European people. Some of the cultures from that period include that of the Ancient Pueblo People, Mississippian culture and Olmec cultures.[47]
Cultures of the Formative Stage are supposed to possess the technologies of pottery, weaving, and developed food production. Social organization is supposed to involve permanent towns and villages, as well as the first ceremonial centers. Ideologically, an early priestly class or theocracy is often present or in development.[50]
Gallery[edit]
Reconstruction of how Homo erectus may have looked
Model of a male Homo antecessor of Atapuerca mountains (Ibeas Museum, Burgos, Spain)
Reconstruction of Homo heidelbergensis
Fire started using a bow drill
Selection of prehistoric tools
Aurochs on a cave painting in Lascaux, France
See also[edit]
List of prehistoric artworks
Paleolithic
Timeline of human prehistory
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ During the Paleolithic Age, archaic humans had a lifestyle which involved limited use of tools and few permanent settlements. The first major technologies, then, were tied to survival, hunting, and food preparation in this environment. Fire, stone tools and weapons, and clothing were technological developments of major importance during this period. Stone Age cultures developed music, and engaged in organized warfare. A subset of Stone Age humans, including Ngaro Aborigines, developed ocean-worthy outrigger canoe technology, leading to an eastward migration across the Malay archipelago, across the Indian ocean to Madagascar and also across the Pacific Ocean, which required knowledge of the ocean currents, weather patterns, sailing, celestial navigation, and star maps. The early Stone Age is described as Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic. The former is generally used to describe the early Stone Age in areas with limited glacial impact. The later Stone Age, during which the rudiments of agricultural technology were developed, is called the Neolithic period. During this period, polished stone tools were made from a variety of hard rocks such as flint, jade, jadeite and greenstone, largely by working exposures as quarries, but later the valuable rocks were pursued by tunnelling underground, the first steps in mining technology. The polished axes were used for forest clearance and the establishment of crop farming, and were so effective as to remain in use when bronze and iron appeared.[citation needed]
References[edit]
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Further reading[edit]
Fagan, Brian; Shermer, Michael; Wrangham, Richard. (2010). Science & Humanity: From Past to the Future. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Karlin, C.; Julien, M. Prehistoric technology: a cognitive science? University of Washington.
Klein, Richard. (2009). The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins, Third Edition.
Palmer, Douglas. (1999). Atlas of the Prehistoric World. Discovery Channel Books.
Schick, Kathy Diane. (1994). Making Silent Stones Speak: Human Evolution and the Dawn of Technology.
Tudge, Colin. (1997). The Time Before History: 5 Million Years of Human Impact. Touchstone.
Wescott, David. (2001). Primitive Technology:A Book of Earth Skills.
Wescott, David. (2001). Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skill - From the Society of Primitive Technology.
Wrangham, Richard. (2010). Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human. Basic Books; First Trade Paper Edition.
Zimmer, Carl. (2007). Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins. Harper Perennial.
External links[edit]
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