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vulture

(Encyclopedia)vulture, common name for large birds of prey of temperate and tropical regions. The Old World vultures (family Accipitridae) are allied to hawks and eagles; the more ancient American vultures and cond...

tapir

(Encyclopedia)tapir tāˈpər [key], nocturnal, herbivorous mammal, genus Tapirus, of the jungles of Central and South America and SE Asia. The tapir is somewhat piglike in appearance; however, it is not related to...

Anthropocene

(Encyclopedia)Anthropocene Epoch, an unofficial term used by scientists to describe a period of time—up to the present—in which humanity has impacted the planet on a global scale. The phrase was fir...

Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the

(Encyclopedia)Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the, study of the origins of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas. Archaeologists believe humans had entered and occupied much of the Americas by the end of the...

atlatl

(Encyclopedia)atlatl ätˈlätəl [key] [Nahuatl], device used to throw a spear with greater propulsion. Atlatls began to be used in the Americas in the post-Pleistocene period and were eventually replaced by the b...

Dawkins, Sir William Boyd

(Encyclopedia)Dawkins, Sir William Boyd, 1837–1929, English geologist and archaeologist. He was a member (1861–69) of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, curator (1870–90) of the Manchester Museum, and pr...

Quiriguá

(Encyclopedia)Quiriguá kērēgwäˈ, kērēwäˈ [key], city of the Classic epoch of the Maya, E Guatemala. It is famous for its zoomorphics. Its stone steles have fine hieroglyphs. Near the ruins the United Fruit...

Calbuco

(Encyclopedia)Calbuco, active volcano, 6,570 ft (2,003 m), Llanquihue prov., S central Chile, in the Andes on SE shore of Lake Llanquihue, 20 mi (32 km) NE of Puerto Montt. An explosive stratovolcano, Calbuco under...

period, in geologic time

(Encyclopedia)period, unit of time on the geologic timescale. Periods are shorter than an era and longer than an epoch. Periods are of variable length, generally lasting tens of millions of years, with characterist...

Villarrica volcano, Chile

(Encyclopedia)Villarrica vēˌyärēˈkä [key], active volcano, 9,338 ft (2,847 m), Cautín prov., S central Chile, in the Andes on the SE shore of Lake Villarrica, 60 mi (97 km) SE of Temuco. It is protected by V...

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