Organic Society

The 14th century Islamic scholar Ibn Khaldun concluded that societies are living organisms that experience cyclic birth, growth, maturity, decline, and ultimately death due to universal causes several centuries before the Western civilisation developed the science of sociology. Nonetheless, theories of social and cultural evolution were common in modern European thought. Prior to the 18th century, Europeans predominantly believed that societies on Earth were in a state of decline. European society held up the world of antiquity as a standard to aspire to, and Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome produced levels of technical accomplishment which Europeans of the Middle Ages sought to emulate. At the same time, Christianity taught that people lived in a debased world fundamentally inferior to the Garden of Eden and Heaven. During The Age of Enlightenment, however, European self-confidence grew and the notion of progress became increasingly popular. It was during this period that what would later become known as "sociological and cultural evolution" would have its roots.

Historical significance of writing systems

Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history defined by the advent of writing. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of prehistoric peoples can be considered precursors of writing, but are not considered writing because they did not represent language directly.

Writing systems always develop and change based on the needs of the people who use them. Sometimes the shape, orientation and meaning of individual signs also changes over time. By tracing the development of a script it is possible to learn about the needs of the people who used the script as well as how it changed over time.

Breeding back

Breeding back can be described as either a natural or a human attempt to assemble or re-assemble the genes of an extinct subspecies or of a domesticated breed, which may still be present in the larger gene pool of the overall species or other interbreedable species.

In Domestic animals breeding back has occurred with the Utonagan and the Northern Inuit dogs in an attempt to recreate the 'wolf-look' without actually cross breeding with wolves. Other selectively bred examples of breeding back include that of the aurochs, the extinct forerunner of domestic cattle. The product of these attempts is called the Heck cattle. Another prominent breeding back effort is the Quagga Project to bring back the extinct subspecies of the Plains Zebra called Quagga. The Heck horse, a phenotypic copy of the tarpan has also been produced, although it lacks the upright manes.

Breeding back is controversial, especially claims that an extinct animal has been recreated. Phenotypical reconstruction (similar appearance) does not assure behavioral similarity. For some of the species that are being bred back, questions remain about the ecological niche, hardiness, and disease resistance of the original species. For instance, the aurochs died out almost 400 years ago and the records kept cannot definitively answer some of these questions.

Side-sword

A side-sword was a type of war sword used by infantry during the Renaissance of Europe. This sword was a direct descendant of the arming sword. Quite popular between the 16th and 17th centuries, they were ideal for handling the mix of armored and unarmored opponents of that time. Early versions look very much like an arming sword with an ornate hilt and ricasso. A new technique of placing ones finger on the ricasso to improve the grip (a practice that would continue in the rapier) led to the production of hilts with a guard for the finger. The term is a recently-coined calque of the Italian spada da lato and will not be found in any actual sources from the 16th or 17th centuries.

This sword design eventually led to the development of the civilian rapier, but it was not replaced by it, and the Side-sword continued to be used during the rapier's lifetime. As it could be used for both cutting and thrusting, the term cut and thrust sword is sometimes used interchangeably with side-sword. Also of note is that as rapiers became more popular, attempts were made to hybridize the blade, sacrificing the effectiveness found in each unique weapon design. These are still considered side-swords and are sometimes labeled sword rapier or cutting rapier by modern collectors. See European dueling sword for further history.

Also of note, side-swords used in conjunction with bucklers became so popular that it caused the term swashbuckler to be coined. This word stems from the new fighting style of the side-sword and buckler which was filled with much "swashing and making a noise on the buckler".