Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) pipe smoking. The habit of smoking various substances probably arose independently in different parts of the world. Herodotus in the 5th cent. b.c. describes the Scythians as inhaling the fumes of bur...

(Encyclopedia) Chavín de Huántar chävēnˈ dā wänˈtär [key], archaeological site in the northeastern highlands of Peru, near the headwaters of the Marañon River. It flourished between c.900 b.c. and 200 b.c....

(Encyclopedia) Stenness, Loch of stĕnĕsˈ, Orcadian stānĭsˈ [key], lake on Mainland island, in the Orkneys, off N Scotland. A headland between Harray and Stenness lochs holds the Standings Stones of Stenness, a...

(Encyclopedia) Ronstadt, Linda (Linda Maria Ronstadt), 1946–, American singer, b. Tucson, Ariz. She is known for the clarity and strength of her soprano voice and for the range of song genres in which she performe...

(Encyclopedia) Andre, Carl änˈdrā [key], 1935–, American sculptor, b. Quincy, Mass. A student of Patrick Morgan and associate of Frank Stella, Andre produces sculptures of elemental form and abstract monumental...

(Encyclopedia) Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, c.13,500 sq mi (35,000 sq km; roughly the size of Belgium), the largest multinational park in S Africa and one of the largest parks in the world, in NE South Africa, ...

(Encyclopedia) Great Wall of China, series of fortifications, c.3,890 mi (6,260 km) long (not including trenches and natural defensive barriers), winding across N China from Gansu prov. to Liaoning prov. The wall, r...

(Encyclopedia) John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

(Encyclopedia) Scorsese, Martin skôrsāˈzē, –sĕzˈē [key], 1942–, American film director; b...

(Encyclopedia) Oceanic art, works produced by the island peoples of the S and NW Pacific, including Melanesia (New Guinea and the islands to its north and east), Micronesia (Mariana, Caroline, Marshall, and Gilbert ...