title: Bering Strait crossing

text: If the crossing is chosen as a bridge, it would probably connect Wales, Alaska, to a location south of Uelen. The bridge would also likely be divided by the Diomede Islands, which are at the middle of the Bering Strait.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 1994, Lin estimated the cost of a bridge to be "a few billion" dollars. The roads and railways on each side were estimated to cost $50 billion. Lin contrasted this cost to petroleum resources "worth trillions". Discovery Channel's "Extreme Engineering" estimates the cost of a highway, electrified double-track high-speed rail, and pipelines at $105 billion (in 2007 US dollars), five times the original cost of the 1994 Channel Tunnel.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: This excludes the cost of new roads and railways to reach the bridge. Aside from the technical challenges of building two bridges or a more than tunnel across the strait, another major challenge is that, , there is nothing on either side of the Bering Strait to connect the bridge to.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: The Russian side of the strait, in particular, is severely lacking in infrastructure. No railways exist for over in any direction from the strait.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: The nearest major connecting highway is the M56 Kolyma Highway, which is currently unpaved and around from the strait. However, by 2042, the Anadyr Highway is expected to be completed connecting Ola and Anadyr, which is only about from the strait.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: On the U.S. side, an estimated of highways or railroads would have to be built around Norton Sound, through a pass along the Unalakleet River, and along the Yukon River to connect to Manley Hot Springs Road – in other words, a route similar to that of the Iditarod Trail Race. A project to connect Nome, from the strait, to the rest of Alaska by a paved highway (part of Alaska Route 2) has been proposed by the Alaskan state government, although the very high cost ($2.3 to $2.7 billion, about $5 million per mile, or $3 million per kilometer) has so far prevented construction.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 2016, the Alaskan road network was extended westwards by to Tanana, from the strait, by building a fairly simple road. The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities project was supported by local indigenous groups such as the Tanana Tribal Council.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: Another complicating factor is the different track gauges in use. Mainline rail in the US, Canada, China, and the Koreas uses standard gauge of 1435 millimeters. Russia uses the slightly broader Russian gauge of 1520 mm. <br>Solutions to this break of gauge include:


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: The TKMWorld Link also called "ICL-World Link" (Intercontinental link), was a planned 6,000-kilometer link between Siberia and Alaska to deliver oil, natural gas, electricity, and rail passengers to the United States from Russia. Proposed in 2007, the plan included provisions to build a tunnel under the Bering Strait, which, if built, would become the longest tunnel in the world, surpassing the Line 3 (Guangzhou Metro) tunnel. The tunnel would be part of a railway joining Yakutsk, the capital of the Russian republic of Yakutia, and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in the Russian Far East, with the western coast of Alaska. The Bering Strait tunnel was estimated to cost between $10 billion and $12 billion, while the entire project was estimated to cost $65 billion.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 2008, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved the plan to build a railway to the Bering Strait area, as a part of the development plan to run until 2030. The more than tunnel would run under the Bering Strait between Chukotka, in the Russian far east, and Alaska. The cost was estimated as $66 billion.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In late August 2011, at a conference in Yakutsk in eastern Russia, the plan was backed by some of President Dmitry Medvedev's top officials, including Aleksandr Levinthal, the deputy federal representative for the Russian Far East. It would be a faster, safer, and cheaper way to move freight around the world than container ships, supporters of the idea believed. They estimated it could carry about 3% of global freight and make about $7 billion a year. Shortly after, the Russian government approved the construction of the $65 billion Siberia-Alaska rail and tunnel across the Bering Strait.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: Other observers doubt that this will be cheaper than container ships, bearing in mind that the cost for transport from China to Europe by rail is higher than by container ship (except for expensive cargo where lead time is important).


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 2013, the Amur Yakutsk Mainline connecting the Yakutsk railway ( from the strait) with the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed. However, this railway is meant for freight and is too curvy for high-speed passenger trains. Future projects include the and Kolyma–Anadyr highway. The Kolyma–Anadyr highway has started construction, but will be a narrow gravel road.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 2014, reports emerged that China is considering construction of a US-Canada-Russia-China bullet train that would include a undersea tunnel crossing the Bering Strait and would allow passengers to travel between the United States and China in about two days.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: Although the press remains skeptical of the project, China's state-run "China Daily" claims that China possesses the necessary technology. It is unknown who is expected to pay for the construction, although China has in other projects offered to build and finance them, and expects the money back in the end through fees or rents.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: In 2015, another possible collaboration between China and Russia was reported, part of the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development, a transportation corridor across Siberia that would also include a road bridge with gas and oil pipelines between the easternmost point of Siberia and the westernmost point of Alaska. It would link London and New York by rail and superhighway via Russia if it were to go ahead.


title: Bering Strait crossing

text: China's Belt and Road Initiative has similar plans, so the project would work in parallel for both countries.


title: Body fluid

text: Body fluids, bodily fluids, or biofluids, sometimes body liquids, are liquids within the human body. In lean healthy adult men, the total body water is about 60% (60–67%) of the total body weight; it is usually slightly lower in women (52-55%). The exact percentage of fluid relative to body weight is inversely proportional to the percentage of body fat. A lean 70 kg (160 pound) man, for example, has about 42 (42–47) liters of water in his body.


title: Body fluid

text: The total body of water is divided into fluid compartments, between the intracellular fluid (ICF) compartment (also called space, or volume) and the extracellular fluid (ECF) compartment (space, volume) in a "two-to-one ratio": 28 (28–32) liters are inside cells and 14 (14–15) liters are outside cells.


title: Body fluid

text: The ECF compartment is divided into the interstitial fluid volume – the fluid outside both the cells and the blood vessels – and the intravascular volume (also called the vascular volume and blood plasma volume) – the fluid inside the blood vessels – in a "three-to-one ratio": the interstitial fluid volume is about 12 liters; the vascular volume is about 4 liters.


title: Body fluid

text: The interstitial fluid compartment is divided into the lymphatic fluid compartment – about 2/3, or 8 (6–10) liters, and the transcellular fluid compartment (the remaining 1/3, or about 4 liters).


title: Body fluid

text: The vascular volume is divided into the venous volume and the arterial volume; and the arterial volume has a conceptually useful but unmeasurable subcompartment called the effective arterial blood volume.


title: Body fluid

text: Body fluid is the term most often used in medical and health contexts. Modern medical, public health, and personal hygiene practices treat body fluids as potentially unclean. This is because they can be vectors for infectious diseases, such as sexually transmitted diseases or blood-borne diseases. Universal precautions and safer sex practices try to avoid exchanges of body fluids. Body fluids can be analyzed in medical laboratory in order to find microbes, inflammation, cancers, etc.


title: Body fluid

text: Clinical samples are generally defined as non-infectious human or animal materials including blood, saliva, excreta, body tissue and tissue fluids, and also FDA-approved pharmaceuticals that are blood products. In medical contexts, it is a specimen taken for diagnostic examination or evaluation, and for identification of disease or condition.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Louis XIII () is a cognac produced by Rémy Martin, a company headquartered in Cognac, France, and owned by the Rémy Cointreau Group. The name was chosen as a tribute to King Louis XIII of France, the reigning monarch when the Rémy Martin family settled in the Cognac region. He was the first monarch to recognize cognac as a category in its own right in the world of "eaux-de-vie".


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Louis XIII cognac is produced in the Grande Champagne region of Cognac, from the growing of the grapes to the distillation and aging of the "eaux-de-vie". The final blend is composed of up to 1,200 individual "eaux-de-vie" from Grande Champagne vineyards, ranging from at least 40 years to 100 years in age.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: The origins of Louis XIII cognac begin with the founding of the House in the Cognac region in the early 1700s. In 1841, after more than a century of producing cognac, Paul-Emile Rémy Martin assumed control of the business and began selling the House’s cognacs under the family name.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Paul-Emile broke from tradition and began bottling his cognacs rather than continuing to sell them by the barrel. In 1874, he began selling a blend of his best 100% Grande Champagne cognacs in an ornate decanter. While originally designated "Grande Champagne Very Old – Age Unknown", this particular blend and its decanter later became known as Louis XIII.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: The eaux-de-vie for Louis XIII are still exclusively sourced from the Grande Champagne "cru" of Cognac. This region in Cognac is distinguished for its limestone composition that is considered ideal for the grapes employed in the production of cognac. The ageing process takes place exclusively inside 100- to 150-year-old "tierçons", thin-walled French oak casks originally designed for maritime transport that are no longer being produced.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Since 1874, each generation of cellar master has selected the oldest and best eaux-de-vie for Louis XIII from the House’s cellars. As the cellar master may never taste the final blend for which some of these eaux-de-vie are intended, each cellar master must also carefully train a successor. The House's current cellar master, Baptiste Loiseau, joined as an apprentice to the previous cellar master, and then assumed the position of cellar master in 2014 at the age of 34.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: The concept for the decanter of Louis XIII originated in 1850, when Paul-Emile Rémy Martin came across a metal flask originally recovered from the site of the Battle of Jarnac (1569). He purchased the metal flask and registered the rights for its reproduction. In 1874, in honour of the House’s 150th anniversary, he designed a glass replica of the flask to use as the vessel for his best cognac. Today, each crystal decanter is handmade by French crystal manufacturers: Baccarat, Saint-Louis, and Cristallerie de Sèvres.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Louis XIII is bottled in several sizes: Classic (700 mL or 750 mL [USA]), Magnum (1.5 L or 1.75 L [USA]), Miniature (50 mL), Jeroboam (3 L), and Mathusalem (6 L) formats.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Rare Cask 43.8 was produced from a single cask with a higher alcohol content (43.8% ABV) than the other Louis XIII tierçons.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: Black Pearl was created as an homage to the origins of Louis XIII. The colour of the crystal was inspired by the original metal flask found at the site of the battle of Jarnac.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: L’Odyssée d’un Roi was released as a collaboration with three French luxury houses, Hermès, Puiforcat, and Saint-Louis. Hermès created a bespoke leather trunk, Puiforcat forged a white gold serving pipette, and Saint-Louis hand-blew and engraved a unique version of the decanter with a map of Louis XIII’s journey around the world. Only three were made, and were auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York, Hong Kong, and London, with the proceeds benefitting The Film Foundation’s preservation efforts.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: The Legacy is a direct collaboration between four generations of cellar masters. Offered in Magnum format, each is individually signed by the four cellar masters.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: In November 2015, Louis XIII partnered with actor John Malkovich and director Robert Rodriguez to create a film entitled "100 Years – The Movie You Will Never See", which will not be released until the year 2115, mirroring the 100 years it takes to create the final blend of Louis XIII cognac. The film highlights the uncertainty of the future and the variables that contribute to a single decanter of Louis XIII. The film is housed in a safe designed by Fichet-Bauche, kept at the Cellars of Louis XIII in Cognac, France, set to automatically open on 18 November 2115.


title: Louis XIII (cognac)

text: In November 2017, Louis XIII partnered with Pharrell Williams to create "100 Years – The Song We'll Only Hear If We Care" to be released in 2117. The song is a collaborative effort intended to draw attention to environmental issues and the unpredictability of the future. Pharrell’s track was recorded on a disc made out of clay from the chalky soil of Cognac, France, and played once for an audience of 100 in Shanghai, China. The disc was then locked in a specially designed Fichet-Bauche safe that protects it against everything except water from potential rising tides, which would dissolve the clay disc.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Joseph Hayden Thomas (born December 4, 1984) is an American former football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Wisconsin, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college interior lineman. The Browns chose Thomas with the third overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He was invited to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons and did not miss a single play in his career until the 2017 season (his final season in the NFL); his 10,363 consecutive snaps played is the longest streak since the NFL began recording snap counts in 1999. He is regarded as one of the best offensive linemen of all time.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin. His parents are Eric and Sally Thomas. He played youth soccer and was coached by John Tavares. He attended Brookfield Central High School, and played right tackle, defensive end, tight end, fullback, placekicker, and punter for the Brookfield Central Lancers high school football team. He was listed among the top 20 offensive tackles nationally, PrepStar All-American, second-team All-America offensive guard according to "USA Today", member of the "Detroit Free Press" All-Midwest team, "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" first-team all-state defensive lineman and second-team all-state offensive guard as a junior, and also received first-team all-state honors at defensive end from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and Associated Press. He was recognized as the WFCA 2002 Defensive Player of the Year. He had 85 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior. As a junior, he had 70 tackles and eight sacks. He was listed as the third best prospect in the state of Wisconsin in 2003.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Aside from his athletic prowess, Thomas performed well academically. He was a four-year honor roll student and a part of the U.S. Army Academic All-America team and played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was ranked as the No. 18 offensive tackle prospect in the class of 2003. Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, and Notre Dame vied for his recruitment before he signed his letter of intent to Wisconsin in January 2003.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: In track and field, Thomas set the school record for shot put and discus with throws of and . He lettered four times in track and field. He also holds the school indoor record in the shot put ().


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2003 to 2006. As a true freshman, he mostly saw action as a blocking tight end in the 2003 season. In 2004, he started all 12 games at left tackle, helping the Badgers' ground game with Anthony Davis and Matt Bernstein in the backfield.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: In 2005, Barry Alvarez's final season as the Badgers' head coach, he started all 13 games at left tackle and was named a first-team All-American by "Pro Football Weekly". He blocked for Brian Calhoun, who had an impressive year, racking up 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards. Thomas considered declaring for the 2006 NFL Draft, where he was projected among the top 15 picks (and projected as the second offensive lineman behind Virginia prospect D'Brickashaw Ferguson). The Badgers were invited to the Capital One Bowl against Auburn, where they prevailed 24–10. Unfortunately, Thomas tore his ACL playing defensive end because of injuries to other players at the position. The Badgers finished that season 10–3 with a #15 national ranking. Soon after the game, Thomas announced that he would be returning to Wisconsin for his final year.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: His senior season in 2006 began with high expectations. As the offensive captain, he started all 13 games and blocked for P. J. Hill, Jr., who recorded over 1,500 rushing yards. Following the regular season, Thomas won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman, and he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Thomas and the Badgers were again invited to the Capital One Bowl, this time against Arkansas. The Badgers prevailed over the Razorbacks by a score of 17–14 and finished the season 12–1.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: He also excelled at shot put for the Badgers' track and field team. He garnered national recognition for record-breaking performances in shot put and discus throw. He was a 2005 second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection, as he qualified for the 2004 and 2005 NCAA Regionals in the shot put and discus throw. He majored in business administration while at the University of Wisconsin.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: The Cleveland Browns drafted Thomas in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft with the third overall selection. Thomas spent the draft fishing on Lake Michigan with his father, father-in-law, and Joe Panos, who was also a standout offensive lineman at Wisconsin and is a former Brookfield resident. Thomas discovered he was drafted by the Browns via cell phone.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas signed a six-year contract worth $43 million, $23 million guaranteed, including a voidable year, with the Browns. Thomas won the starting left tackle job, with previous Browns left tackle Kevin Shaffer moving to right tackle. He made his NFL debut versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 and played every offensive snap for the Browns in 2007. Thomas quickly became one of the top-performing members of the 2007 draft class and was named the NFL's Rookie of the Month for November. Thomas was selected to the 2008 Pro Bowl, replacing Jason Peters of the Buffalo Bills. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas came in second in the voting for NFL Rookie of the Year. He was the only player to receive votes besides the eventual winner, Adrian Peterson.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: For the second consecutive season, Thomas started each game for the Browns. Thomas was selected to his second Pro Bowl. During the 2008 campaign, the Browns offensive line only allowed 19 sacks, which was tied for the third fewest in franchise history. Thomas played in every snap during the season, though the Browns finished the season with a 4–12 record.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas continued his role as a reliable presence for the Browns' offensive line in the 2009 season. He started all 16 games in another Pro Bowl season. For the first time as a professional, Thomas was named as a First-team All-Pro. The Browns finished with a 5–11 record.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: For the fourth consecutive season, Thomas started all 16 games for the Browns. However, the Browns once again finished with a 5–11 record. Thomas earned Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro honors once again. He was ranked 43rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: On August 22, 2011, Thomas and the Browns agreed to a record setting seven-year, $84 million extension with $44 million guaranteed. The deal was negotiated by his agent Peter Schaffer and Matt Thomas and Tom Heckert of the Browns.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: On December 27, 2011, Thomas was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl since the Browns drafted him. Since 1970, Thomas and Richmond Webb of the Miami Dolphins are the only NFL offensive linemen to make the Pro Bowl in each of their first five seasons. Thomas and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown are the only Browns players ever to be selected to the Pro Bowl for the first five seasons of their careers. Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly was the last Browns player to earn five or more consecutive invitations to the Pro Bowl. For the third consecutive season, he was named as a First-team All-Pro. He was ranked 82nd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas started all 16 games for the Browns for the sixth consecutive season. However, the Browns continued to struggle with a 5–11 record. On December 26, 2012, Thomas was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl. Thomas joined a short list of only 15 players who have made the Pro Bowl in each of their first six seasons in NFL history. He was selected for the All Pro 2nd Team by the Associated Press. He was ranked 28th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas continued to showcase his reliability and durability by starting all 16 games for the Browns once again. On December 27, 2013, Thomas was voted to his seventh straight Pro Bowl selection. Thomas joins Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only two Browns to make the Pro Bowl in their first seven seasons. Thomas on making his seventh straight Pro Bowl became one of only 11 players in NFL history to make it their first seven seasons. The list of other players who have done it and gone on to make the Hall of Fame includes Dick Butkus, Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Merlin Olsen, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor and Derrick Thomas. He earned First-team All-Pro honors for the fourth time in his career. He was ranked 18th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: In the 2014 season, Thomas started all 16 games of the Browns' 7–9 campaign. On December 23, 2014, Thomas made NFL history, becoming the only offensive lineman to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons. He earned First-team All-Pro honors for the fifth time. He was ranked 25th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas was once again one of the few bright spots in a dismal 3–13 season for the Browns. He started all 16 games and earned his ninth Pro Bowl nomination and sixth First-team All-Pro nomination. At the end of the 2015 season, Thomas was named the recipient of Pro Football Focus's "Bruce Matthews Award" for best offensive lineman in the league. He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: For the tenth straight season, Thomas started in all 16 games. He kept his Pro Bowl streak alive in 2016 being named to his 10th straight Pro Bowl, despite the Browns finishing with a league worst 1–15 record. He was ranked 25th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: In 2017, Thomas revealed that he had been experiencing early stage memory loss, but that he would not allow it to affect his career.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: On September 17, 2017, Thomas played his 10,000th consecutive snap since being drafted into the NFL, having never missed a single play. He is the first player to reach the milestone in NFL history. Thomas' iron man consecutive snap streak ended at 10,363 on October 22, 2017, when he injured his triceps while blocking the Tennessee Titans' Brian Orakpo. The next day, it was revealed that he suffered a torn triceps in his left arm, which prematurely ended his 2017 season as he was placed on injured reserve. On November 4, the Browns gave Thomas a raise in pay.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Despite retiring with a career record of 48 wins, 128 losses, and no playoff appearances, Thomas provided a bright spot on the often struggling Cleveland Browns, playing 10,363 consecutive snaps (the longest streak since snap counts were first recorded in 1999), being voted to ten Pro Bowls, six first-team All-Pro selections, and two second-team All-Pro selections during his 11 seasons. He has widely been regarded as one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history, particularly noted as one of the best left tackles. In April 2020, Thomas was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade team. Noted for his durability, quickness, and athleticism at left tackle, many attribute his legendary pass blocking skills to his unorthodox style, utilizing a "shot put" method to kick off the line. Of 6,680 pass blocking attempts, Thomas allowed only 30 sacks during his career. He was also known for rarely committing holding penalties. Thomas is the only offensive lineman in NFL history to be voted to ten consecutive Pro Bowls. He was chosen on NFL.com as the 7th greatest offensive tackle of all time, as well as the third greatest Cleveland Brown of all time. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2023.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas is an analyst for the NFL Network, appearing on pre-game and post-game "Thursday Night Football" shows. He now co-hosts a popular podcast, the "ThomaHawk Show", with fellow former NFL and Cleveland Browns player Andrew Hawkins. He also continues to do media work with the Browns organization, including game analysis and breakdowns with the “Cup of Joe” segments beginning with the 2020 season.


title: Joe Thomas (offensive tackle)

text: Thomas competed in season 2 of "The Titan Games" as a Central Division Titan. He was a 3-time undefeated Titan in the Central Division, but missed out on being the Central Champion. He was a guest on a 2021 episode of "In Depth with Graham Bensinger".


title: The Grudge 2

text: The Grudge 2 is a 2006 supernatural horror film and a sequel to the 2004 film "The Grudge." Produced by Sam Raimi, the film was directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco and stars an ensemble cast that includes Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Edison Chen, Sarah Roemer and Sarah Michelle Gellar. As stated by Shimizu, the film is not a remake of any Japanese film and follows a different storyline. Like its predecessor, the film features a plot that is told through a non-linear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots. The three main subplots include: Karen's younger sister Aubrey coming to Japan after finding out about Doug's death, a schoolgirl named Allison being haunted by the ghosts after entering the house with two of her classmates and a young boy named Jake whose apartment building is haunted by the ghosts of the Saeki family.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The film was announced after the release of the previous film in October 2004, due to its financial success. Shimizu was announced to return as director in January 2005 and casting begun on December, with the announcement of Gellar returning. The film was shot entirely in Japan, with Tamblyn performing re-shoots in Chicago, Illinois.


title: The Grudge 2

text: "The Grudge 2" was theatrically released in the United States on October 13, 2006, by Columbia Pictures. The film received generally negative reviews, and made over $70 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. A sequel, "The Grudge 3," was released direct-to-video on May 12, 2009, while a sidequel, "The Grudge", was theatrically released on January 3, 2020.


title: The Grudge 2

text: "The Grudge" is described as a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of extreme rage or sorrow. The curse is an entity created where the person died. Those who encounter this supernatural force die and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passing from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order, however, the film is presented in a nonlinear narrative.


title: The Grudge 2

text: In 2004, American social worker Karen Davis tried to burn down the Saeki house to stop the curse, but failed, finding herself hospitalised and haunted by Kayako. Karen's younger sister, Aubrey, goes to Tokyo to retrieve her. In Japan, Aubrey struggles to communicate with the hospital staff but a journalist named Eason aids her. Aubrey briefly speaks with Karen, who panics and has to be restrained. Karen is later killed by Kayako in front of Aubrey and Eason. Eason explains the curse to Aubrey, revealing he rescued Karen from the house fire and has been investigating the Saeki murders and surrounding events.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The two go to the house to retrieve Kayako's diary, but Toshio drags Aubrey inside to curse her. Eason takes the diary to an associate, who explains Kayako's mother, Nakagawa Kawamata, was an "itako" who exorcised evil spirits from visitors and fed them to her daughter. Eason and Aubrey make plans to visit Kawamata. As Eason develops photographs he took of the Saeki house, Kayako emerges from a photo and murders him. After discovering his body, Aubrey travels alone to Kawamata's remote rural home. Kawamata skeptically warns her the curse is irreversible before being killed by her daughter. Aubrey ventures to the house, following an image of Karen inside. She encounters Takeo's ghost, who reenacts the night he discovered his wife's disloyalty and snaps Aubrey's neck.


title: The Grudge 2

text: In 2006, school girls Allison Fleming, Vanessa Cassidy and Miyuki Nazawa break into the house on a dare, but Allison is locked in the closet and encounters a ghost resembling Kayako (revealed to be Aubrey at the end of the film) but the girls escape. After Miyuki and Vanessa are consumed by the curse, Allison speaks with school counsellor Ms. Dale about the curse, but Dale denies its existence, revealing she went to the house and is actually a ghost herself. Allison is haunted by the ghosts of her friends and she eventually flees back to Chicago, where she stays with her parents.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The Kimbles move into an apartment block in Chicago. A young boy named Jake is disturbed by a strange presence in the building brought about by a hooded stranger who covers windows with newspaper. Jake's father Bill and stepmother Trish are influenced by the curse, Bill accusing his wife of having an affair and she bludgeons him with a frying pan. Jake and his sister, Lacey, return from school, but Jake finds his family are all dead. He runs into the hooded person, revealed to be Allison, who explains the curse followed her. Kayako appears in Allison's hood, finally taking her and then emerges to assault Jake.


title: The Grudge 2

text: "The Grudge 2" was announced three days after the release of "The Grudge" in 2004 and was officially fasttracked after a positive box office response with the film grossing $110,175,871. In early January 2005, Shimizu suggested ideas regarding the film's plot. Ideas included the origin of the curse and new character subplots. The film was later placed into development hell for almost a year until December 2005, when the first few cast members were announced (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Teresa Palmer) . Other production details were also revealed, including the original scheduled date for principal photography, which was due to begin January 30, 2006, but was postponed until February.


title: The Grudge 2

text: Principal photography for "The Grudge 2" was held at Toho Studios in Tokyo, Japan and production wrapped up on April 25, 2006. During an interview on Dread Central with Amber Tamblyn, it was reported that sets were created in Chicago for Tamblyn to re-shoot several scenes.


title: The Grudge 2

text: Shimizu said in an interview with Sci Fi Wire, "For "The Grudge 2," I was going for this mystery that was never there in "The Grudge" and I think that's going to fulfill the audience. ... There's a secret about Kayako's childhood life, so that's part of the big mystery. And the other mystery is this grudge will never stop and it's going to ... spread. And how is it going to get spread? That's another mystery." He also clarified that ""The Grudge" was a complete remake of "," meaning the storyline was very similar. Basically, it's the same. But "Grudge 2" is actually different from "" and I don't think I would have accepted this job if it was going to be the same storyline. And because it was a different story, you know, my motivation was a bit higher and I actually enjoy doing this."


title: The Grudge 2

text: "The Grudge 2" premiered at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California on October 8, 2006. During the premiere, the theme park was open to the public and featured a "Grudge 2" maze as part of its 2006 Halloween Haunt.


title: The Grudge 2

text: Sony employed various methods to promote "The Grudge 2." On April 1, 2006, a teaser site was launched with details revealing the October 13 release date. Many forum sites such as IMDb were swamped with claims that Sony was playing an April Fool's joke. A few days later, the site's authenticity was proven and claims that it was a hoax were dismissed. On September 10, 2006, Sony released a missing persons file on its official blog stating a student filmmaker known as "Jason C" (Jason Cutler) disappeared a few weeks after visiting the set of the film. The blog originally broadcast interviews with the film's stars including Tamblyn, Gellar and Jenna Dewan but had been taken over by his roommate who filed the report. On September 19, 2006, Yahoo! Movies was the first site to release three short films titled "Tales from the Grudge" with an introduction from one of the producers of "The Grudge," Sam Raimi. The series of shorts expands on the story of the Saeki curse. The shorts also appear on the film's official site Sony Pictures Entertainment; fans who volunteered their mobile phone number received surprise calls from Kayako or Toshio. The films also became available on other film and horror-related websites as part of a wide-reaching and unique digital marketing strategy. The shorts were directed by Toby Wilkins (director of "The Grudge 3") and written by Ben Ketai.


title: The Grudge 2

text: "The Grudge 2" was released on DVD and UMD video for the PlayStation Portable on February 6, 2007. Both are available in a rated and unrated director's cut format. The unrated format is 6 minutes longer than the rated version, clocking in at 108 minutes as opposed to the theatrical cut which is 102 minutes. Both DVD formats include the following extras:


title: The Grudge 2

text: The movie was also made available on iTunes in October 2008. A Blu-ray Disc version of the film has yet to be released in the United States, having only received a Blu-ray in France on March 2, 2010, in a disc which is Region Locked, and a Blu-ray in the Netherlands on March 14, 2013, that is Region Free but missing the extras. Both contain the Unrated Cut.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The DVD sold $5,233,327 in its first week, much lower than the previous film's $9 million. In its second week of retail availability it sold a further $3,060,351 for a total of $8,293,678 within two weeks. It is estimated to have earned at least $15 million from home media sales since, bringing the film's total gross to $85 million.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The film opened in 3,211 theaters and was expected to generate $27 million across the October 13–15 weekend but generated $10,018,039 on its opening day and $20.8 million on its opening weekend. It placed number one at the box office, beating out "The Departed". The film showed poor staying power and earned $39.1 million in North America, making it the first ever film to open over $20 million yet gross less than 50% of its earnings after opening weekend. It also easily set the record for lowest gross of a $20 million opener. It earned an additional $30 million internationally. The movie made $70 million worldwide.


title: The Grudge 2

text: The film was one of three films not shown to critics on the release date (the other two being "The Marine" and "One Night with the King"). It received notably worse reviews from critics than its predecessor, with an approval rating of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes (76 reviews) compared to "The Grudge"s 40%. The site's consensus simply labels the film as "A diminished sequel that makes even less sense than "The Grudge 1"". Metacritic gave the film a score of 33/100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The film was criticized by several critics for its confusing plot. Keith Phipps from "The A.V. Club" wrote, "While "The Grudge 2" deserves some credit for creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere, it doesn't matter much when the plot doesn't go anywhere." Pete Vonder Haar from Film Threat found "[t]he same problems that plagued the original are on display here. Most notably, the lack of any coherent plot." Paul Debrudge from "Variety" stated, "The story is incidental, as auds merely anticipate the scares." Tim Goernert from Joblo "found it really hard to follow the story as well, as there were three of them happening at the same time." The film has also been criticized as being eye candy. Terry Lawson from the "Detroit Free Press" judged, ""The Grudge 2" is just a mélange of images, some mildly disturbing, but mostly just variations on a theme."


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Balinese Hinduism () is the form of Hinduism practised by the majority of the population of Bali. This is particularly associated with the Balinese people residing on the island, and represents a distinct form of Hindu worship incorporating local animism, ancestor worship or "Pitru Paksha", and reverence for Buddhist saints or "Bodhisattava".


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The population of Indonesian islands is predominantly Muslim (86%). The island of Bali is an exception where about 87% of its people identify as Hindu (about 1.7% of the total Indonesian population).


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Upon independence from the Dutch colonial rule, the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia guaranteed freedom of religion to all citizens. In 1952, states Michel Picard, an anthropologist and scholar of Balinese history and religion, the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs came under the control of conservatives who severely constrained an acceptable definition of a "religion". To be acceptable as an official Indonesian religion, the ministry defined "religion" as one that is monotheistic, has codified religious law and added several requirements.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Further, Indonesia denied rights of citizenship (such as the right to vote) to anyone not belonging to an officially recognized monotheistic religion. The minority Balinese Hindus adapted and declared their form of Hinduism to be monotheistic, and presented it in a form to be politically eligible for the status of "agama". As such, Balinese Hinduism has been formally recognized by the Indonesian government as one of the official religions practised in Bali.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as the first century CE. Historical evidence is unclear about the diffusion process of cultural and spiritual ideas from India. Java legends refer to Saka-era, traced to 78 CE. Stories from the "Mahabharata" have been traced in Indonesian islands to the 1st century, whose versions mirror those found in Tamil Nadu. The Javanese prose work "Tantu Pagelaran" of the 14th century, which is a collection of ancient tales, arts and crafts of Indonesia, extensively uses Sanskrit words, Indian deity names, and religious concepts.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Similarly, ancient "Chandis" (temples) excavated in Java and western Indonesian islands, as well as ancient inscriptions such as the 8th century Canggal inscription discovered in Indonesia, confirm the widespread adoption of Shiva lingam iconography, his companion goddess Parvati, Ganesha, Vishnu, Brahma, Arjuna, and other Hindu deities by about the middle to late 1st-millennium CE. Ancient Chinese records of Fa Hien on his return voyage from Ceylon to China in 414 CE mention two schools of Hinduism in Java, while Chinese documents from the 8th century refer to the Hindu kingdom of King Sanjaya as "Holing", calling it "exceedingly wealthy," and say that it coexisted peacefully with the Buddhist people and Sailendra ruler in the Kedu Plain of the Java island.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: About 1400 CE, the kingdoms on the Indonesian islands were attacked by coast-based Muslim armies. During the 15th and 16th centuries, this Muslim campaign led by Sultans targeted Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms and various communities in the Indonesian archipelago, with each Sultan trying to carve out a region or island for control.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Four diverse and contentious Islamic Sultanates emerged in north Sumatra (Aceh), south Sumatra, west and central Java, and southern Borneo (Kalimantan). The violence ended the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms and communities in many of the islands of Indonesia.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: In other cases, Hindus and Buddhists left and concentrated as communities on islands that they could defend. Hindus of western Java moved east and then to the island of Bali and the neighbouring small islands, thus starting Balinese Hinduism. While this era of religious conflict and inter-Sultanate warfare was unfolding, and new power centres were attempting to consolidate regions under their control, European colonialism arrived. The Indonesian archipelago was soon dominated by the Dutch colonial empire.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The Dutch colonial empire helped prevent inter-religious conflict, and it slowly began the process of excavating, understanding and preserving Indonesia's ancient Hindu-Buddhist cultural foundations, particularly in Java and the western islands of Indonesia.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Upon independence from Dutch colonial rule, Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia guaranteed freedom of religion to all its citizens. In 1952, states Michel Picard, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion came under the control of Islamists who severely constrained the acceptable definition of a "religion". To be acceptable as an official Indonesian religion, the ministry defined "religion" as one that is monotheistic, has codified religious law, possesses a prophet and a Holy Book, amongst other requirements. Balinese Hindus were declared as "people without a religion", and available to be converted. Balinese Hindus disagreed, debated, adapted, and declared their form of Hinduism to be monotheistic, and presented it in a form to be eligible for the status of "agama" under the 1952 amended articles.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: To accomplish this, the Balinese Hindus initiated a series of student and cultural exchange initiatives between Bali and India to help formulate the core principles behind Balinese Hinduism (Catur Veda, Upanishad, Puranas, Itihasa). In particular, the political self-determination movement in Bali in the mid-1950s led to the joint petition of 1958 which demanded the Indonesian government recognize Hindu Dharma. This joint petition quoted the following Sanskrit mantra from the Hindu scriptures:


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The petition's focus on the "undivided one" was to satisfy the constitutional requirement that Indonesian citizens have a monotheistic belief in one God. The petitioners identified Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa as the undivided one. In the Balinese language, this term has two meanings: "the Divine ruler of the Universe" and "the Divine Absolute Cosmic Law". This creative phrase met the monotheistic requirement of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion in the former sense, while the latter sense of its meaning preserved the central ideas of dharma in ancient scripts of Hinduism.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Bali became the only part of Indonesia to remain predominantly Hindu. The populations of the islands off the east coast of Bali are also mostly Hindu, and there are Hindu villages scattered near the eastern shore of Java.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Balinese Hinduism is an amalgamation of Hinduism and indigenous animist customs that existed in the Indonesian archipelago before the arrival of Hinduism.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: It integrates many of the core beliefs of Hinduism with the arts and rituals of the Balinese people. In contemporary times, Hinduism in Bali is officially referred to by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion as "Agama Hindu Dharma", but traditionally the religion was called by many names such as "Tirta, Trimurti, Hindu, Agama Tirta, Siwa, Buda," and "Siwa-Buda."


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The terms "Tirta" and "Trimurti" emanate from Indian Hinduism, corresponding to Tirtha (pilgrimage to spirituality near holy waters) and Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) respectively. As in India, Hinduism in Bali grew with flexibility, featuring a diverse way of life. It includes many Indian spiritual ideas, cherishes the legends and myths of the Indian "Puranas" and Hindu Epics, and expresses its traditions through a unique set of festivals and customs associated with a myriad of "hyangs" - the local and ancestral spirits, as well as forms of animal sacrifice that are not common in India.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The general beliefs and practices of "Agama Hindu Dharma" as practised in Bali are a mixture of ancient traditions and contemporary pressures placed by Indonesian laws that permit only monotheist belief under the national ideology of "panca sila".


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Traditionally, Hinduism in Indonesia had a pantheon of deities and that tradition of belief continues in practice; further, Hinduism in Indonesia granted freedom and flexibility to Hindus as to when, how and where to pray. However, officially, the Indonesian government considers and advertises Indonesian Hinduism as a monotheistic religion with certain officially recognized beliefs that comply with its national ideology.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Indonesian school textbooks describe Hinduism as having one supreme being, Hindus offering three daily mandatory prayers, and Hinduism as having certain common beliefs that in part parallel those of Islam. Scholars contest whether these Indonesian government recognized and assigned beliefs to reflect the traditional Balinese Hindu beliefs and practices before Indonesia gained independence from Dutch colonial rule.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The sacred texts found in "Agama Hindu Dharma" are the Vedas and Upanishads. They are the bases of Indian and Balinese Hinduism. Other sources of religious information include the Universal Hindu Puranas and the Itihasa (mainly Ramayana and the Mahabharata). The epics Mahabharata and Ramayana became enduring traditions among Indonesian believers, expressed in shadow puppets ("wayang") and dance performances. As in India, Indonesian Hinduism recognizes four paths of spirituality, calling it "Catur Marga". These are "bhakti mārga" (path of devotion to deities), "jnana mārga" (path of knowledge), "karma mārga" (path of works) and "raja mārga" (path of meditation). Bhakti Marga has the largest following in Bali.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Similarly, like Hindus in India, Balinese Hindus believe that there are four proper goals of human life, calling it "Catur Purusartha" - "dharma" (the pursuit of moral and ethical living), "artha" (the pursuit of wealth and creative activity), "kama" (the pursuit of joy and love) and "moksha" (the pursuit of self-knowledge and liberation).


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: In Balinese Hindu texts, the alternate tripartite concept of Shiva of Indian Shaivism is also found. This is usually referred in Balinese as "Siwa-Sadasiwa-Paramasiwa", where Shiva is the creator, the maintainer and the destroyer of cyclic existence.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Along with the traditional Hindu trinity, Balinese Hindus worship a range of gods and goddesses ("Hyang, Dewata" and "Batara-Batari"), as well others that are unique and not found in Indian Hinduism. Sang Hyang Widhi literally means "Divine Order", also known as Acintya ("Inconceivable") or Sang Hyang Tunggal ("Divine Oneness"), is the concept in Balinese tradition of Hinduism that parallels the metaphysical concept of Brahman among Indian Hindus. Ceremonies include an empty high-seated chair. It is also found at the top of the "Padmasana" shrine outside houses and temples. This is for Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa. According to Balinese Hindu precepts, there are many manifestations of Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in the form of gods such as Dewi Sri - the goddess of rice, and many other gods associated with mountains, lakes, and the sea.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The axiological ideas of Balinese Hinduism parallel those in Indian Hinduism. However, states Martin Ramstedt – a scholar of Hinduism in Southeast Asia, they are termed somewhat differently and passed on from one generation to the next as a community and at spiritual ceremonies. Unlike the Islamic schools in Indonesia and Hindu Ashrams in India, and in light of the official representation of Balinese Hinduism, the traditional precepts and values are acquired at home, rituals, and religious symbols.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: For example, the symbolism connected with the sprinkling of ""tirtha"", or holy water that bridges the material and the spiritual, this water is first sprinkled overhead and is understood as "purification of "manah" (mind)", then sipped to be understood as "purification of "wak" (speech)", and then sprinkled over the body symbolizing "purification of "kaya" (attitude and behaviour)". Thus, states Ngurah Nala, the younger generation becomes "acquainted with the ethical values embodied in the concept of "Tri Kaya Parisudha", or the attainment of a pure or good mind ("manacika"), pure or good speech ("wacika"), and pure conduct ("kayika")".


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: There are a total of thirteen ceremonies concerned with life from conception until, but not including, death, each of which has four elements: placation of evil spirits, purification with holy water, wafting of the essence, and prayer. These ceremonies mark major events in a person's life, including birth, puberty, grain feeding, and marriage.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: A newborn baby is believed to represent the soul of an ancestor and is regarded as a god for the first 42 days of its life. However, the mother is regarded as impure and is not allowed to participate in any religious activities during this period. A baby must not touch the impure ground until it is 105 days old, halfway to the celebration of its first birthday according to the 210-day Balinese "Pawukon" calendar. Once the child reaches puberty, the six upper canine teeth are filed until they are even.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The most important ceremonies take place after death and result in the soul being freed to be eventually reincarnated. Unlike the death rites of other religions, the physical body is not the focus, as it is seen as nothing more than a temporary container of the soul and fit only for expedient disposal. In fact, the body must be burned before the soul can leave it completely. The cremation ceremony to bring this about can be extremely expensive because an elaborate ceremony is a way of showing respect for a soul destined to become a god with considerable powers over those left behind. Therefore, bodies are sometimes temporarily buried until the family can accumulate enough funds for cremation, although the bodies of priests or high-class families are preserved above ground.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The most important festival is "Galungan" (related to Deepavali), a celebration of the triumph of "dharma" over "adharma". It is calculated according to the 210-day Balinese "Pawukon" calendar and takes place on the Wednesday ("Buda") of the eleventh week ("Dunggulan"). According to tradition, the spirits of the dead descend from Heaven, to return ten days later on "Kuningan".


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: "Nyepi", or the Day of Silence, makes the start of the Balinese "Saka" year and is marked on the first day of the 10th month, "Kedasa". It usually falls in March.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: "Watugunung", the last day of the "Pawukon calendar", is devoted to Saraswati, goddess of learning. Although it is devoted to books, reading is not allowed. The fourth day of the year is called "Pagerwesi", meaning "iron fence". It commemorates a battle between good and evil.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Balinese caste structure has been described in early 20th-century European literature to be based on three categories – "triwangsa" (three classes) or the nobility, "dwijati" (twice-born) in contrast to ekajati (once born) the common folks. Four statuses were identified in these sociological studies, spelled a bit differently from the caste categories for India:


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: The "Brahmana" caste was further subdivided by these Dutch ethnographers into two: "Siwa" and "Buda". The "Siwa" caste was subdivided into five – "Kemenuh, Keniten, Mas, Manuba," and "Petapan." This classification was to accommodate the observed marriage between higher caste "Brahmana" men with lower caste women. The other castes were similarly further sub-classified by these 19th-century and early-20th-century ethnographers based on numerous criteria ranging from profession, endogamy or exogamy or polygamy, and a host of other factors in a manner similar to "castas" in Spanish colonies such as Mexico, and caste system studies in British colonies such as India.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Bali has a caste system similar to the Indian system in its ancient form. In ancient India, caste was called "varna", meaning the colouring of the neutral or transparent soul or the propensity of the soul to behave according to certain tendencies based on its innate nature. Based on this propensity people selected their profession. Later this process through erosion became a family lineage/birth-based system. This same system has been adopted in Bali and it is called '"Wangsa"' which is related to the professions of the ancestors. However, even in Bali today, irrespective of the profession of the individual, they claim to belong to their family wangsa. There are four basic wangsa or professions, known collectively as "caturwangsa"—all Balinese belong to this group. The top three wangsa are "Brahmana", "Satria" (or "Ksatriya") and "Wesia" (or "Wesya"), represent nobility, and are known as "triwangsa". The fourth and most common wangsa is "Sudra".


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: These wangsa groups are subdivided, and each has certain names associated with it. The teachers and priests, "Brahmanans", have five subdivisions, and are said to be descended from one individual. Men and women have Ida as their first name. The "Ksatriya" are traditional rulers and warriors. Typical names of this wangsa are ""Dewa Agung"", ""Anak Agung"" and ""I Dewa"". The "Wesia", most of whom are called Gusti, are considered to have been merchants of different kinds. The most common wangsa in Bali in terms of numbers is "Sudra" since 90% of Balinese Hindus belong to it; they make up the common people as farmers and others. The "Pandes" or Blacksmiths have a special 'clan' that is not mentioned in the Catur Wangsa group but is considered especially important for its skilled works and being the smiths of fire, "Dewa" Agni or "Dewa" Brahma.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Under no circumstances may Balinese Hindus consume the flesh of human, cat, monkey, dog, crocodile, mouse, snake, frog, certain poisonous fish, leech, stinging insect, crow, eagle, owl, or any other bird of prey.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Chicken, fruit, vegetables and seafood are widely consumed. Hindus, especially those who belong to the varna (caste) of "Brahmin" and "Kshatriya", are forbidden to consume or even touch beef and rarely touch pork; additionally, they must not eat on the street or marketplace, drink alcohol, or taste offerings of such items.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: Balinese Hindus built Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkarta, the second largest temple in Indonesia after Pura Besakih in Bali, dedicated to Hindu Sundanese King Sri Baduga Maharaja Sang Ratu Jaya Dewata Prabu Siliwangi. Pura Aditya Jaya is the largest temple in Indonesian capital Jakarta.


title: Balinese Hinduism

text: At least four Balinese Hindu temples exist in Europe. A padmasana exists in Hamburg, Germany in front of the Museum of Ethnology, Hamburg. Pura Girinatha in Dili, Timor Leste, was built by Indonesian immigrants. The recently constructed Pura Tri Hita Karana is located in Erholungspark Marzahn park in Berlin, Germany. Two temples exist in the Pairi Daiza botanical garden in Belgium.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, also known as the Tripolye culture, is a Neolithic–Chalcolithic archaeological culture ( 5500 to 2750 BCE) of Eastern Europe.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: It extended from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions, centered on modern-day Moldova and covering substantial parts of western Ukraine and northeastern Romania, encompassing an area of , with a diameter of 500 km (300 mi; roughly from Kyiv in the northeast to Brașov in the southwest).


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The majority of Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements were of small size, high density (spaced 3 to 4 kilometres apart), concentrated mainly in the Siret, Prut and Dniester river valleys.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: During its middle phase (c. 4000 to 3500 BCE), populations belonging to the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture built the largest settlements in Neolithic Europe, some of which contained as many as three thousand structures and were possibly inhabited by 20,000 to 46,000 people.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: One of the most notable aspects of this culture was the periodic destruction of settlements, with each single-habitation site having a lifetime of roughly 60 to 80 years. The purpose of burning these settlements is a subject of debate among scholars; some of the settlements were reconstructed several times on top of earlier habitational levels, preserving the shape and the orientation of the older buildings. One location, the Poduri site in Romania, revealed thirteen habitation levels that were constructed on top of each other over many years.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: According to the archaeologist who discovered the culture, Vikentiy Khvoyka, the Trypillian civilization might have been the original ancestor of the Slavs, an idea still in dispute.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The culture was initially named after the village of Cucuteni in Iași County, Romania. In 1884, Teodor T. Burada, after having seen ceramic fragments in the gravel used to maintain the road from Târgu Frumos to Iași, investigated the quarry in Cucuteni from where the material was mined, where he found fragments of pottery and terracotta figurines. Burada and other scholars from Iași, including the poet Nicolae Beldiceanu and archeologists Grigore Butureanu, Dimitrie C. Butculescu and George Diamandy, subsequently began the first excavations at Cucuteni in the spring of 1885. Their findings were published in 1885 and 1889, and presented in two international conferences in 1889, both in Paris: at the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences by Butureanu and at a meeting of the Society of Anthropology of Paris by Diamandi.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: At the same time, the first Ukrainian sites ascribed to the culture were discovered by Vincenc Chvojka (Vikentiy Khvoyka), a Czech-born Ukrainian archeologist, in Kyiv at Kyrylivska street 55. The year of his discoveries has been variously claimed as 1893, 1896 and 1887. Subsequently, Vincenc Chvojka presented his findings at the 11th Congress of Archaeologists in 1897, which is considered the official date of the discovery of the Trypillia culture in Ukraine. In the same year, similar artifacts were excavated in the village of Trypillia (), in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. As a result, this culture became identified in Ukrainian publications (and later in Soviet Russia), as the 'Tripolie' (or 'Tripolye', from Russian Триполье), 'Tripolian' or 'Trypillia' culture.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Today, the finds from both Romania and Ukraine, as well as those from Moldova, are recognised as belonging to the same cultural complex. It is generally called the Cucuteni culture in Romania and the Trypillia culture in Ukraine. In English, "Cucuteni–Tripolye culture" is most commonly used to refer to the whole culture, with the Ukrainian-derived term "Cucuteni–Trypillia culture" gaining currency following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture flourished in the territory of what is now Moldova, eastern and northeastern Romania and parts of Western, Central and Southern Ukraine.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The culture thus extended northeast from the Danube river basin around the Iron Gates to the Black Sea and the Dnieper. It encompassed the central Carpathian Mountains as well as the plains, steppe and forest steppe on either side of the range. Its historical core lay around the middle to upper Dniester (the Podolian Upland). During the Atlantic and Subboreal climatic periods in which the culture flourished, Europe was at its warmest and moistest since the end of the last Ice Age, creating favorable conditions for agriculture in this region.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: As of 2003, about 3,000 cultural sites have been identified, ranging from small villages to "vast settlements consisting of hundreds of dwellings surrounded by multiple ditches".


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Traditionally separate schemes of periodization have been used for the Ukrainian Trypillia and Romanian Cucuteni variants of the culture. The Cucuteni scheme, proposed by the German archaeologist Hubert Schmidt in 1932, distinguished three cultures: Pre-Cucuteni, Cucuteni and Horodiștea–Foltești; which were further divided into phases (Pre-Cucuteni I–III and Cucuteni A and B). The Ukrainian scheme was first developed by Tatiana Sergeyevna Passek in 1949 and divided the Trypillia culture into three main phases (A, B, and C) with further sub-phases (BI–II and CI–II). Initially based on informal ceramic seriation, both schemes have been extended and revised since first proposed, incorporating new data and formalised mathematical techniques for artifact seriation.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is commonly divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods, with varying smaller sub-divisions marked by changes in settlement and material culture. A key point of contention lies in how these phases correspond to radiocarbon data. The following chart represents this most current interpretation:


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The roots of Cucuteni–Trypillia culture can be found in the Starčevo–Körös–Criș and Vinča cultures of the 6th to 5th millennia, with additional influence from the Bug–Dniester culture (6500–5000 BC). During the early period of its existence (in the fifth millennium BCE), the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was also influenced by the Linear Pottery culture from the north, and by the Boian culture from the south. Through colonisation and acculturation from these other cultures, the formative Pre-Cucuteni/Trypillia A culture was established. Over the course of the fifth millennium, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture expanded from its 'homeland' in the Prut–Siret region along the eastern foothills of the Carpathian Mountains into the basins and plains of the Dnieper and Southern Bug rivers of central Ukraine. Settlements also developed in the southeastern stretches of the Carpathian Mountains, with the materials known locally as the Ariușd culture ("see also: Prehistory of Transylvania"). Most of the settlements were located close to rivers, with fewer settlements located on the plateaus. Most early dwellings took the form of pit-houses, though they were accompanied by an ever-increasing incidence of above-ground clay houses. The floors and hearths of these structures were made of clay, and the walls of clay-plastered wood or reeds. Roofing was made of thatched straw or reeds.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The inhabitants were involved with animal husbandry, agriculture, fishing and gathering. Wheat, rye and peas were grown. Tools included ploughs made of antler, stone, bone and sharpened sticks. The harvest was collected with scythes made of flint-inlaid blades. The grain was milled into flour by quern-stones. Women were involved in pottery, textile- and garment-making, and played a leading role in community life. Men hunted, herded the livestock, made tools from flint, bone and stone. Of their livestock, cattle were the most important, with swine, sheep and goats playing lesser roles. The question of whether or not the horse was domesticated during this time of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is disputed among historians; horse remains have been found in some of their settlements, but it is unclear whether these remains were from wild horses or domesticated ones.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Clay statues of females and amulets have been found dating to this period. Copper items, primarily bracelets, rings and hooks, are occasionally found as well. A hoard of a large number of copper items was discovered in the village of Cărbuna, Moldova, consisting primarily of items of jewelry, which were dated back to the beginning of the fifth millennium BCE. Some historians have used this evidence to support the theory that a social stratification was present in early Cucuteni culture, but this is disputed by others.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Pottery remains from this early period are very rarely discovered; the remains that have been found indicate that the ceramics were used after being fired in a kiln. The outer colour of the pottery is a smoky grey, with raised and sunken relief decorations. Toward the end of this early Cucuteni–Trypillia period, the pottery begins to be painted before firing. The white-painting technique found on some of the pottery from this period was imported from the earlier and contemporary (5th millennium) Gumelnița–Karanovo culture. Historians point to this transition to kiln-fired, white-painted pottery as the turning point for when the Pre-Cucuteni culture ended and Cucuteni Phase (or Cucuteni–Trypillia culture) began.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Cucuteni and the neighbouring Gumelnița–Karanovo cultures seem to be largely contemporary; the "Cucuteni A phase seems to be very long (4600–4050) and covers the entire evolution of the Gumelnița–Karanovo A1, A2, B2 phases (maybe 4650–4050)."


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In the middle era, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture spread over a wide area from Eastern Transylvania in the west to the Dnieper River in the east. During this period, the population immigrated into and settled along the banks of the upper and middle regions of the Right Bank (or western side) of the Dnieper River, in present-day Ukraine. The population grew considerably during this time, resulting in settlements being established on plateaus, near major rivers and springs.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Their dwellings were built by placing vertical poles in the form of circles or ovals. The construction techniques incorporated log floors covered in clay, wattle-and-daub walls that were woven from pliable branches and covered in clay and a clay oven, which was situated in the centre of the dwelling. As the population in this area grew, more land was put under cultivation. Hunting supplemented the practice of animal husbandry of domestic livestock.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Tools made of flint, rock, clay, wood and bones continued to be used for cultivation and other chores. Much less common than other materials, copper axes and other tools have been discovered that were made from ore mined in Volyn, Ukraine, as well as some deposits along the Dnieper river. Pottery-making by this time had become sophisticated, however they still relied on techniques of making pottery by hand (the potter's wheel was not used yet). Characteristics of the Cucuteni–Trypillia pottery included a monochromic spiral design, painted with black paint on a yellow and red base. Large pear-shaped pottery for the storage of grain, dining plates and other goods, was also prevalent. Additionally, ceramic statues of female "goddess" figures, as well as figurines of animals and models of houses dating to this period have also been discovered.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Some scholars have used the abundance of these clay female fetish statues to base the theory that this culture was matriarchal in nature. Indeed, it was partially the archaeological evidence from Cucuteni–Trypillia culture that inspired Marija Gimbutas, Joseph Campbell and some latter 20th century feminists to set forth the popular theory of an Old European culture of peaceful, egalitarian (counter to a widespread misconception, "matristic" "not" matriarchal), goddess-centred neolithic European societies that were wiped out by patriarchal, Sky Father-worshipping, warlike, Bronze-Age Proto-Indo-European tribes that swept out of the steppes north and east of the Black Sea.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: During the late period, the Cucuteni–Trypillia territory expanded to include the Volyn region in northwest Ukraine, the Sluch and Horyn Rivers in northern Ukraine and along both banks of the Dnieper river near Kyiv. Members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture who lived along the coastal regions near the Black Sea came into contact with other cultures. Animal husbandry increased in importance, as hunting diminished; horses also became more important. Outlying communities were established on the Don and Volga rivers in present-day Russia. Dwellings were constructed differently from previous periods, and a new rope-like design replaced the older spiral-patterned designs on the pottery. Different forms of ritual burial were developed where the deceased were interred in the ground with elaborate burial rituals. An increasingly larger number of Bronze Age artefacts originating from other lands were found as the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture drew near.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: According to some proponents of the Kurgan hypothesis of the origin of Proto-Indo-Europeans, and in particular the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, in her article "Notes on the chronology and expansion of the Pit-grave culture" (1961, later expanded by her and others), the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was destroyed by force. Arguing from archaeological and linguistic evidence, Gimbutas concluded that the people of the Kurgan culture (a term grouping the Yamnaya culture and its predecessors) of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, being most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, effectively destroyed the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in a series of invasions undertaken during their expansion to the west. Based on this archaeological evidence Gimbutas saw distinct cultural differences between the patriarchal, warlike Kurgan culture and the more peaceful egalitarian Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, which she argued was a significant component of the "Old European cultures" which finally met extinction in a process visible in the progressing appearance of fortified settlements, hillforts and the graves of warrior-chieftains, as well as in the religious transformation from the matriarchy to patriarchy, in a correlated east–west movement. In this, "the process of Indo-Europeanization was a cultural, not a physical, transformation and must be understood as a military victory in terms of successfully imposing a new administrative system, language, and religion upon the indigenous groups. Accordingly, these proponents of the Kurgan hypothesis hold that this invasion took place during the third wave of Kurgan expansion between 3000–2800 BC, permanently ending the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. The theory "may find corroboration in the frequent evidence of violent death discovered in Verteba cave".


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In his 1989 book "In Search of the Indo-Europeans", Irish-American archaeologist J. P. Mallory, summarising the three existing theories concerning the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, mentions that archaeological findings in the region indicate Kurgan (i.e. Yamnaya culture) settlements in the eastern part of the Cucuteni–Trypillia area, co-existing for some time with those of the Cucuteni–Trypillia. Artifacts from both cultures found within each of their respective archaeological settlement sites attest to an open trade in goods for a period, though he points out that the archaeological evidence clearly points to what he termed "a dark age," its population seeking refuge in every direction except east. He cites evidence of the refugees having used caves, islands and hilltops (abandoning in the process 600–700 settlements) to argue for the possibility of a gradual transformation rather than an armed onslaught bringing about cultural extinction. The obvious issue with that theory is the limited common historical life-time between the Cucuteni–Trypillia (4800–3000 BC) and the Yamnaya culture (3300–2600 BC); given that the earliest archaeological findings of the Yamnaya culture are located in the Volga–Don basin, not in the Dniester and Dnieper area where the cultures came in touch, while the Yamnaya culture came to its full extension in the Pontic steppe at the earliest around 3000 BC, the time the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture ended, thus indicating an extremely short survival after coming in contact with the Yamnaya culture. Another contradicting indication is that the kurgans that replaced the traditional horizontal graves in the area now contain human remains of a fairly diversified skeletal type approximately ten centimetres taller on average than the previous population.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In the 1990s and 2000s, another theory regarding the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture emerged based on climatic change that took place at the end of their culture's existence that is known as the Blytt–Sernander Sub-Boreal phase. Beginning around 3200 BC, the earth's climate became colder and drier than it had ever been since the end of the last Ice age, resulting in the worst drought in the history of Europe since the beginning of agriculture. The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture relied primarily on farming, which would have collapsed under these climatic conditions in a scenario similar to the Dust Bowl of the American Midwest in the 1930s. According to The American Geographical Union,


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Throughout the 2,750 years of its existence, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was fairly stable and static; however, there were changes that took place. This article addresses some of these changes that have to do with the economic aspects. These include the basic economic conditions of the culture, the development of trade, interaction with other cultures and the apparent use of barter tokens, an early form of money.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture shared common features with other Neolithic societies, including:


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Earlier societies of hunter-gatherer tribes had no social stratification, and later societies of the Bronze Age had noticeable social stratification, which saw the creation of occupational specialization, the state and social classes of individuals who were of the elite ruling or [religious classes, full-time warriors and wealthy merchants, contrasted with those individuals on the other end of the economic spectrum who were poor, enslaved and hungry. In between these two economic models (the hunter-gatherer tribes and Bronze Age civilisations) we find the later Neolithic and Eneolithic societies such as the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, where the first indications of social stratification began to be found. However, it would be a mistake to overemphasise the impact of social stratification in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, since it was still (even in its later phases) very much an egalitarian society. And of course, social stratification was just one of the many aspects of what is regarded as a fully established civilised society, which began to appear in the Bronze Age.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Like other Neolithic societies, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture had almost no division of labor. Although this culture's settlements sometimes grew to become the largest on Earth at the time (up to 15,000 people in the largest), there is no evidence that has been discovered of labour specialisation. Every household probably had members of the extended family who would work in the fields to raise crops, go to the woods to hunt game and bring back firewood, work by the river to bring back clay or fish and all of the other duties that would be needed to survive. Contrary to popular belief, the Neolithic people experienced considerable abundance of food and other resources.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Each household was mostly self-sufficient and there was very little need for trade. However, there were certain mineral resources that, because of limitations due to distance and prevalence, did form the rudimentary foundation for a trade network that towards the end of the culture began to develop into a more complex system, as is attested to by an increasing number of artifacts from other cultures that have been dated to the latter period.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Toward the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture's existence (from roughly 3000 BC to 2750 BC), copper traded from other societies (notably, from the Balkans) began to appear throughout the region, and members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture began to acquire skills necessary to use it to create various items. Along with the raw copper ore, finished copper tools, hunting weapons and other artefacts were also brought in from other cultures. This marked the transition from the Neolithic to the Eneolithic, also known as the Chalcolithic or Copper Age. Bronze artifacts began to show up in archaeological sites toward the very end of the culture. The primitive trade network of this society, that had been slowly growing more complex, was supplanted by the more complex trade network of the Proto-Indo-European culture that eventually replaced the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was a society of subsistence farmers. Cultivating the soil (using an ard or scratch plough), harvesting crops and tending livestock was probably the main occupation for most people. Typically for a Neolithic culture, the majority of their diet consisted of cereal grains. They cultivated club wheat, oats, rye, proso millet, barley and hemp, which were probably ground and baked as unleavened bread in clay ovens or on heated stones in the home. They also grew peas and beans, apricot, cherry plum and wine grapes – though there is no solid evidence that they actually made wine. There is also evidence that they may have kept bees.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The zooarchaeology of Cucuteni–Trypillia sites indicate that the inhabitants practiced animal husbandry. Their domesticated livestock consisted primarily of cattle, but included smaller numbers of pigs, sheep and goats. There is evidence, based on some of the surviving artistic depictions of animals from Cucuteni–Trypillia sites, that the ox was employed as a draft animal.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Both remains and artistic depictions of horses have been discovered at Cucuteni–Trypillia sites. However, whether these finds are of domesticated or wild horses is debated. Before they were domesticated, humans hunted wild horses for meat. On the other hand, one hypothesis of horse domestication places it in the steppe region adjacent to the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture at roughly the same time (4000–3500 BC), so it is possible the culture was familiar with the domestic horse. At this time horses could have been kept both for meat or as a work animal. The direct evidence remains inconclusive.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Hunting supplemented the Cucuteni–Trypillia diet. They used traps to catch their prey, as well as various weapons, including the bow and arrow, the spear and clubs. To help them in stalking game, they sometimes disguised themselves with camouflage. Remains of game species found at Cucuteni–Trypillia sites include red deer, roe deer, aurochs, wild boar, fox and brown bear.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The earliest known salt works in the world is at Poiana Slatinei, near the village of Lunca in Vânători-Neamț, Romania. It was first used in the early Neolithic, around 6050 BC, by the Starčevo culture, and later by the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in the Pre-Cucuteni period. Evidence from this and other sites indicates that the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture extracted salt from salt-laden spring-water through the process of briquetage. First, the brackish water from the spring was boiled in large pottery vessels, producing a dense brine. The brine was then heated in a ceramic briquetage vessel until all moisture was evaporated, with the remaining crystallised salt adhering to the inside walls of the vessel. Then the briquetage vessel was broken open, and the salt was scraped from the shards.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The provision of salt was a major logistical problem for the largest Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements. As they came to rely upon cereal foods over salty meat and fish, Neolithic cultures had to incorporate supplementary sources of salt into their diet. Similarly, domestic cattle need to be provided with extra sources of salt beyond their normal diet or their milk production is reduced. Cucuteni–Trypillia mega-sites, with a population of likely thousands of people and animals, are estimated to have required between 36,000 and 100,000 kg of salt per year. This was not available locally, and so had to be moved in bulk from distant sources on the western Black Sea coast and in the Carpathian Mountains, probably by river.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is known by its distinctive settlements, architecture, intricately decorated pottery and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, which are preserved in archaeological remains. At its peak it was one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world at the time, developing new techniques for ceramic production, housing building, agriculture and producing woven textiles (although these have not survived and are known indirectly).


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In terms of overall size, some of Cucuteni–Trypillia sites, such as Talianki (with a population of 15,000 and covering an area of 335 hectares) in the province of Uman Raion, Ukraine, are as large as (or perhaps even larger than) the city-states of Sumer in the Fertile Crescent, and these Eastern European settlements predate the Sumerian cities by more than half of a millennium.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Archaeologists have uncovered a large number of artefacts from these ancient ruins. The largest collections of Cucuteni–Trypillia artefacts are to be found in museums in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, including the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț in Romania. However, smaller collections of artefacts are kept in many local museums scattered throughout the region.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: These settlements underwent periodical acts of destruction and re-creation, as they were burned and then rebuilt every 60–80 years. Some scholars have theorised that the inhabitants of these settlements believed that every house symbolised an organic, almost living, entity. Each house, including its ceramic vases, ovens, figurines and innumerable objects made of perishable materials, shared the same circle of life, and all of the buildings in the settlement were physically linked together as a larger symbolic entity. As with living beings, the settlements may have been seen as also having a life cycle of death and rebirth.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Some Cucuteni–Trypillia homes were two storeys tall, and evidence shows that the members of this culture sometimes decorated the outsides of their homes with many of the same red-ochre complex swirling designs that are to be found on their pottery. Most houses had thatched roofs and wooden floors covered with clay.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Most Cucuteni–Trypillia pottery was hand coiled from local clay. Long coils of clay were placed in circles to form first the base and then the walls of the vessel. Once the desired shape and height of the finished product was built up the sides would then be smoothed to create a seamless surface. This technique was the earliest form of pottery shaping and the most common in the Neolithic; however, there is some evidence that they also used a primitive type of slow-turning potter's wheel, an innovation that did not become common in Europe until the Iron Age.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Characteristically vessels were elaborately decorated with swirling patterns and intricate designs. Sometimes decorative incisions were added prior to firing, and sometimes these were filled with coloured dye to produce a dimensional effect. In the early period, the colours used to decorate pottery were limited to a rusty-red and white. Later, potters added additional colours to their products and experimented with more advanced ceramic techniques. The pigments used to decorate ceramics were based on iron oxide for red hues, calcium carbonate, iron magnetite and manganese Jacobsite ores for black and calcium silicate for white. The black pigment, which was introduced during the later period of the culture, was a rare commodity: taken from a few sources and circulated (to a limited degree) throughout the region. The probable sources of these pigments were Iacobeni in Romania for the iron magnetite ore and Nikopol in Ukraine for the manganese Jacobsite ore. No traces of the iron magnetite pigment mined in the easternmost limit of the Cucuteni–Trypillia region have been found to be used in ceramics from the western settlements, suggesting exchange throughout the entire cultural area was limited. In addition to mineral sources, pigments derived from organic materials (including bone and wood) were used to create various colours.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In the late period of Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, kilns with a controlled atmosphere were used for pottery production. These kilns were constructed with two separate chambers—the combustion chamber and the filling chamber— separated by a grate. Temperatures in the combustion chamber could reach 1000–1100 °C but were usually maintained at around 900 °C to achieve a uniform and complete firing of vessels.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Toward the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, as copper became more readily available, advances in ceramic technology levelled off as more emphasis was placed on developing metallurgical techniques.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: An anthropomorphic ceramic artefact was discovered during an archaeological dig in 1942 on Cetatuia Hill near Bodești, Neamț County, Romania, which became known as the "Cucuteni Frumusica Dance" (after a nearby village of the same name). It was used as a support or stand, and upon its discovery was hailed as a symbolic masterpiece of Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. It is believed that the four stylised feminine silhouettes facing inward in an interlinked circle represented a "hora", or ritualistic dance. Similar artefacts were later found in Berești and Drăgușeni.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Extant figurines excavated at the Cucuteni sites are thought to represent religious artifacts, but their meaning or use is still unknown. Some historians as Gimbutas claim that:


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: ...the stiff nude to be representative of death on the basis that the color white is associated with the bone (that which shows after death). Stiff nudes can be found in Hamangia, Karanovo, and Cucuteni cultures


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: No examples of Cucuteni–Trypillia textiles have yet been found – preservation of prehistoric textiles is rare and the region does not have a suitable climate. However, impressions of textiles are found on pottery sherds (because the clay was placed there before it was fired). These show that woven fabrics were common in Cucuteni–Trypillia society. Finds of ceramic weights with drilled holes suggest that these were manufactured with a warp-weighted loom. It has also been suggested that these weights, especially "disposable" examples made from poor quality clay and inadequately fired, were used to weigh down fishing nets. These would probably have been frequently lost, explaining their inferior quality.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Other pottery sherds with textile impressions, found at Frumușica and Cucuteni, suggest that textiles were also knitted (specifically using a technique known as nalbinding).


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Cucuteni–Trypillia tools were made from knapped and polished stone, organic materials (bone, antler and horn), and in the later period, copper. Local Miorcani flint was the most common material for stone tools, but a number of other types are known to have been used, including chert, jasper and obsidian. Presumably these tools were hafted with wood, but this is not preserved. Weapons are rare but not unknown, implying the culture was relatively peaceful.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Some researchers, e.g., Asko Parpola, an Indologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland, believe that the CT-culture used the wheel with wagons. However, only miniature models of animals and cups on 4 wheels have been found, and they date to the first half of the fourth millennium BC. Such models are often thought to have been children's toys; nevertheless, they do convey the idea that objects could be pulled on wheels.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Some Cucuteni–Trypillia communities have been found that contain a special building located in the centre of the settlement, which archaeologists have identified as sacred sanctuaries. Artefacts have been found inside these sanctuaries, some of them having been intentionally buried in the ground within the structure, that are clearly of a religious nature, and have provided insights into some of the beliefs, and perhaps some of the rituals and structure, of the members of this society. Additionally, artefacts of an apparent religious nature have also been found within many domestic Cucuteni–Trypillia homes.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Many of these artefacts are clay figurines or statues. Archaeologists have identified many of these as fetishes or totems, which are believed to be imbued with powers that can help and protect the people who look after them. These Cucuteni–Trypillia figurines have become known popularly as goddesses; however, this term is not necessarily accurate for all female anthropomorphic clay figurines, as the archaeological evidence suggests that different figurines were used for different purposes (such as for protection), and so are not all representative of a goddess. There have been so many of these figurines discovered in Cucuteni–Trypillia sites that many museums in eastern Europe have a sizeable collection of them, and as a result, they have come to represent one of the more readily identifiable visual markers of this culture to many people.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The archaeologist Marija Gimbutas based at least part of her Kurgan hypothesis and Old European culture theories on these Cucuteni–Trypillia clay figurines. Her conclusions, which were always controversial, today are discredited by many scholars, but still there are some scholars who support her theories about how neolithic societies were matriarchal, non-warlike, and worshipped an "earthy" mother goddess, but were subsequently wiped out by invasions of patriarchal Indo-European tribes who burst out of the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan beginning around 2500 BC, and who worshipped a warlike Sky God. However, Gimbutas' theories have been partially discredited by more recent discoveries and analyses. Today there are many scholars who disagree with Gimbutas, pointing to new evidence that suggests a much more complex society during the Neolithic era than she had been accounting for.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: One of the unanswered questions regarding the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is the small number of artefacts associated with funerary rites. Although very large settlements have been explored by archaeologists, the evidence for mortuary activity is almost invisible. Making a distinction between the eastern Trypillia and the western Cucuteni regions of the Cucuteni–Trypillia geographical area, American archaeologist Douglass W. Bailey writes:


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: The discovery of skulls is more frequent than other parts of the body, however because there has not yet been a comprehensive statistical survey done of all of the skeletal remains discovered at Cucuteni–Trypillia sites, precise post excavation analysis of these discoveries cannot be accurately determined at this time. Still, many questions remain concerning these issues, as well as why there seems to have been no male remains found at all. The only definite conclusion that can be drawn from archaeological evidence is that in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, in the vast majority of cases, the bodies were not formally deposited within the settlement area.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Nikitin (2011) analyzed mtDNA recovered from Cucuteni–Trypillia human osteological remains found in the Verteba Cave (on the bank of the Seret River, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine). It revealed that seven of the individuals whose remains where analysed belonged to: two to haplogroup HV(xH), two to haplogroup H, one to haplogroup R0(xHV), one to haplogroup J and one to haplogroup T4, the latter also being the oldest sample of the set. The authors conclude that the population living around Verteba Cave was fairly heterogenous, but that the wide chronological age of the specimens might indicate that the heterogeneity might have been due to natural population flow during this timeframe. The authors also link the R0(xHV) and HV(xH) haplogroups with European Paleolithic populations, and consider the T4 and J haplogroups as hallmarks of Neolithic demic intrusions from the southeast (the north-pontic region) rather than from the west (i.e. the Linear Pottery culture).


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: Mathiesson et al. study published 2018 in "Nature" included an analysis of four males from the Cucuteni–Trypillia cultural complex (CTC / CTCC) of Verteba Cave and found evidence of genetic contact between the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture and steppe populations from the east from as early as 3600 BCE, well before the influx of steppe ancestry into Europe associated with the Yamnaya culture. With respect to Y-DNA, two carried haplogroup G2a2b2a (G-CTS688 and G-PF3330), while one carried G2a-PF3141 and E-CTS10894. With respect to mtDNA, they carried H5a, T2b, HV and U8b1b. According to admixture analysis they had approximately 75% EEF, 10% both Western and Eastern Hunter-Gatherer and less than 5% traces of Yamnaya-related ancestry.


title: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

text: In 2020 was published a study in "Scientific Reports" of four unrelated females from two late CTCC period sites in Moldova. They carried mtDNA haplogroup K1a1, T1a, T2c1d1, U4a1 and "all individuals carried a large Neolithic-derived ancestry component and were genetically more closely related to Linear Pottery than to Anatolian farmers. Three of the specimens also showed considerable amounts of steppe-related ancestry, suggesting influx into the CTC gene-pool from people affiliated with, for instance, the Ukraine Mesolithic ... taken together, our results confirm that the steppe component arrived in eastern Europe farming communities maybe as early as 3500 BCE".