The study of evidence of Degenerative Joint Disease in Essay

The study of evidence of Degenerative Joint Disease in archaeologically-retrieved human skeletons can reveal much about the nature of earlier societies. Discuss - Essay Example of activities the society held important, but again, this does not necessarily reflect the daily activities of the people, tending to focus instead upon ceremonial events. Perhaps a greater clue as to the daily activities, social structures and other lifestyle features of earlier populations can be found within the bones of the people themselves. By studying archaeologically-retrieved human skeletons for evidence of degenerative joint disease, much can be determined about the common activities of the people under investigation. Degenerative joint disease is also known as osteoarthritis, DJD or osteoarthrosis. It is a form of arthritis that is characterized by a degeneration, or breaking down, of the cartilage in the joints. In conjunction with this break down, there is usually an accompanying overgrowth of bone, a narrowing of the joint space, a hardening of the bone within the joint surfaces and a creeping deformity in the joints themselves (Burnett, 2005). While the disease can strike in several places, most commonly in the hands, fingers, knees, hips and spine, the cartilage of the joints breaks down faster when the joint is in more constant use. â€Å"Over many years and with activity and use of a joint, the cartilage may become frayed, injured, torn and may even wear away entirely. When this occurs, the bone surface on one side of the joint tends to rub or glide against the bone on the opposite side of the joint, providing a less elastic joint surface, and generating higher contact pressures at the e nd of the bone† (Burnett, 2005). With these kinds of major changes happening in the joints during the individual’s lifetime, it is easily understood that the disease would leave recognizable and permanent features upon the skeletons. Because this form of arthritis is the most common bone disease experienced by human beings and it can reach highly severe levels, restricting or removing activities from daily life, the presence of disease in ancient

Kuwait Liberation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kuwait Liberation - Research Paper Example Iraq’s invasion in Kuwait turned the Middle East into a war zone. This paper intends to discuss the history of Iraq’s invasion, and the criminal and political activities that occurred during the whole phase of war. MLA referencing style has been used properly, and the report is summarized in a concluding paragraph. Iraq had been in war with Iran, before invasion in Kuwait. The Iran-Iraq war, that spread over eight years, was devastating for Iraq. At the launch of war, Iraq had ample hard currency reserves; but at the end of war, the Iraqi nation was in debt of $80 billion (Klein). Iraq had to pay beck this debt to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Kuwait had been mounting up 900 square miles of Iraqi land, by moving its border forward with Iraq northward. This moving forward of Kuwait’s border was irreversible. Kuwait gained access to Rumaila oil reserve and Iraqi oil field, by using drilling equipment of the Santa Fe Drilling Corporation of Alhambra, Californi a. Kuwait also became a reason of dropping down of Iraqi oil prices. Iraq’s main source of earning was petroleum whose price kept on fluctuating due to international production of petroleum. Kuwait tended to undermine OPEC quotas by increasing its oil production under the guidance of the United States. Due to this, the price of Iraqi oil went down from $28 per barrel to $11 per barrel (Klein), which damaged Iraq’s economy greatly. Iraq appealed to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries to stick to the OPEC production levels. Iraq’s appeals were met by USA’s navy buildup in the Persian Gulf. Still, Kuwait continued to increase its oil production, which harmed not only Iraq’s economy but also its own. Kuwait refused to return Iraq’s territory that it had accumulated during the Iraq-Iran war; rejected the production quotas; refused to stop driving oil from Rumaila oil reserve and selling it at low prices; and, rejected the idea of relinqu ishing Iraq’s debt. All these events raised tension between the two countries, finally leading to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. However, the United Nations protested against Iraq’s invasion, and instructed Iraq to withdraw its forces from Kuwait (Hussein, Ramadan & Aziz 85). On August 6, 1990, four days after the invasion had occurred, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution (known as Resolution 661 of 1990), that imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Iraq, and created a committee that supervised those sanctions and made sure that Iraq withdrew its forces from Kuwait. The resolution showed concern with the heavy loss of lives in Kuwait due to Iraq’s invasion; and, showed determination to put Iraq’s invasion to an end, liberating Kuwait and its sovereignty, self-government, and territorial integrity. The United Nations Security Council passed 12 resolutions, starting from August 6, 1990 till November 29, 1990. The last res olution was Resolution 678 (1990) which stated that, in case Iraq fails to comply with the resolution regarding withdrawal of its forces from Kuwait by January 15, 1991, this would result in authorization of all member states in support of Kuwait to force Iraq to put an end of invasion, and to restore peace in the Middle East. USA never seriously protested with high-profile military demonstrations at the beginning of Iraq’s invasion, and kept a public silence. USA kept on issuing public statements stressing the point that it had no defense