Crete Island -- Minoan Palaces

Crete Island 是只要提到Ancient Greeks就常出現的機經考點喔！

Crete Island 地理位置

最重要的考點是這個島上的Minoan Palaces （米諾斯文明的宮殿）,
包含最主要的這四座：
Knossos (22,000 m2), Phaistos (18,000 m2), Malia (7,500 m2) and Zakros (8,500 m2 ).

Palace of Knossos

原文出處：http://www.explorecrete.com/archaeology/minoan-palaces.html

1. 各自獨立自治：
The Minoan palaces were autonomous and independent from each other, but they appear to have followed a common policy dictated by the central, larger and more sumptuous palace of Knossos.

2. 皇室住處，但也有些聖殿開放給一般民眾參拜：
In addition to their use as the residence of the royal family and other elites, the priesthood (with the king himself as archpriest) and officials, the palaces did not close their doors to the citizens. They may have had special sacred areas (throne rooms) where the king and his officials deliberated on matters of policy or justice, but the palaces also contained the major sanctuaries to which all the people had access. 

3. 舉行宗教儀式的地點、也供民眾當成workshop製造crafts
n the palaces were held most of the religious ceremonies, the various processions and the famous bull-leaping events, which were open to all. The palaces also housed the workshops where luxury goods such as decorated pottery, seals, figurines of precious stones, etc. were produced for export.

4. 為避免髒亂，其他農產品並非在此製造，但是製造到最後分配等等還是由Palaces統一管理：
The production and distribution of farming goods, on the other hand, did not take place inside the palaces but at the rural farmhouses or Minoan villas scattered across the Cretan countryside. Obviously the inevitable mess accompanying animal husbandry was not acceptable within or near the palaces. It is also far more practical to make cheese on the spot where milk is produced. However, the production and distribution of goods at farmhouses and villas was controlled by the palaces. This means that the political, administrative and economic system of Minoan Crete was under the centralised control of the Minoan palaces.

真題出現過的考點：

考古學家Arthan Evans曾經想探討一本Greek literature 有關 story of the labyrinth 的真實性，

於是去了該本小說背景的Crete Island, 的確發現了一個相似的maze, 雖然大小及複雜程度遠不及小說裡的labyrinth, 但似乎是以它為雛形所建照的。

傳說中的有猛獸的labyrinth

以下連結是Palace of Knossos的 3D virtual tour, 可以帶你觀看整個宮殿:
http://www.bsa.ac.uk/knossos/vrtour/throne/46_1.htm

類似的3D virtual tour還有有關另外一個常考考點：＊位在法國的 Lascaux Cave Art
http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en#/fr/02_00.xml

以動畫方式呈現，彷彿身入其境喔！
相關機經重點可以參考Online Test: Lascaux Cave Paintings 及 TPO4 Cave Art in Europe!

 

高機率機經考題：Planet / dwarf planet/ asteroid?

這張圖裡有很多機經重點喔！

首先大家都知道Pluto已經不再是行星的一員了，不過為什麼呢？

http://www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/
在這網站的介紹裡有提到一個重點，
Astronomers weren’t sure about Pluto’s mass until the discovery of its largest Moon, Charon, in 1978.
透過某個星球的"衛星"可以計算出該星球的質量，這是非常重要的機經考點喔！！
計算出Pluto的質量後，發現Pluto只是在Kuiper belt中其中一個dwarf planet！(矮行星）.
同學看到這裡一定想問，planet跟dwarf planet有什麼不同？

我們先來看看根據International Astronomical Union (IAU) 的定義，
構成planet的三大元素：
1. It needs to be in orbit around the Sun
2. It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape
3. It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit

根據IAU, Pluto是不符合第三項標準的，他的軌道上有很多其他的objects,不像我們其他行星一樣，因為質量夠大，軌道是被"清空"的。

另外這個照片的最後書寫人Ceres在TPO2 Lecture 3也有提過喔，
其實也是另一顆dwarf planet喔, 而且是the largest asteroid and the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System , 也是asteroid belt裡最大的一顆asteroid.

說到天文學，同學一定要對asteroid belt, comet 熟悉，
這部份同學可以再複習TPO13 Lecture 4及 TPO26 Lecture 3！

 Asteroid 重點提示：

Asteroid belt所在位置

Asteroid 最多的地方是在asteroid belt (佔90%), 位於terrestrial planets （類地行星）與 Gas Giants/ Jovian Planets (類木行星）之間，由於比較靠近inner solar system (也就是類地行星那四顆：Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars）,性質跟地球也比較像，多半是 rocky materials and metals.

Comet重點提示：

相反地，comet比較靠近Gas Giants/ Jovian Planets (類木行星）, 所以組成物多半是
ices of water, methane and carbon dioxides, and small rocky particles.

值得注意的是Comet的軌道跟一般planet是很不一樣的：

可以看到最有名的Halley彗星的軌道是會橫跨好幾個行星的，不像planet規規矩矩的一個圓形，

另外comet根據他orbit週期可以分成short period 和 long period comet, 像 Halley彗星週期只有76年，不到200年，就是short period comet, Comet Hyakutake超過200年，就是long period comet.