To account, in a proper epidemiological way, for the nation’s births and deaths as well as cases of cancer has, until recently, been a hallmark of our Nordic civilization, if we can use such a term. Today, I have an increasing feeling that this is not the case any more. Unfortunately, we have seen examples in our countries that would support such a feeling. The title represents a challenge to t...

This article approaches the topic of civilizations and economies through a discussion of two key texts that appeared during the first wave of interest among social scientists for the phenomenon of civilization: ‘Note on the Notion of Civilization’ ([1913] 1998) by Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss, and ‘Author’s Introduction’ ([1920a] 1930) by Max Weber. Durkheim and Mauss were of the opinion tha...

The Vedas are the first texts in the library of mankind. They are universally acknowledged to be the most precious Indian Heritage. The antiquity to the Vedic civilization is debated to a great extent but indeed there is no civilization known to humanity with such antiquity as Vedic Aryan Civilization. The so-called Aryans would have originated in the Aryavarta. N. J. Lockyer has declared: šThe...

The disintegration of the Classic Maya civilization in the Yucatán Peninsula and Central America was a complex process that occurred over an approximately 200-year interval and involved a catastrophic depopulation of the region. Although it is well established that the civilization collapse coincided with widespread episodes of drought, their nature and severity remain enigmatic. We present a q...

Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies is an interdisciplinary program whose purpose is to explore the historical experience; literary, religious and cultural expression; and political and material life of the Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern civilizations. Our program is unique in the United States because it integrates Islamic studies and Jewish studies. Whether students favor the study of ...

The practice of medicine was considered a noble profession by Muslims. Before being allowed to practice one should have acquired a wide experience in medicine and should have been well trained and disciplined. Students were asked to be in close contact with patients in order 10 apply the theory they had learned by allending hospital rounds and seminars. The evolution of medical teaching passed ...

The cultivation and processing of grain is probably one of the most important technological achievements on humanity‘s path to modern civilization. 10,000 years ago, the first grains were already being cultivated in the Middle East, leading to the development of the first advanced civilizations. Today, various types of grains have become staples worldwide and thus essential to the basic livelih...

We speculate about possible cosmic exploration by extraterrestrial civilizations using interstellar smart probes. We call attention to some emerging technologies that may be used for interstellar exploration. We estimate that advanced civilizations may already have these technologies and may be using them to contact their galactic neighbors. We explore some observational consequences of these c...