Today (October 4)
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October 4  San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1 The Olmec colossal heads are at least 17 monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads date from at least before 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature men with fleshy cheeks, flat noses and slightly crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, a mountain range in Veracruz. It is thought that the finished monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each is given a distinctive headdress. The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres. Dating the monuments remains difficult due to the movement of many from their original context prior to archaeological investigation. Most have been dated to the Early Preclassic period (1500–1000 BC) with some to the Middle Preclassic period (1000–400 BC). (Full article...)
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October 4 Chinese-Indonesian author Kwee Tek Hoay wrote 62 books or serials (36 non-fiction and 26 fiction), 3 essays, and 11 stage plays. He also edited 5 magazines and translated 15 books or other writings. Aside from these works, listed below, he is known to have written numerous reports, obituaries, articles, and film reviews as a magazine editor. Kwee began his writing career in 1919 with the stage play Allah jang Palsoe. During the 1920s, he wrote several novels and stage plays while also working as a journalist, first for Sin Po then for Sin Bin. He established his first magazine, Panorama, in 1925; he went on to manage four further magazines, including the literary-oriented Moestika Romans and the religious Sam Kauw Gwat Po. After 1930 Kwee began to focus predominantly on religious texts, particularly those related to Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion, but also relating to Islam. (Full list...) | |||
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October 4
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