In the late 1700s, Franz Joseph Gall founded what came to be known (1)Selectastoforaboutphrenologythough it was originally called ‘organology’ – that ‘science’ of the size and shape of a person’s cranium being a way to estimate character and mental abilities. It was a curious mixture of early psychology and neuroscience and as such (2)Selectdirectedsignaledgesturedpointedtowards later research into those fi elds of human enquiry. Most people, however, think of it as simply a question of feeling the bumps on a person’s head and have seen one of those (3)Selectmodelssculpturesshapesimpressionsof the head that map out the various mental faculties, and
consider it no more a valid science than astrology. Yet it was intended as a science of the mental faculties in general, and was on to something with its theory that each mental faculty is (4)Selectactedcontrolledradiatedchosenby an organ in a particular part of the brain. That is to say he correctly guessed that there were many parts to
the brain and that there was specialization in terms of the functions by those parts. Brain specialization is now a well-established fact. What Gall did not (5)Selectdiscoverfindrealizeshow, though – and he couldn’t reasonably be expected to – was that the function of each separate brain part is not independent but contributes to the workings of larger systems composed of those separate parts.

It is thought that around 12,000 years ago the Earth’s climate became relatively (1)Selectharshereasiermildercolder or more temperate, allowing for a greater variety of plant life. Those early humans leading a nomadic life, who hunted and gathered food where they happened to find it, began to supplement their diet with wild grasses such as wheat and barley.

Noticing how discarded seeds and roots later germinated and sprouted may have been what (2)Selectmadeforcedconvinceddecided the first farmers to settle down and cultivate crops. We know that farmers in the Stone Age had discovered pulses – beans, peas, lentils, and so on – which they (3)Selectmashedsquashedsqueezedbroke up and ate as a kind of porridge. Later they learnt to domesticate sheep and goats, developing tamer and manageable (4)Selecttypesbreedsspeciessorts of these and other animals. In addition to that, they also discovered how to use th e process of fermentation for brewing and making bread.

It was some time later that farmers noticed that the amount of crops produced declined if they were always grown in the same ground and, by the pt century, the Romans were (5)Selectchangingalternatingswappingrevolving crops with pasture for grazing animals to restore the soil’s fertility. This practice was followed in medieval England where the fields were divided into strips, planting cereals and vegetables, and the land left uncultivated one year in three.

Whenever you see a film set in ancient Greece or Rome – or anywhere for that matter – the men are all wearing togas or kilts or are (1) Selectlayered wrapped surrounded fitted in a cloak. How much closer to our own age do we have to come to see men wearing trousers? In fact they, or something very much like them, were worn in ancient times: the Chinese dressed in trousers tied at the waist and often at the ankles to protect them against the cold, while Asian nomads wore something similar for riding. In Persia too, they were (2)Selectconvenient traditionalconventional commonplace for both men and women. This was a form of dress that found its (3) Selectway path route acceptance to central Europe by 400 BC. In the following century, Celtic people began wearing similar garments, while the English wore ankle-length britches until about the 1100s, when they (4) Selectadapted altered changed adopted knee-length britches- whether as a matter of fashion or practicality it’s difficult to say. What became known as bell-bottoms, which were fashionable in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and (5) Selecttook made had showed a comeback in the 21st century, were worn by English sailors from about the 1730s, but trousers only really became fashionable in the first quarter of the 19’h century, and usually only for informal day wear.

Woodcuts, as printed illustrations, went well with type, which is why this form of printing was the only (1) Selectformmeansmethodsystem used to print pictures together with moveable type until late in the 16th century. Woodblocks and type are both relief surfaces – that is, raised from the flat surface of the block – and are (2) Selectroughly hardly closely evenly the same height on the bed of the printing press; furthermore, the same oil-based ink can be used on both surfaces so that they can be printed simultaneously. As with cutting the woodblocks and setting the type, the ink was applied by hand, using what was (3)Selectknown called said told an “ink ball” – a pad made of leather stuffed with wool or hair and tied around a wooden handle. The ink was like a thick black oil paint and it usually (4) Selectcombined composed consisted comprised of a mixture of linseed oil that had been boiled until it was free of fats, and various pigments. Varnishes were then added to get the ink to the right consistency or thickness, and also as an aid to drying.

Book illustration, then, was to be one of the major factors in the development of the woodcut, and its influence lasted until the 19th century. The aesthetic side of book making – the arrangement of the text, ornamentation and pictures together on the page – required an inventive and subtle (5) Selectapproach mixture manner technique to the problems of pictorial composition.

The term “trencherman” means a good hearty eater. It could be assumed. therefore, that a “trencher” was something people used to eat off, such as a wooden (1) Selectplanktableboardbox , or the like, which (2) Selecttried used worked served as a plate – as the dictionary confirms. In fact, it was originally a large chunk or slice of stale bread used to soak up the juices, which would later be fed to the domestic animals or the poor. (3) SelectAlso Furthermore Whereas Alternatively , those who had a very strong stomach or large appetite could eat it themselves.

Before the invention of cutlery, our ancestors usually ate with their hands. It is quite surprising to realize how (4) Selectlong late far early in the day it was before cutlery – knives, forks and spoons, even drinking cups – became commonly used for eating. It is not a question of being slow to (5) Selectgrab grasp grip hold the concept of such tools and their possible uses – they had been around for ages, though it was usually only the wealthier people who had them at the dinner table. So the reason for this late development or fashion must be looked for elsewhere.

Of all those whose names are associated with the (1)Selectcreationdiscoveryinventionmanufactureof photography, Louis Daguerre is perhaps the most famous. He started out as a student of architecture, but by the age of sixteen was working as a stage designer and his work in this field, especially his handling of lighting effects,
(2)Selectgavewonbroughtgainedhim to fame. His (3)Selectinterestcuriositydesireconcernin photography grew out of his use of the camera obscura to help with perspective in painting and his desire to freeze the image. To this end, he formed a partnership with the photographer Nicephore Niepce – but this was short-lived as Niepce died not long after.

Daguerre continued to experiment and made, it seems by (4)Selectmistakeaccidentdefaultpurpose, an important discovery: he had put an exposed photographic plate – this was, of course, before the age of film – in his chemical cupboard and some days later found that the latent image had developed. There was also a broken
thermometer in the cupboard, and he assumed that the vapour from the mercury had caused it. This meant it was now possible to reduce the time the plate was exposed from eight homs to thirty minutes.

This produced an image. The next step was to fix it, which he managed to do in 1837. He called this new process the Daguerreotype, then advertised and looked fo r sponsors, but initially very few people were interested. The discovery was made (5)Selectopengeneralofficialpublicin January 1839, but details of the process were not given until August the same year, the French government in the meantime having bought the rights to the process.