Myths of the World

Somalis  ( / s oʊ ˈ m ɑː l i z ,   s ə ˈ m ɑː l i z / ,  sə- MAH -leez ) ( Somali :  Soomaalida ,  Wadaad :  صومالِدَ ‎ ,  Arabic :  الصوماليون ) are a  Cushitic   ethnic group  and  nation  who are native to the  Somali Peninsula , and share a common ancestry, culture and history.  The   East Cushitic   Somali language   is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the   Cushitic   branch of the   Afroasiatic   language family. They are predominantly   Sunni Muslim .   Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in   Africa .   According to most scholars, the ancient   Land of Punt   and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. This ancient historical kingdom is where a great portion of their cultural tradit...

The  Valdivia culture  is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It appeared one thousand years after the  Las Vegas culture  and thrived along the coast of Santa Elena peninsula in  Santa Elena Province  of  Ecuador  between 3500 BCE and 1500 BCE.  Remains of the Valdivia culture were discovered in 1956 on the western coast of Ecuador by the Ecuadorian   archeologist   Emilio Estrada, who continued to study this culture. American archeologists Clifford Evans and   Betty Meggers   joined him in the early 1960s in studying the type-site.  The original excavations were in a small village of Valdivia located well north of Santa Elena peninsula. Valdivia is located about 10km south of the beach resort of   Montañita .   The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza. They were believed to have a relatively egalitarian culture of   se...