skandha Vskon-doV Pali khandha In Buddhism, any of the five ele¬ ments that constitute an individual’s mental and physical existence. They are rupa (physical matter), vedana (feeling), samjna (perception; Pali sanna), samskara (mental formations; Pali sankhara), and vijnana (con¬ sciousness; Pali vinnana). The four mental aggregates are perceived to be the personality or ego but are in fact only processes in a state of continuous change, subject to the effects of karma. At death the mental skandha s dis¬ sociate from the rupa and find a new physical base, resulting in a new birth.
Skara Brae Vska-ra-'bra\ or Skerrabra Late Neolithic village on the shore of the Bay of Skaill in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Skara Brae was built c. 3200-2200 bc. Covered by a sand dune, it is one of the most per¬ fectly preserved ancient villages of Europe. Its excavation, begun in the 1860s, revealed huts of undressed, mortarless stone slabs containing stone furniture. They were linked by paved alleys; some had been covered by banking them with mixed sand, peat ash, and refuse, becoming stone- roofed tunnels. A sewer drained the whole. Inhabitants lived on the flesh and milk of their cattle and on shellfish; they probably wore skins. For tools they used local stone, beach pebbles, and animal bones. They wore pendants and coloured beads of sheep marrow, cows’ teeth, killer-whale teeth, and boars’ tusks. Lozenges and similar rectilinear patterns were scratched on hut walls and along alleys. Pottery vessels show incised and relief designs, including the only example of a true spiral known from prehistoric Britain.
skarn In geology, a metamorphic zone developed in the contact area around igneous rock intrusions when carbonate sedimentary rocks are invaded by and replaced with chemical elements that originate from the igneous rock mass nearby. Many skams also include ore minerals; produc¬ tive deposits of copper or other base metals have been found in and adja¬ cent to skarns. The typical rock of a skarn is homfels, a fine-grained, flinty rock produced by the heat and solutions given off by the intruding magma.
skate Any of nine genera (suborder Rajoidea) of rounded to diamond¬ shaped rays. These bottom-dwellers are found from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 9,000 ft (2,700 m). Most have spines on the upper surface, and some have weak electrical organs in their long, slender tails. Skates lay oblong, leathery eggs (called mermaid’s purses), which are often found on beaches. Species vary from 20 in. (50 cm) to 8 ft (2.5 m) long. They swim with an undulating move¬ ment of their pectoral fins. They trap active mollusk, crustacean, and fish prey by dropping down on them from above. Skates’ “wings” are edible.
skateboarding Form of recreation, popular among youths, in which a person rides standing balanced on a small board mounted on wheels. The skateboard first appeared in the early 1960s on paved areas along Califor¬ nia beaches as a makeshift diversion for surfers when the ocean was flat. In the 1970s a faster, polyurethane wheel was developed. Eventually skate¬ board parks were built, providing a variety of slopes and banked surfaces for sudden turns and flamboyant stunts. The skateboarding craze contrib¬ uted to the emergence of snowboarding as a winter youth sport.
skating Sport in which bladelike runners or sets of wheels attached to shoes are used for gliding on ice or on surfaces other than ice. See figure SKATING, ICE DANCING, ICE HOCKEY, ROLLER-SKATING, SPEED SKATING.
Skeena River River, western British Columbia, Canada. It rises in the northern part of the province and flows about 360 mi (580 km) before emptying into Chatham Sound on the Pacific Ocean. An important salmon-fishing stream, it has several canneries near its mouth.
skeet shooting Shooting sport using moving targets. Marksmen use shotguns to shoot at clay targets (pigeons) hurled into the air by spring devices called traps. It differs from trapshooting in that skeet traps are set at two points on the field and targets may be thrown diagonally across the shooter’s field of vision. Skeet shooting has been an Olympic event since
skeleton Bony framework of the body. It includes the skull, vertebral column, collarbone, shoulder blades, rib cage, pelvic girdle and the bones of the hands, arms, feet, and legs. The skeleton supports the body and protects its internal organs. It is held together by ligaments and moved at the joints by the muscles, which are attached to it. The skeletal system includes both bones and cartilage. See illustration on following page.
skeleton dance See dance of death
skeleton sledding Winter sport similar to lugeing in which a small sled is ridden downhill in a headfirst, prone position. The sport of skel¬ eton sledding developed in the 1880s on the famed Cresta Run at Saint Moritz, Switz. The “bony” look of the early sleds gave the sport its name. Riders attain speeds of more than 80 miles (129 km) per hour. It was first contested at the Olympic games in 1928.
Skelton, John (b. c. 1460—d. June 21, 1529, London, Eng.) English poet. Appointed court poet to Henry VII in 1489, Skelton became a tutor and eventually an adviser to Henry VIII. In 1498 he took holy orders. He wrote political and religious satires in an individual poetic style of short
Sjostrom in Wild Strawberries, 1957
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE, NEW YORK CITY
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1762 I Skelton ► skin
fibula
tibia
-talus
navicular bone metatarsus
phalanges of toes
phalanges of thumb and fingers
metacarpus -femur patella
1 st rib manubrium
gladiolus 5th rib
xiphoid
process
12th vertebra
10th rib
floating ribs
ilium
sacrum
pelvic cavity pubis — ischium
coccyx
frontal
bone
parietal
bone
zygomatic bone maxilla
ulna
radius
carpus
mandible
1 st thoracic vertebra
clavicle
scapula
humerus
Major bones of the human skeleton.
© MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.
rhyming lines, called Skeltonics. Among his poems are Bowge of Courte, satirizing life at court; Phyllyp Sparowe, lampooning the liturgical office for the dead; and Ware the Hawke, attacking an irreverent priest. In 1516 he wrote the first secular morality play in English, Magnyfycence. The sat¬ ires Speke, Parrot (written 1521), Collyn Clout (1522), and Why Come Ye Nat to Courte? (1522) were directed against Cardinal Wolsey and human¬ ist learning.
Skelton, Red orig. Richard Bernard Skelton (b. July 18, 1913, Vincennes, Ind., U.S.—d. Sept. 17, 1997, Rancho Mirage, Calif.) U.S. comic actor. He joined a touring medicine show at age 10, performed in minstrel shows, burlesque, and vaudeville, and was a hit on Broadway in 1937 with his trademark doughnut-dunking pantomime. His 1938 screen debut was followed by appearances in more than 35 film comedies. He starred in the popular The Red Skelton Show on radio (1941-44, 1945-
53) and television (1951-71). Noted for his broad humour and warm per¬ sonality, Skelton developed characters such as the Mean Widdle Kid, Clem Kadiddlehopper, and Freddie the Freeloader.
skene \'ske-ne\ In ancient Greek theatre, a building behind the playing area that was originally a hut in which actors changed masks and cos¬ tumes. It eventually became the scenic backdrop for the drama. First used c. 465 bc, the skene was a small wooden structure facing the circle of spectators. It developed into a two-story edifice decorated with columns, with three doors used for entrances and exits. It was flanked by wings {paraskenia). By the end of the 5th century bc, the wooden skene was replaced by a permanent stone structure. In the Roman theatre it was an elaborate building facade.