cremation Disposing of a corpse by burning. In the ancient world cre¬ mation took place on an open pyre. It was practiced by the Greeks (who considered it suitable for heroes and war dead) and the Romans (among whom it became a status symbol). The pagan Scandinavians also cremated their dead. In India the custom is very ancient. In some Asian countries only certain people may be cremated (e.g., high lamas in Tibet). Chris¬ tianity opposed cremation, and it became rare in Europe after ad 1000 except under extreme circumstances, such as that brought on by the Black Death. The practice reemerged in the late 19th century and was eventu¬ ally accepted by both Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Creole In the 16th-18th centuries, a person born in Spanish America of Spanish parents, as distinguished from one born in Spain but residing in America. Under Spanish colonial rule, Creoles suffered from discrimina¬ tion; it was consequently Creoles who led the 19th-century revolutions against Spain and became the new ruling class. Today Creole has widely varying meanings. In Louisiana it can mean either French-speaking white descendants of early French and Spanish settlers, or people of mixed descent who speak a form of French and Spanish. In Latin America the term may denote a local-born person of pure Spanish extraction or a member of the urban Europeanized classes as opposed to rural Indians. In the West Indies it refers to all people, regardless of ancestry, who are part of the Caribbean culture. See also Creole language.
creole Any pidgin language that has become established as the native language of a speech community. A creole usually arises when speakers of one language become economically or politically dominant over speak¬ ers of another. A simplified or modified form of the dominant group’s lan¬ guage (pidgin), used for communication between the two groups, may eventually become the native language of the less powerful community. Examples include Sea Island Creole (formerly Gullah, derived from English), spoken in South Carolina’s Sea Islands; Haitian Creole (derived from French); and Papiamento (derived from Spanish and Portuguese), spoken in Curasao, Aruba, and Bonaire.
creosote Vkre-9-,sot\ Either of two entirely different substances, dis¬ tilled from coal tar or wood tar. Coal-tar creosote is a complex mixture of organic compounds, largely hydrocarbons. It is a cheap water-insoluble wood preservative used for railroad ties, telephone poles, and marine pier pilings and as a disinfectant, fungicide, and biocide. Wood-tar creosote consists mainly of phenols and related compounds and was once widely used for pharmaceutical purposes.
Cresilas Vkre-si-bs\ or Kresilas (fl. 5th century bc, Athens, Greece) Greek sculptor. He was a contemporary of Phidias. His portrait of Pericles (c. 445 bc) generated a type of noble, idealized portraiture. A figure of a wounded Amazon (c. 440 bc) is ascribed to him because of its resem¬ blance to this head. Works attributed to Cresilas are known only in cop¬ ies of lost bronze originals.
cress Any of several plants of the mustard family, of interest for their spicy young basal leaves, which are used in salads and as seasonings and gar¬ nishes. Watercress is perhaps the most popular of the edible cresses. Com¬ mon garden cress, or peppergrass (. Lepidium sativum ) is widely grown, especially in its curl-leaved form, and used as a garnish. Others include weeds (e.g., Barbarea vulgaris), wild varieties (e.g., Cardamine praten- sis ), and ornamentals (e.g., Arabis species).
Cressent \kres-'a n \, Charles (b. Dec. 16, 1685, Amiens, Fr.—d. Jan. 10, 1768, Paris) French cabinetmaker. He also studied sculpture and became an accomplished metalworker. In 1710 he went to Paris, where he worked in the studio of the cabinetmaker Andre-Charles Boulle. In 1715 Cressent was appointed official cabinetmaker to Philippe II, duke d’Orleans. He was elected to the Academy of St.-Luc in 1719, and he consequently received important commissions from French aristocrats, including Madame de Pompadour. His early works were in the Louis XIV style, but later pieces (c. 1730-50) were lighter and more curvilinear. Cressent was the leading proponent of the Regence style and introduced marquetries of coloured wood and ormolu to case decoration.
4
Ben Perryman, a Creek Indian, paint¬ ing by George Catlin, 1836; in the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART (FORMERLY NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS), SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C., GIF OF MRS. SARAH HARRISON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Creston ► Crimea I 483
Creston, Paul orig. Giuseppe Guttoveggio (b. Oct. 10, 1906, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Aug. 24, 1985, San Diego, Calif.) U.S. com¬ poser. Born to a poor immigrant family, he was largely self-taught in music. His numerous works, many of which achieved wide performance, are highly rhythmical and tonally accessible. They include six sympho¬ nies, a Requiem and three masses, and several concertos. He is noted for the rhythmic vitality and full harmonies of his music, which is marked by modem dissonances and polyrhythms.
Cretaceous \kri-'ta-shos\ Period Interval of geologic time from c. 144 to 65 million years ago. During the Cretaceous the climate was warmer than today. In the seas, marine invertebrates flourished, and bony fishes evolved. On land, flowering plants arose, and insects, bees in particular, began their thriving partnership with them. Mammals and birds remained inconspicuous throughout the Cretaceous, while the reptiles continued their dominance. The dinosaurs reached the peak of their evolution dur¬ ing this period but rather suddenly became extinct at its end.
Crete Greek Kriti \'kre-te\ ancient Creta Island (pop., 2001: 601,159) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and an administrative region of Greece. It stretches for 152 mi (245 km) and varies in width from 7.5 to 35 mi (12 to 56 km), with a total area of 3,218 sq mi (8,336 sq km). Dominated by mountains, it was home to the Minoan civilization from c. 3000 bc and was known for its palaces at Knossos, Phaestus, and Mallia; it reached its peak in the 16th century bc. A major earthquake c. 1450 bc marked the end of the Minoan era. In 67 bc Rome annexed Crete; in ad 395 it passed to Byzantium. In 1204 Crusaders sold the island to Venice, from which it was wrested by the Ottoman Turks in 1669 after one of history’s longest sieges. Taken by Greece in 1898, it was autonomous until its union with Greece in 1913. Agriculture is the economic mainstay, and the island is one of Greece’s leading producers of olives, olive oil, and grapes; tour¬ ism is also important. The museum at Iraklion houses a fine collection of Minoan art.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob \ , kroits- l felt- , ya- l kob\ disease or CJD Rare fatal disease of the central nervous system. It destroys brain tissue, making it spongy and causing progressive loss of mental functioning and motor control. The disease commonly arises in adults between the ages of 40 and 70. Patients usually die within a year. There is no known cure. The disease is caused by a prion that builds up in neurons. Inherited or ran¬ dom mutation accounts for 99% of cases; the rest come from prion expo¬ sure during medical procedures and possibly from eating the meat of cattle with MAD COW DISEASE.
crevasse \kri-'vas\ Fissure or crack in a glacier resulting from stress produced by movement. Crevasses range up to 65 ft (20 m) wide, 150 ft (45 m) deep, and several hundred yards long. Crevasses may be bridged by snow and become hidden, and they may close up as the glacier moves.
CrevecoeurVkrev-'koerVMichel- Guillaume-Saint-Jean de or J. Hector St. John or Hector St. John de Crevecoeur (b. Jan.