hunting and gathering society Any human society that depends on hunting, fishing, or the gathering of wild plants for subsistence. Until c. 8,000 years ago, all peoples were foragers of wild food. Many forag¬ ing peoples continued to practice their traditional way of life into the 20th century, but today all such peoples have developed extensive contacts with settled groups. In the traditional hunting-and-gathering society, social groups were small, usually made up of either individual family units or a number of related families collected together in a band. The diet was well balanced and ample, and food was shared. The men usually did the hunt¬ ing while the women gathered plants and did most domestic chores. The remainder of the time was spent on social and religious activities.
Huntington, Collis P(otter) (b. Oct. 22, 1821, Harwinton, Conn., U.S.—d. Aug. 13, 1900, Raquette Lake, N.Y.) U.S. railroad magnate. He worked as a peddler before becoming a prosperous merchant in Oneonta, N.Y. In the gold rush year of 1849, he moved to Sacramento, Calif., and joined Mark Hopkins in a firm that specialized in miners’ supplies. In the late 1850s he became interested in a plan to link California with the east¬ ern U.S. by rail. In 1861 he joined Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker (1822-1888)—a group later known as the “Big Four”—to form the Central Pacific Railroad. During its construction (1863-69), Hunting- ton lobbied for the company in the east, securing financing and favour¬ able legislation from the federal government. In 1865 the Big Four formed the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1869 Huntington bought the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which he later extended to link with the Southern Pacific, forming the first transcontinental railroad. He became president of the Southern Pacific-Central Pacific system in 1890.
Huntington, Samuel P(hillips) (b. April 18, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. political scientist. After receiving a doctorate from Harvard University, he spent most of his career teaching at Harvard, specializing in defense and international affairs. He has been a consultant to many
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912 I Huntington Beach ► Hurston
government agencies. Among his many books are Political Order in Changing Societies (1968), in which he suggested that developing coun¬ tries are not always likely to create liberal-democratic institutions, and Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order (1996), in which he predicted conflicts between the world’s major cultures in the post-Cold War era.
Huntington Beach City (pop., 2000: 189,594), southwestern Califor¬ nia, U.S. Located on the Pacific coast, it was first called Shell Beach and after its subdivision (1901) was known as Pacific City. To encourage its promotion as a seaside resort, it was renamed Huntington Beach for the railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington. Its major economic assets are oil wells and refineries.
Huntington chorea Relatively rare, hereditary neurological disease that is characterized by irregular and involuntary movements of the muscles. Huntington chorea is caused by a genetic mutation that causes degeneration of neurons in a part of the brain that controls movement. Symptoms usually appear between ages 35 and 50. They begin with occa¬ sional jerking or writhing movements, which are absent during sleep, and progress to random, uncontrollable, and often violent twitchings and jerks. Symptoms of mental deterioration begin later and include memory loss, dementia, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. There is no effective therapy or cure, and the disease invariably proves fatal. A child of a person with Huntington chorea has a 50% chance of developing the disease.
Huntsman, Benjamin (b. 1704, Holland—d. June 21, 1776, Shef¬ field, Yorkshire, Eng.) British inventor of the crucible process. A clock- maker and instrument maker, Huntsman opened a plant in Sheffield c. 1740, where he produced steel for clock and watch springs. His new pro¬ cess yielded cast steel more uniform in composition and freer from impu¬ rities than any previously produced. Sheffield steelmakers used the crucible process to achieve worldwide dominance in the production of tool and other high-quality steels.
Huntsville City (pop., 2000: 158,216), northern Alabama, U.S. Origi¬ nally called Twickenham, it was the first community in Alabama to be granted a city charter, in 1811. It was the site of Alabama’s first consti¬ tutional convention (1819) and served briefly as the state capital. Settled around Big Spring, it is a commercial centre for hay, cotton, corn, and tobacco. The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (1950) are located there.
Hunyadi \'hu-nyod-e\ Janos (b. 1407?, Hunyad, Transylvania—d. Aug. 11, 1456, Belgrade) Hungarian general. Son of a knight, he saw military service under King Sigismund. While in Italy he learned new mili¬ tary techniques from Francesco Sforza; returning to southern Hungary, he repelled Turkish attacks (1437-38) and was made governor of Transyl¬ vania. With aid from Venice and the pope, he mounted a campaign against the Turks (1441-43) that broke the Ottoman Empire’s hold on the Bal¬ kan states, though he was defeated in a Turkish counterattack at the Battle of Varna (1444). In 1446 he was elected regent for the young king, Las- zlo V, and he served as governor of the kingdom of Hungary 1446-52. In 1456 he raised the Turkish siege of Belgrade before dying of disease. For stopping the supposedly invincible Turkish armies, he is considered a Hungarian national hero.
Huon \'hyu-3n\ River River, southern Tasmania, Australia. Rising on the slopes of Mounts Wedge, Bowen, and Anne, the Huon flows south and then east to be joined by its tributaries, the Weld and Picton rivers, below Huon Gorge. It passes Huonville at the limit of navigation and enters a wide estuary after a course of 105 mi (170 km), then flows into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. The river’s lower valley is intensively culti¬ vated, containing the island’s leading apple-growing area; it is also a popular tourist region.
Hupeh See Hubei Hupei See Hubei
hurdling Track-and-field event, a footrace over a series of obstacles called hurdles. Runners must remain in assigned lanes throughout a race, and, though they may knock hurdles down while running over them, they may do so only with a leg or foot, not a hand. Modern hurdlers use a sprinting style between hurdles, display an exaggerated forward lean while clearing the hurdle, and then bring the trailing leg through at nearly a right angle to the body, which enables them to continue forward with¬
out breaking stride after clearing the hurdle. Hurdling distances are 110 m and 400 m for men and 100 m and 400 m for women.