...pre-Hispanic art and prized their personal collections. Tamayo (1899-1991) a Zapotec from Oaxaca, was adamant that his collection be preserved as art, not science (Barto, 2006). That’s why upon his death he donated it to National Institute of Fine Art instead of the National Institute of Anthropology. The result is the Rufino Tamayo Museum, the only place in Mexico where you can see pre-Hispanic works on display as art for art’s sake. Some of the most significant humanistic pieces come not from celebrated city states like Teotihuacán or Chichen Itza, but from the civilizations of the west coast, from what is today Guerrero, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa. For the most part, these cultures remain an enigma. “To some extent this is due to geographic isolations,” Pesqueira explains, “but mostly it is because they left no great ceremonial centers like Teotihuacán and Monte Albán.” The art of occidental Mexico mostly differs from that of other regions in its secular nature (Barto, 2006). Rather than depicting idealized images of priests and warriors, their sculpture shows real human beings engaged in everyday activities: washing clothes, playing ball, and informal gatherings. “The Aztecs were very influenced by the question of religion and warfare,” says Pesqueira. “But in the cultures of the west coast the form of life is much more human, less rigid.” But neither were the Aztec and Maya wholly concerned with warfare and human sacrifice. The Maya, for...
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...The Pre-Columbian peoples of the Mesoamerican area are a population that has since fascinated historians and archaeologists to this day. Exploration and investigation has brought to light the great advancements these civilizations made in the areas of art, technology, and even astronomy. By means of examining and analyzing the remains, the massive structures and artifacts left behind by the early people of these civilizations, we have come to know of their rich culture and traditions. One group that we know a great deal of, the Classic Maya, exhibited a culture that was not only sophisticated and ahead of its time, but also one of great art and rituals. What was of great significance to these people was the Mayan Ballgame. The ballgame will be analyzed throughout this text, signifying its importance to the Mayan culture as evidenced in various articles and how these articles contribute to our understanding of these people. Though these written articles differ in some aspects they are all effective in advancing our knowledge of Mayan history and civilization because collectively they communicate how the ballgame taught Mayan values and proper behavior, was crucial in Mayan ritual and civilization, and how it was used as an interaction with other civilizations. How was this Mayan ballgame played? All the information historians have on the ballgame derived from visiting the actual sites in Mesoamerica where these games were played and the interpretation of various glyphs...
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...Extended Essay In World Religions [pic] “An Investigation into the Sacrificial Blood Rituals of the Maya Culture.” Abstract This essay focuses on the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Mayan civilization that spanned from the borders of present day Honduras up to Mexico, but which only a certain amount is truly known. The principal reason why I chose to focus on these people was to challenge myself to try and gain a greater understanding of why they engaged in such strange rituals as bloodletting and even human sacrifice? What prompted them to commit such acts? I proposed that the performance of these actions, as they seemed to be so entwined with their culture, must have had something to do with their religious beliefs but which ones exactly, and how did they originate? It was with this in mind that I conducted an investigation into the sacrificial blood rituals of Maya culture. Thus, from conducting library based research - using books, Encyclopedias and the Internet - I found out that the Mayans had created for themselves a complex Creation Myth and pantheon of gods. It was to supposedly sustain these gods, who were constantly fighting against one another, that the Mayan conducted bloodletting and human sacrifices, believing that in return the gods would provide them the water needed to grow their maize. The gods, replenished by this blood, were able to maintain the harmony of the universe by preventing any one group of...
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...Jalissa H. Professor Green History 101 INCAS The Incas became a definite group near present-day Cuzco around 1200CE. They were American Indian people. They were a small tribe in the Southern highlands of Peru. It was not until about 1400 tht they expanded and became one of the largest and morst tighly guarded empires the worl has ever known, under Pachacuti Inca. About 1532, the Spanish had arrived, at the time their empire was known as TYawantinsuyu. This is also known as the four Quarters, which spreed across the Northern Ecuador to the Central Chile, spanning some 3,500 kilometers in distance. Their skilld in governmebt matched their feat in engineering. They constructed roads, walls, irrigation system which is still being utilized in our society today. In 1532 the Spanish conquerors captured the Inca empires and it began to crumble. The Incas came out of conflicts between a number of competing communities in Southern Peru and Bolivia. It was the help of the military that caused success against the Chanca. This caused the Inca to believe they were under the protection of the sun God, Inti. Inti was known for being the emperor who was an earthly manifestation. The Incas thought they were on an all-powerful assignment to bring the civilization to those they had defeated. They inhabited some of the world’s arid dessert. Close by were the flat coastal lands and the jagged peaks of the Andes Mountain. The natives lived under the rule of one man, the emperor they called...
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...Mexican Americans There are many ethnicity cultures and race in the world. One of such ethnic groups is Hispanics. Hispanics can be identified or categorized in such ethnic groups. Hispanic Americans are Mexican with origin in a country of Latin American and countries in Europe such as Portugal and Spain. Under the Hispanic sub group we do find Mexican American who are Americans with Mexican decent. The median age of Mexican American is 24 years, which makes them the youngest Hispanic groups. In fact, 71 percent of the Mexican- Americans population is under 35. (U.S Bureau of the Census. , March 1989). The average size of the Mexican- American household is at 4.1 persons is the largest among the Hispanic groups. Through the early 1900’s Mexican Americans were mainly in rural and agricultural people, but today 90% of the populations is estimated to live in metropolitan areas. 73% of them lived in California and Texas in the 1980’s. Mexican American are the least well educated group among both major Hispanic groups and among the total U.S population. The dropout rate among Mexican American students is estimated at 40 percent or more. (Valdiveso, 1988). Lack of education probably contributes to the fact that as a group, Mexican Americans have lower status occupations than does the U.S populations as a whole. They concentrate on farm work and service occupations. Lower status jobs translate into lower income and higher poverty rates. The median family income of Mexican Americans...
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...real time world statistics website, there are more than seven billion people in the world. Is that not incredible? Over seven billion people. Yet, most of us will never truly or try to understand all the different types of cultures or their history that make up the total population in the world. Being a young lady who is half Filipino and Italian, it has always interested me how different the Filipino and Italian cultures are when comparing the two. These differences range from the food to mannerisms and traditions. However, there is one thing in common with these two very different cultures, they have a history of how they came to be. In order to truly understand all types of people, we must take the time to look at their history and learn about it. In this paper, I’ve chosen to take a deeper, more in-depth look at Guatemala and the ways people lived prior to the 1800s in terms of transculturation, hegemony, and the Columbian Exchange. “Transculturation” is the merging and converging of cultures. According to Maureen Shea, author of Culture and Customs of Guatemala, when Christopher Columbus arrived, it was “an encounter between European and Mesoamerican worlds” (2). The Europeans had arrived to establish “dominance while the Mesoamericans fiercely resisted the invaders, especially initially”. However, they found it “advantageous to acculturate themselves to the ways of the native population”. After Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec empire in 1521, “Cortes sent...
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...Chapter 7 Confucian Classics-the ancient texts recovered during the Han Dynasty that Confucian scholars treated as sacred scriptures. Silk Road- the trade routes across central Asia through which Chinese silk and other items were traded Eunuchs-castrated males who played an important role as palace servants Age of division- the period after the fall of the Han dynasty when china was politically divided Grand canal- a canal, built during the Sui dynasty that connected the yellow and Yangzi Rivers. Notable for strengthening china’s internal cohesion and economic development Pure land- a school of Buddhism that taught that calling on the Buddha Amitabha and his chief helper, one could achieve rebirth in Amitabha’s pure land paradise Chan-a school of Buddhism that rejected the authority of the sutras and claimed the superiority of mind-to-mind transmission of Buddhist truths Nara- Japan’s capital and the first true city; it was established in 710 and modeled on the Tang capital of Chang’an ------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8 Corpus Juris civilis- the “body of civil law,” it is composed of the code, the digest and the institutes. Dioceses- geographic administrative districts of the church, each under the authority of a bishop and centered around cathedral Arianism- a theological belief, originating with Arius, a priest from Alexandria that denied that Christ was co-eternal with god the father. Popes- heads of the Roman...
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...Tuere A. Evans World Cultures I Week 4 : Assignment I Due Date: May 4, 2014 3 The Mayans were an early Mesoamerican society, inheriting the districts of the Olmec pop culture deserted, utilizing those grounds they turned into an immense and command development. They were affected by three unique social orders. Above all else their forerunners, the Olmecs, helped impact them from their assets, all the more particularly, elastic. Elastic was utilized to help structure a ball amusement that was utilized as excitement and religious practices. In addition, the Olmecs abandoned numerous urban communities that may have been utilized by the Mayans helping the simplicity of extension. Likewise, the Teotihuacans were an extremely religious pop culture and had a substantial extent of unique artisans which implies they depended on exchange importance solid ties with neighboring societies exchanging interesting products and even theories and philosophies. The last public opinion to be a significant impact were the Chichen Itza, however were Mayan, were somewhat not the same as whatever is left of the Mayan society; their impact was all the more militarily and weight turned, as the Chichen Itza didn't murder their hostage yet incorporated them into their society permitting them to manufacture a bigger military and expansion weight on whatever is left of their neighbors. The Mayans were an extremely conciliatory race that utilized numerous human yields within their religious practices...
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...cities were likewise linked into a large economic system . Trade between China and distant lands A metal bell from the Zhou era. was difficult and dangerous, but by the era's end commerce was conducted by sea with Southeast Asia and by land routes crossing Central Asia. The Central Asian Connection Central Asia, a vast expanse to China's north and west where the climate was too dry for farming (Map 2), was home mainly to pastoral nomads who grazed herds on its plateaus and plains. Skilled on horseback, the nomads occasionally attacked Chinese settlements to carry off goods and supplies, but they also spread commerce and useful knowledge. Some nomads, for example, exchanged their Central Asian nomads connect China with other cultures Nomads and Chinese adopt horse riding and crossbows from each other Iron tools and weapons spread to China, enhancing farming and warfare hides, wool, and horses for Chinese silk, pottery, metalware, and wood products and then traded these items with other societies across Central Asia. Over time, connections with the nomads, and through them with other Eurasian societies, had major impacts on China. Nomadic connections, for example, transformed Chinese warfare in the Eastern Zhou era. From the nomads Chinese armies adopted horseback riding, replacing chario- teers with mounted riders who moved and maneuvered more quickly. The nomads in turn began using the crossbow, a Chinese invention that could kill...
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...bias. Competition within has bene around for ages. Competition has shaped many cultures and is an important social building block. Competition is defined as “a contest for some prize, honor, or advantage.” There is no real historical background on competition as it is ingrained within our DNA the day we are born. We are taught at a young age to win, not lose. This is echoed within every culture and seems to be a main similarity within all cultures. Learning the word competition and how to “win” a young age is not always a good thing. Teaching children that winning is the only way is not as helpful to their future as parents may be lead to believe. Competition is prevalent in many situations from test taking to elections. A debatable quote that one may hear is “If you aren’t first, you are last.” Obviously, this isn’t the most accurate picture we should be painting about competition and teaching children but it is what it is and is throughout all cultures. One glaring similarity in regards to competition throughout several cultures is that parents want their children to succeed at any cost and to be the best at everything they do. What we are a culture are not realizing is that the high standards parents set on children at a young age hurts them more than helps. Competition is always going to play a factor in a person’s life ion one aspect or another. It is something we cannot run from. How a culture embraces competition is another thing. The Olympic Games is the biggest competition...
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...COR 130 Individual Research Paper The Aztecs and the role of Human Sacrifice The Aztec was a culture that dominated the Valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All the Nahua-speaking peoples in the Valley of Mexico were Aztecs, while the culture that dominated the area was Tenochca. At the time of the European conquest, they called themselves either "Tenochca" or "Toltec," which was the name assumed by the bearers of the Classic Mesoamerican culture, stated in Manuel Aguilar-Moreno’s book, Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Sadly, many of the Aztec didn't survive after the arrival of the Europeans. But during the earlier years, the Aztec became one of the most advanced civilizations because of their religion, war, and agriculture. The Aztecs gained an infamous reputation for their bloodthirsty human sacrifices with explicit tales of the beating heart being ripped from the still-conscious victims, decapitation, skinning and dismemberment. All of these things did happen but it is important to remember that for the Aztecs the act of sacrifice was a strictly ritualized process that gave the highest possible honor to the gods and was regarded as a necessity to ensure mankind’s continued prosperity. The Aztecs were not the first civilization in Mesoamerica to practice human sacrifice; human sacrifice was practiced to some extent by many peoples in Mesoamerica and around the world for many centuries. But it was the Aztec empire that really took the ritual...
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...serious, and should be viewed accordingly. I think the intended audience can be applied to everyone who plays any sport, coach a sport, and anyone who goes to any type sports activities. This article is the foundation of my research and all other articles will add to this one. Jewell, R., Moti, A, and Coates, D. (2011). Violence and Aggression in Spectator Sports. Economics, History and Policy, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 4. (11). 11-26. The authors in this article make a lot of interesting points when discussing violence and aggression in spectator sports. This article in intended for people who are concerned with the violent acts that occur in sports. The author briefly discusses the history of sports in Mesoamerican and Greek cultures. The article also discusses the revenue that is made from these sports that can be so violent. The author made a really interesting remark discussing that fans are the ones who demands violence and aggression in sports. I wonder why that is. The author gives a more thorough history of sports; discussing ancient Olympic games, blood sports, and bull fighting. Prevention of sexual violence in sports | EUSA (Prevention of sexual violence in...
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...Introduction The United States of America for decades has been the best example of a nation that is a melting pot of cultures. This has mainly been due to the fact that currently, the country may be the most racially and culturally diverse nation on the planet. There may be other facts disputing this assumption but the United States beats other culturally diverse nations in terms of the tolerance and harmony between the resident cultures. All this can been attested to the fact that America is an Immigration Country. The country constitutes people from different parts of the world. The process of people moving into the new world that is the Americas where the United State lies began centuries ago and has been an ongoing process to the current day. This paper examines the origins of their Native Americans. This paper also explores their journey into the Americas as the first Immigrants. Their settlement patterns and ways of life will also be examined. The paper also explores how the Native Americans in the Americas fared during the European conquest of the region that is currently identified as the America. Euro-Indian relations, conflicts and their aftermath is also a focus point of the paper, which culminates into the current state of affairs of the Native American community in the Americas. Origins of the Native Americans There are diverse sources of information on the origins and history of the Native Americans. They include oral history passed down through generations...
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...Human Sacrifice; A Religious Right “Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.'" (Genesis 22:1-2). When one thinks of human sacrifice as in relation to religion, the most often-cited example is the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is asked by god to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to him. To prove his faith, Abraham attempts to. God only stops him at the last moment, impressed by Abraham’s show of devotion. Religion is something that is practiced solely out of faith. To have faith is to believe in what cannot be seen or heard, what cannot be held; a belief that is not based on proof. The bible describes the Christian god as more of a present being, but to the Aztec, their gods were spiritual. Abraham had the voice of god to tell him that sacrifice was not what he truly wished but what if there was no presence there to stop him? For the Aztec there were no voices. They had developed the idea that their purpose on earth was to appease the gods for all that they had given them, and that is life. That being said, the most logical way to repay them for the life they had given is to give it back, bringing the Aztec upon human sacrifice. The number of lives taken by their people is unknown, however what is known, is that the number is much larger would care to believe. The Aztec, as Abraham had prepared himself to do, sacrificed themselves out...
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...Illegal Immigration and Border Policy In recent years, Illegal immigration has been a contemporary political and social debate. It has been the platform of many politicians, especially in the southwest, and it is often a popular subject in news media. People in favor of strict immigration policy often claim that illegal immigrants are costly to the American economy and that they take American jobs. The border control policy is ineffective, it is often too costly for its effectiveness. Border policies have increased the number of immigrant deaths in the deserts of border states. Not only that but the US/Mexico border is harmful to the environment. The anti-immigration policy that's currently in effect goes against a rich cultural history in North America. Lastly, popular arguments made for strict immigration will be brought to light. In 2006, George W. Bush signed H.R. 6061, also known as the Secure Fence Act, in an attempt to increase border security and expand the US/Mexico Border. Prompted by heightened national security measures after 9/11, the bill was designed to "help protect the American people" and marked " an important step toward immigration reform" (Bush 2006). The bill doubled funding for border security, increasing expenditures from $4.6 billion in 2001 to $10.4 billion in 2006. This money went to "[authorize] the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our Southern border" and to "[deploy] thousands of National Guard members to assist...
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