The Aztec and Mayan Civilizations in the Americas Ashley M. Carpenter Western Civilization II National University June 2, 2012 Abstract From 250 A.D. to the late 1500’s A.D. the Mayans and the Aztecs controlled Central and South America. Each was unique, but still shared a few of the same traits. Both had their own calendar system, counting system, and Polytheistic religious beliefs along with similar temples built to worship their deities. While the Aztecs were the most prominent users of human sacrifice, the Mayans also participated in such rituals. A few differences between these civilizations were the social structure, natural resources, and differing cultural strengths.
4. Why would Diamond choose to start here? Chapter One: Up to the Starting Line Diamond says: “An observer transported back in time to 11,000 B.C. could not have predicted on which continent human societies would develop most quickly, but could have made a strong case for any of the continents.” Why does Diamond begins his story at this point in human history; why not sooner or later? o Because this date corresponds approximately to the beginnings of village life in a few parts of the world, the first undisputed peopling of the Americas, the end of the Pleistocene Era and last Ice Age, and the start of what geologists term the Recent Era.
The Ainu, however, maintain hunting and gathering as a primary means, agriculture is only to supplement their diet. It is arguable that some Jomon made life changes and took on agriculture while intermixing with the new migrants who brought this knowledge from mainland, Asia, the Yayoi. The intermixing of Yayoi and Jomon is believed to be what modern Japanese are. As political tides change throughout time the Ainu were washed to the bottom of a modernizing society and pressed to move north. “In any event it seems clear that the Yayoi people are the descendents of the vast majority of present-day Japanese.
This question brought about the thesis of his book, that environment is more persuasive on development of civilization than people may have once thought. In the first chapter of Guns, Diamond establishes two main arguments that will become crucial to his thesis later on in the book. First, he goes in depth about mass extermination and further extinction of large mammals that occurred in New Guinea and Australia which were important for food and domestication, and secondly he argues that all the first civilized peoples in the world each had the ability to out develop one another, but were hindered or helped by their environment. Diamond continues to provide evidence for his thesis that environmental factors play a
THE MAYA INDIANS SETTLEMENT PATTERN According to William Claypole and John Robottom, in their book ‘Caribbean Story’, at the height of their civilization, the Maya Indians occupied 324,000 square kilometers of land which included the Mexican regions of the Yucatan Peninsula, Campeche and Tobasco, as well as the territory of Belize, Guatemala and the western edge of Honduras. Robert Greenwood and Shirley Hamber in their book ‘Amerindians to Africans’ placed the first civilization of the Maya Indians at around 2000 Bc. The authors of this book also mentioned the decline of the Maya civilization after AD 900. They claim that it emerged 300 years later as a modified form of Mayan civilization. Greenwood and Hamber suggested three reasons for the decline in the Maya civilization.
The islander’s primary sources of food were sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, and chicken. The island had large forests on the interior, which were useful for building houses, canoes, and transporting the large statue heads called Ahu. The use of trees exceeded the rate at which they grew. When the trees were deforested the topsoil was exposed to the rain and wind. Without the fertile topsoil the production of food could not support population, resulting in cannibalism and civil war.
The Missing Story: How Don Quixote Met Sancho Panza Translated By Lauren Sherman Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s “Don Quixote” meets Robert More’s “Utopia” HONRS 202 SPRING 2012 LAUREN SHERMAN 4/4/2012 Through many translations, edits, and condensed versions of stories, modern textbooks today often leave out a great deal about many classic stories. A group of scholars have recently found part of the original story, Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. This group has undergone an intense process to translate this text to a modern-day understanding and has given its readers a much better understanding of a critical part of the text. In this excerpt from the salvaged story, Don Quixote actually meets his rational sidekick, Sancho Panza in a small town called “Utopia.” This is the true story of how Don Quixote met Sancho Panza… As Don Quixote rode in with the sunrise, his eyes slowly widened as he neared what looked like to be civilization. The sun set and rose so fast Quixote never gave a second thought of visiting a town one of his favorite books referenced.
Though the site was originally thought to be purely religious in nature, recent archeological finds point to the idea of its being a resort: a palace and surrounding compound, including temples, for Incan rulers. About twelve hundred people probably inhabited the site at any one time (Wikipedia). Machu Picchu is a large archeological site comprised of many structures. Though ideas as to what exactly its function or place in Inca society was tend to vary, current archeological thought says that Machu Picchu is divided into three main areas or districts: The Sacred District, so-called because it contains several temples, the Popular District, and the Royalty District, where it is thought that priests and nobility resided. The city was likely built in the 15th century by the Emperor Pachacutec, and abandoned when the Spanish missionaries in the area brought an outbreak of smallpox that would likely have killed off much of Machu Picchu’s population.
The jungle provides sufficient food and shelter enabling them to have good amounts of leisure time. The Mbuti live under an immediate return system as a foraging society. This is due to the fact that food spoils quickly and must be eaten soon after obtaining it. They cannot store food or grow food in the rain forest. Like most foraging groups the Mbuti are mobile.
Of this, 94 000 km2 is in developing countries located in the tropical areas of Africa, South America and South-east Asia where rates of replanting are minimal. The underlying causes of deforestation in developing countries are varied. Key issues include unsustainable levels of consumption; the effects of national debt; pressure for increased trade and development; poverty; patterns of land ownership; and growing populations and social relationships. Rainforest deforestation is caused by commercial interests: the logging, cattle, agricultural development, mining, hydroelectric, and other industries. Today these industries are mostly dependent on the one-time exploitation of forest areas and moving on to new patches after those immediate resources have been depleted.