The Maya And The Mayan Civilization - 1439 Words

The Maya were a people from Middle America, which includes modern Guatemala, Southern Mexico, and Northern Belize (Editors). The Maya civilization was considered to be â€Å"one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica,† (Maya). â€Å"The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork,† (Maya). They also gave mankind the modern calendar (Jarus, Maya). The Mayans were a very advanced people, but one of the most important things in the Mayan culture was their religion/god worshipping rituals. The Mayans were an architectural type of people who based some of their masterpieces off of their religion. The†¦show more content†¦These were said to have been very big, joyous celebrations with lots of drinking and merrymaking between neighboring friends and family. The Mayans ate a lot of things at these parties, including vegetable stews, roasted meats, maize cakes and the desirable cocoa. As their guests left their extravagant party, the Mayans would give their guests a gift, almost like a goody bag, but the host would give their attendees a vase and a pedestal. This is like when your grandmother gives you some food take home after visiting her. Every Mayan person would have to these feasts, even the poor. In return for going to someone’s party, one had to throw their own party and invite them; the only people who did not have to exactly return the favor would have been poor. As mentioned before, every person had to throw the feast. If the person died before the y could throw their extravagant party, their heir would have to throw that party; there was no getting past that (McManus). Though this had a role in the lives of the Mayans, this was still little of what the Mayans did. One very interesting thing about the Mayans was that they had a very different view of creation than most common belief systems. The Mayans believed that the earth was just a plain old watery void to start out. Then, animals and plants came into the earth’s wide picture (Jarus). It was just animals and plants on the planet--no humans. But the gods needed humans, something or someone to worship them. The godsShow MoreRelatedThe Mayan Civilization And The Maya Empire1677 Words   |  7 Pages The Mayan civilization or the Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A.D. The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork. Most of the great stone cities of the Maya were abandoned by A.D. 900. The Maya civilization was one of the most dominant indigenous societiesRead MoreAncient Maya Essay868 Words   |  4 PagesAncient Maya Essay Matthew Pitcher Mrs Meligrana Ancient Civilizations June 8th, 2011 Pitcher1 The Ancient Mayan civilization stands out from other ancient civilizations and is great because of its outstanding achievements and developments. The Mayans are still known to this day for their exceptional architecture, medical discoveries, astronomy, and military tactics which were very successful. In this essay I will explain what the Mayans have achieved to make themselvesRead MoreCharacteristics Of The Mayan Civilizations733 Words   |  3 Pagesof civilizations. Three major ones are the Aztec, Maya, and Inca . These different civilizations play a very important role in history today. The Maya empire was highly skilled at building and architecture. They also were the only empire in mesoamerica to develop a complete writing system. The Maya were also highly skilled at agriculture and farming. The Maya were by far the most advanced and smart civilization. The Maya empire was very precise and exact when it came to architecture. Mayans builtRead MoreEnd of Mayan Civilization1143 Words   |  5 PagesEnd of Mayan Civilization Samuel Nathaniel H. Stansbury HUM 111 11/3/2012 The mystery concerning the fundamental explanation for the collapse of the Mayan Civilization has been a major focus for researchers in the fields of anthropology and archeology for a considerable period of time. At the very core of this mystery of the Mayan collapse was the question of how could such a strong, stable civilization that had flourished for approximately twenty-seven hundred years disappear without a clearRead MoreThe Mayan Civilization : Ancient Civilization1425 Words   |  6 PagesThe Mayan Civilization: For many centuries the Mayan was of life was a mystery to archaeologists. Their geography, social structure, government, economy/trade, technology, writing, and arts were all thought to be forever lost. Now, as archaeologists are still uncovering more information, what was once referred to as â€Å"The Lost Civilization of Maya†, has been awakened from the grave of unknown. Geography: The ancient Mayan Civilization surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean stretchedRead More The Ancient Maya Essay940 Words   |  4 Pages The Maya of Mesoamerica, along with the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, made up the high civilizations of the American Indians at the time of the Spanish conquest. Both the Aztecs and the Incas were late civilizations, between 1300-1533 AD, but the Maya of the Yucatan and Guatemala exhibited a cultural continuity spanning more than 2,000 years, 1000 BC-AD 1542. Many aspects of this culture continue yet today. The Ancient Maya in their time had actually refined writing. They hadRead MoreMaya And The Ancient Civilizations1283 Words   |  6 Pageshistorians still discuss when exactly the Maya civilizations started but the most commonly accepted date is 1800 BCE in the Soconusco Region. Unlike other Mesoamerican civilizations, Maya was not confined to one area of land but rather stretched out over Central America. To historians today, the Maya civilization reached its peak during the Classic Period between AD 250 and 900. At its peak, the Maya population was over 2,000,000 people. Excavations of Mayan cities have uncovered plazas, temples, pyramidsRead MoreMaya Civilization Collapse1311 Words   |  6 Pagessocietal collapse in which I will be making reference to throughout this essay is the Maya civilization. The Maya civilization is, â€Å"probably the best known of all early American civilizations.† (Fagan, 1995) It was at its strongest point between AD 300 AND 900. Around AD 900 was the time of its collapse. This civilization was develope d in a densely, tropical forest on either highlands or lowlands. Today to visit a Mayan site, people would go to the modern Mexican state, capital city of Merida. This siteRead MoreMayan And Mayan Writing System1067 Words   |  5 PagesMayan culture and civilization are said to be far beyond their time by their complex writing and numerical system. In the pre-Columbian America, the Mayan writing system is said to be the â€Å"only† true writing system within the Americas. By examining the environment the Maya had lived, we are able to look at the how the Maya used their writing system and it also further reflects the Maya’s surroundings. The Mayan civilization had flourished throughout the Yucatan peninsula in Central America. TheyRead MoreEconomy in Early American Civilizations: Maya, Aztecs and Inca865 Words   |  4 PagesThe economic systems of early American societies were very similar. One of these societies, the Mayans, lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America from the 3rd to the 10th century CE, and they relied on the trade of goods such as obsidian and crops such as cacao beans. Another American civilization was the Aztec civilization. They were located in the Valley of Mexico around the 13th to 16th century CE, and they used slash-and-burn farming to plant crops to trade. The Inca Empire existed

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Men Who Were Sent to Alcatraz Essay - 722 Words

Alcatraz began in 1850 as a military prison. Later it became a federal prison. Then on the verge of 30 years it was closed. Then for a while Indians used the island. Alcatraz was used to house the criminals who provoked problems at other jails. The island was located off the coast of California. The island has had many uses over a span of 122 years. Alcatraz was first used as a Military prison. They used it as a Military prison from 1850 to 1934. In 1934 it was changed to a federal prison. The Military cons were the first inmates of the prison. Then after roughly 30 years of federal prison use, Alcatraz was shut down due to deterioration and cost. The next to inhabit the island were Indians. In the Monte Cristo, a charter†¦show more content†¦The men’s uniforms were white and black or black and white shirts with blue pants. Also no women were in the jail, but some lived in the islands apartments, with their father or husband who worked in the jail. Some inmates would go years without seeing a woman or hearing one’s voice. The food and drink provided was on holidays the inmates were served fine meals such as stuffed celery, tom turkey roasted, pumpkin pie, fruit cake, and coffee. The inmates were fed 3 times a day and always had decent food. Most inmates said it was better than other federal prisons. But for drinks, the only fresh water on the island was rain and fog. Alcatraz experienced various deaths on the island. Eight inmates were murdered, 15 died of disease. Also five suicides took place; most men did not have time to attempt suicide because guards and officers were always walking the halls, also no knives, guns,Show MoreRelatedInformative Speech on Alcatraz1097 Words   |  5 PagesPurpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the storiesRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz1081 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topicRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topicRead More Alcatraz Essay1246 Words   |  5 Pagesisland standing in the strait. This rock is hidden by the fog and isolated by the chilling waters of the Pacific that flow in and out every day. It has a gloom that hangs about its rocky face most know it as Alcatraz but the men who experienced this island, referred to her as â€Å"The Rock†. To the men confined there, it is not only the ultimate in isolation but the most ironic because they are there in the midst of the activity of a busy harbor with small craft darting to and from San Francisco, OaklandRead MoreEscape From Alcatraz ( 1979 ) Directed By Don Siegel1683 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom Alcatraz (1979) directed by the famous iconic movie maker, Don Siegel, tells a riveting story about three close inmates and their highly thought out escape plan. Frank Morris, played by the famous Clint Eastwood, is transported to the most solid and uptight prison, Alcatraz, in San Francisco, California. He is transferred from a prison in Atlanta, Georgia and booked into Alcatraz on January 18, 1960. Upon his arrival, the prison warden informs Morris that no one has ever escaped Alcatraz. HeRead MoreThe Birdman Of Alcatraz, By Aka Robert Stroud934 Words   |  4 PagesWhile you may have heard of, â€Å"The Birdman of Alcatraz,† aka Robert Stroud, another popular Alcatraz inmate. He was probably the most famous inmate to reside on Alcatraz. In 1909, Stroud brutally murdered a bartender when he failed to pay the girl Stroud was pimping for. He shot the bartender to death and took the wallet for the prostitute. Stroud was convicted of manslaughter and sent to McNeil Island in 1911. At McNeil Island, he was noted to be violent and difficult to manage. Robert StroudRead MoreAlcatraz Island And The Fight For Indian Sovereignty1647 Words   |  7 PagesAlcatraz Island and The Fight for Indian Sovereignty Alcatraz Island has had a long history of being a place of incarceration, a place where all American outcasts (Indian and non-Indian) were sent and put away, far from society. Yet, natives managed to make Alcatraz a symbol of unity within the Indian community and also a symbol of resistance against Anglo colonists. Indians have managed to change a symbol of isolation into a symbol of brotherhood and peoplehood. 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Who cares if such work is illegal? You don’t think these nitwit coppers have their fingers in other pies? You can even see the weed bulging out of their pockets. And of course they keep it right next to theirRead MoreEssay on Al Capone Biography1495 Words   |  6 Pagesnamed Mary Coughlin who gave birth to their son Albert quot;Sonnyquot; Francis. Coughlin and Capone married later that year. He was first arrested on a disorderly conduct charge while working for fellow gangster Frankie Yale. At this time he also murdered two men to prove his willingness to kill, but he was not tried because of the gangland etiquette of â€Å"silence.† Capone was let off of all charges due to lack of proof. After Capone hospitalized a rival gang member, Yale sent him to Chicago until

Sociocultural Issues Case Study free essay sample

In this assignment I will provide a fictional case study of a counselling client with issues relating to fear and sadness and then consider how their individual problems might be located in the social context in which the clients are embedded. The case study will clearly focus on sociocultural issues, such as culture, race, gender, sexuality, etc. It will look at how useful it can be to recognise how important sociocultural issues can be when considering individual distress. The main focus this assignment will be drawing on with regards to sociocultural issues will be, race, culture and sexuality. The counselling approach being used will be person centred therapy. The Case Study is based on 32 year old woman who is mixed race and gay. She suffers anxiety around men which is the result of an intimidating, dominant father and verbal abuse from men regarding her sexuality. Case Study Alex is a mixed race 32 year old woman from the North-West of England but is currently living in London. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociocultural Issues Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She moved to London when she was 19 with her then boyfriend for a job she had been offered. Alex told me she is from a working class background but when she first came to London she was living a very middle class life style which she always felt uncomfortable with. Alex states that after 6 years of living what she calls â€Å"that life† she realised she was gay. This resulted in her relationship ending and leaving her job and life behind to embark on her new life in the gay community. Alex said her parents (Father Jamaican, Mother English) are supportive. Neither she nor her parents are religious. Alex came to us via self-referral for help regarding her anxiety issues. She suffered a controlling, dominant, intimidating father and now suffers verbal and sometimes physical abuse from men, she feels, because she is gay. Her father was intimidating towards everyone in the family especially her mother. As a result of this she adopted the role of her mother’s carer and protector giving her love, reassurance and emotional support that was never returned to her leaving her feeling very scared and vulnerable. Alex states that her fear of men in general is immense and that her true lifestyle which she is now living is increasing that fear as most of the abuse she is subjected to, is from men. She also states that living in the gay community sometimes makes her feel like a minority within a minority because she is mixed race. She likened it to growing up mixed race and not completely fitting in with whites or blacks and felt rejected by both. Alex made a self-referral to our agency to seek help with her anxiety. The approach used when working with Alex was person centred therapy. Alex actively sought out this approach feeling it is more open minded compared to old traditionalist such as psychoanalytical. Relating sociocultural issues to the client In society today, there are hierarchies with regard to race, gender (status), sexuality, (dis)ability, age, mental health and class. You are considered â€Å"normal† if you are white, male, straight, able bodied, young, mentally healthy and within the middle/upper classes. In light of this, Barker points out that, when we are part of the norm we often don’t even see that aspect of our identity, but when we are in the other group we may be all too aware of it. (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 214) It has been argued by, feminist, multicultural and LGBT af? rmative therapists that such norms are present in mainstream psychotherapy and counselling. We all know that the main approaches of today all emerged in a western context and were largely founded by straight men. Barker asks: Can counselling theories and practices be usefully applied to people outside these groups, without reinforcing the notion that their members are lesser or problematic in some way? (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 215) In answer to Barkers question, it could be argued that, the psychotherapists and counsellors of today are just that, of today. We all live in a modern world and know much off the sociocultural aspects that come with it. When we try to treat a client purely as an individual this can result in the loss of the experience of being different. Barker states that traditional therapeutic approaches have been critiqued by multicultural, feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) af? rmative therapists for their individualist stances. (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 212) It is said that, they regularly fail to see how important culture, gender and sexuality are. Barker states that today, the majority of counsellors and psychotherapists are white, middleclass, heterosexual women, and this group also makes up the bulk of clients. Given this, how easy is it for other people to access counselling, or to experience it without power differences between counsellor and client being exacerbated in ways that are unhelpful? (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 215) This statement/question throws earlier claims of male superiority within psychotherapy up in the air and also highlights the changes that have come about in modern times with women now dominating the industry. This argument again supports the fact that as an industry, we are evolving and moving with the times to keep things relevant for our clients so they don’t deem us unhelpful or exacerbating. On the other hand it could also be argued that counselling that is readily available through agencies and therapy centres still have counsellors who operate in a similar ways to the founders of such approaches. LGBT, feminist and multicultural style therapy has not penetrated the mainstream as such yet which is maybe why minority groups such as feminist, multicultural and LGBT clients do not feel their needs are being met. This is illustrated when lesbian/gay people are questioned about their sexuality, when a straight person probably never would be or when a white person looks in the mirror, they don’t see their whiteness but for black people, that is all they see because they feel it is what makes them different. However it could be argued that because black people choose to focus on the fact that they are black, they could be in fact choosing to feel different. This would lead us to believe that if they did not focus on their skin colour, it would not be an issue for them. Unfortunately for Alex, her skin colour was a point of focus throughout her life but not just from one side, from both making it twice as more hurtful, lonely and scary for her. Barker cites that in Laudat’s (2005) study, she found many links between being mixed race and having depression. The study found that many of the women who participated struggled with exclusion from both black and white cultures. (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 219) It was found that there was little support or guidance for them growing up, which left them feeling not good enough. It would also be difficult to talk to anybody about their struggles, even their parents couldn’t fully understand as each one would have been of either race and not know what it was like to be mixed race. As Barker indicated, It is vital that counsellors and psychotherapists re? ect upon the assumptions and beliefs we hold about race, culture, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, age, class and all other sociocultural issues, so that we can approach counselling with an awareness of what we bring (based on our background and identity) and how we may view and treat people of similar, or different, backgrounds and identities. (Barker, 2010) (Barker, 2010, p. 212) When a client is the minority within our society, it is imperative that we try to have an understanding of how this has an impact on them as it would be related to their experience of fear and sadness. Describing myself as a counsellor If I was a counsellor working with Alex I would try to make her feel as comfortable as possible in the therapy room. My first point of call would be to build a rapport and gain her trust, whilst being open minded and non-judgmental. I would suggest two maybe three one to one sessions with Alex to get a clear picture of what is distressing her and then (if Alex was willing) introduce her into one of two group settings. The first group would be made up of other females of minorities and the second a group for anyone consisting of men and women with similar and different issues. The choice would be hers. I would also advise that she could split her contracted time between the two groups, spending 18 months in each. In our first session, I would make her aware of the type of counselling I would be using, which would be person centred therapy. I believe Alex would benefit from person centred therapy as she expressed that she wanted to steer away from the traditional therapy’s and as Dykes expressed, The humanistic approaches to counselling draw upon the values and ideas of ‘humanistic psychology’, also known as the ‘third force’ in psychology because it emerged as a reaction against the mechanistic, reductionist and determinist theories of the two prevailing psychologies in the mid-twentieth century: behaviourism and psychoanalysis. (Barker, 2010) p. 103 As a counsellor working with Alex, I would be human and transparent which would enable Alex to see that I am open to grow as a result of my experience with her, which in turn would enable me to help Alex not only relieve her distress but transform for the better. Alex presented to us with issues surrounding her father, her being mixed race and now being gay. To gather insight I would ask Alex to start where she felt she should in regard to telling me about these issues. My thinking would be that whichever came first could be the most troubling for her right now, although I would keep in mind that in fact the opposite could be true and so I would just have to feel it out with her. Alex outlined her being mixed race as a source of distress because it made her feel she was never good enough to fully belong. Dykes stated that, Rogers argued that human beings have a basic need for approval. (Barker, 2010) chapter 5 p. 109 Alex was denied such a basic human need and so the result is she feels isolated, neglected and misunderstood. Alex has developed a self-concept that defines her very being in the world. Self-concepts are made up of conditions of worth which are created by parents, past and social experiences. Bem’s (1975) classic research found that ‘androgynous’ people (those who showed both culturally ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits) were more ? exible and ‘psychologically healthy’ than those who stuck rigidly to gender roles. Cited in (Barker, 2010) p. 224 Alex is confused by her feelings about her gender. She knows she is a woman and has no desire to change that, but since being in the gay community she feels an almost opposite pressure to be less attractive and almost â€Å"man like†. She states that she is often mistaken as being a man and is not sure how to feel about this. As a counsellor, I would get a sense that although Alex does not want to be a man she in some way likes being seen as one, which would lead me to believe that she almost feels safer and less threatened when these mistaking’s take place. Alex has short hair and she wears man’s clothes. It is important that therapists work with clients’ own gendered experiences. There is a long history, to this day, of the psychiatric profession pathologising those who are not cisgendered (Clarke, Ellis, Peel and Riggs, 2009). Cited in (Barker, 2010) p. 224 Conclusion This assignment has produced a fictional cases study of a 32 year old mixed race gay woman and has outlined how those facts have affected her and her life. It was believed that person centred therapy would be best suited because of its lableless approach which for a women who has spent her life being labelled and subjected to negativness because of those labels would be a positive change. We have looked how sociocultural issues relate to personal issues for people such as Alex and how to be aware of them whilst working with clients that are affected by them. The description of myself as a counsellor showed how I would work with a client like Alex and how being in therapy would aid her. Word Count: 2088 Refrences Barker, M. V. (2010). Understanding counselling and psychotherapy. Milton Keynes: Sage Publications Ltd. Self Reflection I found this assignment very interesting and enjoyed it. I think it was because it was a more creative assignment which enabled me to use my own thoughts a lot more. Also I think I may have a better understanding of what is expected of my assignment’s regarding writing style and referencing and hope to be told weather im correct in thinking this or not. The most difficult aspect of it was deciding which approach to use. I wanted it to be the best suited for the clients issues but was worried it would be considered my out and out fav which im not decided on yet, it’s a possibility.