Art as a Culture

Part 1
I believe what the cave artists were trying to illustrate was their way of life through cave drawings. The cave drawings were mostly animals so I believe that animals had a very important impact in their lives. There are maybe more animals than people in their cave drawings because these people might have been trying to relay some kind of information about them to others who explored the cave. They may have even drew those images to warn others of the potential danger of these specific animals. One painting that stood out to me was the cow with a collar around its neck implying that the artists had some type of domesticated animals living among them. The cave dwellers paintings depicted a culture that could have tried to domesticate these animals and have found some success. However, they may have also tried to record failures such as the painting with the wounded man. It appears as though he was wounded by a bison. One of the difficulties these humans had to navigate in order to paint these pictures was visible light. In order to travel deep into the cave, the cave dwellers would have had to have a light source such as fire. Even then, they must have thought of a way to keep that fire from going out too soon or risk losing track of the patch and becoming lost in pitch darkness. One possible function for this art was probably to warn other people of the dangers of some specific animals as previously mentioned. Another function for these paintings would be a record of events that the cave dwellers have either witnessed or made up. One of the more possible fictions for these drawings would be for story telling purposes. These drawings can give the individual viewer a sense of a background story about them. So when people from that culture would tell stories, they would also have illustrations of that particular story.

Part 2
A commonalty between the Lascaux Cave drawings and modern art are illustrations that tell a story. An example would be for those familiar with the religious story of Adam and Eve. The story involves a man, woman, apple, and a snake. These elements have been drawn into a single picture to illustrate the events leading up to the dramatic part of the story. For those who are not familiar with the story, the painting would be no more than an illustration of a nude man and woman next to an apple tree. The same can be said with the Lascaux cave drawing in my opinion. To a person unfamiliar to the stories of these people, these cave drawings are just painting of animals from earlier humans. To the cave dwellers however, they may have had some important value to a story that was culture specific to them. They may have had something to do with morals of the people and what happens when people disobey their possible life lesson.

Part 3
My favorite type of art are video games. To most this may sound odd because video games are considered to only be for younger people for entertainment purposes and not really considered art. There are many people involved in creating a video game, each with their own unique artistic abilities to make the game's narrative and visual effects as entertaining as possible. In many ways the start of a video game is like the start of a movie. There is a story element that is may or may not change as the game is being made. There are artists who draw sketches of the characters and environment so that the game developers have an idea on what the visual goal is when making the world. Then there are the people who design the levels and character movements along with the programmers who develop the mechanics of the game. There are many more aspects that I have left out which goes to show just how much time and effort goes into these games that most take for granted. The purpose or function of these video games are to immerse the player into these stories that movies can not do by making the player apart of the story. They may try to communicated just about anything like a point of view from a historic event such as in the game "1979 Revolution: Black Friday" which is a choice driven story that revolves around the Iranian revolution of 1979.

The culture of video games have interested the public and now involves many people around the world. It is a relatively new art form and has caused some controversy because of the graphic content some of these games have such as strong language and other adult material. Some developers have adapted however because they now include options to exclude some of the content people may find offensive such as blood and strong language. This art form benefits society because it incorporates the story elements that encourage morally correct behavior. Video games also benefit society by giving the public an outlet to express some emotion that may seem offensive or even dangerous through an imaginary world. The only detrimental aspect to video games is that it could possibly give the wrong ideas to the wrong people. For example, someone who plays a video game that involves shooting people now know that the most effective way to kill them is by shooting their heads. In my opinion however video games do more good than harm if they are used in an appropriate manner and knowing that everything in the video game is fake and not meant to be brought into the real world.

Politics and Violence of the Yanomamo

Rules of killing
1) The Yanomamo do not have any written language or laws within their society that protects people from violent deaths. They do however have a mutual understanding that killing other in retaliation or revenge killing is acceptable. If a person is killed by another person from a different tribe, it is acceptable for the kin of the victim to form raids to kill in swift retaliation. The person who first committed the murder may or may not be killed during these raids. When a tribe is raiding another tribe, any male is a prime target of the raiders. After the raiding, the group returns to the home village and performs unokais rituals that give them spiritual protection from the spirits of their victims. This is how justice is served within the Yanomamo.

In western society killing is only acceptable in self defense. An example of this is a home invasion where a person's life or family may be in danger. However, revenge killing is not acceptable in western societies. Although the victims of the crime may angrily disagree, there is a judicial process that must be undertaken before a punishment for a murderer is decided. The punishments include a large amount of time or even life in prison. Sometimes, the punishment for the crime is death but this is not practiced by all states. To avoid the death penalty, people who stand trial for murder tend to present themselves before a judge as clinically insane. Some of these cases may have legitimate people with some kind of mental problem. During the trails, a judge and jury are given the power to pass judgement for the person standing trial. The difference between the Yanomamo and western society is that the Yanomamo's revenge killing is not only acceptable, but also a community effort. In western society, killing is avoided even after a person commits murder in most cases. 

Process of Revenge Killings

2) The Yanomamo go through a process of violence before revenge killings occur. This process consists of shouting matches, chest pounding duels, side slapping duels, club fights, fights with axes and machetes, and shooting with bows and arrows with the intent to kill each other. With each step in the process, violence gradually increases until the Yanomamo begin killing. These actions are started by many things that western society would deem inappropriate such as killing over sexual jealousy. If a Yanomamo male is considered cowardly because of his lack of killing, other males may try to sexually seduce their wives. This causes tension and eventually death for one of the Yanomamo males. In western cultures, jealousy is seen as an emotion that can be harmful or fun to play around with. 

The Status of Unokais

3) Unokais are people among the Yonomamo who have killed. Within the Yonomamo, gaining the status of Unokais has more benefits than disadvantages. One benefit that comes from becoming unokais is the reputation of being fierce. This reputation serves as a form of protection from other tribes that may want to attack them. The more unokais there are in a trible, the less likely of them becoming under attack from another tribe. Another benefit of the reputation of unokais are less men who will try to seduce the warrior's spouse. For fear of death, other Yonomamo males will try to avoid the spouses of unokais and instead target the spouses of males who are not unokais. The males who have become unokais have also a higher chance to reproduce. Being a non-unokais also has its own benefits however because they are not constantly risking their lives raiding other villages. Tribes sometimes travel far distances that could take days to reach another village to raid. There is also no guarantee that they will make it back from the trip to their home village. If a unokais dies, then the male who has chosen to not become unokais may seduce the former spouse. Non-unokais are also often mocked and ridiculed because of their unwillingness to fight. Because the benefits outweigh the risk, a Yanomamo man may choose to become unokais. 

The Relationships between Revenge Killing and Yanomamo Culture

4) Revenge killing does not only contribute to the retaliation motives of the Yanomamo, but it also contributes to the political power of the head of the tribes. The head of the tribes are the ones who decide if revenge killing will be carried out by his village. These villages raid other villages to not only assert their power, but also to force the women of their tribe to join the raider's tribe. With more women in a tribe, the unokais have more women to marry and bear their children. This in turn also adds to the social status of Yanomamo tribes who have many unokais in the village. The Yanomamo tribe leaders practice polygamy which allows high reproduction which adds a higher amount of members to a tribe. In many ways, the people who live among another in a village are related because of the repetitive intermarriages. These large kin groups then protect and avenge each other in revenge killings when one of their own is murdered. Revenge killing has become apart of the Yanomamo culture and contributes highly to it. 

Laws Against Anti-Social Behaviors

5) We need laws against anti-social behaviors such as killing so that we do not live in constant fear for our lives. The Yanomamo begin violent actions with just a thought of another village practicing some sort of black magic on them. These ideas are dangerous in the Yanomamo culture because they start fights and even wars that causes deaths on both sides. With laws against killing however, there is a process by which a person must go through a trail and be found to be the person who committed the crime. It is important to note that revenge killing does not have to include the person who committed the murder. This means that the person who killed put their families' lives in danger from retaliation. Not all people kill on purpose, sometimes it is accidental such as in a car crash whether a drunk driver was involved or not. Accidents happen and unintentional consequences follow, and this is why laws are put in place so that the party responsible faces the appropriate consequences.

Kinship Interview: My mother's perspective of Guatemala

1) The person I chose for my kinship interview was my mother. She was born in Sinaca, Guatemala located in Central America in the year 1965. She had four siblings which consisted of two older sisters, one younger sister, and one younger brother and was raised by her mother and father. My mother comes from a culture that practices some Catholic beliefs, but also some supernatural such as witchcraft. The belief that curses are put upon by witches are still alive and well in Guatemala. It is considered necessary for the women to learn some type of white magic remedies to protect their family from witchcraft. It is however, taboo to practice black magic and should not be sought out because black magic attracts demons. Not far from Sinaca is what is known as "La Antigua" (Antique Guatemala) where temples from ancient Mayan civilizations are located. She then migrated to the United States in search of better opportunities for herself and her family. She has since gained legal residency and visits her home country whenever she is able to on holidays.

2) While the interview was taking place there was no sense of awkwardness or discomfort with any of the questions it was actually the complete opposite. With every question she opened up more and more of what she remembered about growing up in Guatemala and the people she found support in. I myself was also comfortable during the interview because I speak to my mother regularly about a variety of different subjects. If I would have been interviewing a complete stranger I would not have received all the information I did. The reason why I believe it would have been more difficult interviewing a stranger is because there would not be a strong mutual level of trust. The information on witchcraft is a taboo to even mention in Guatemala unless it is to a direct family member. I personally had no idea that belief is still in my family. With a stranger I would have to be careful not to ask too many personal questions or the interviewee might distance themselves from the conversation.

3) The pattern I noticed in my family is lineage. My mother mentioned how she is a descendant from a Guatemalan Indian woman who decided to leave her tribe to marry her love. She does not remember her name however, but that it was the starting point to how her family came to be many generations later. The story of this woman was passed down from generation to generation but somewhere along the way the name was forgotten entirely. The little information that was passed down to me was what I have just mentioned. One tradition that has been in the family is to respect elders. Elders in the family are considered of the highest rank within the family. The younger generations must respect them and take their advice into consideration when making decisions. There are very few ethnic differences in her family. The only thing that makes communication difficult is the location in Guatemala where they reside. In certain areas in Guatemala, there are no computers or even telephones. This is slowly changing however, and now most of her close relatives are starting to communicate with family using social media such as Facebook.

4) I have met most of my mother's and father's families but do not really know my father's family well. My mother's brother moved to the United States many years ago and had children that are close to my age. But for personal reasons that I would rather not share, I do not know my cousins or father's family at a personal level. When I do socialize with family, they are usually from my mother's side. In my family, my mother has the most influence on decisions for the family. She has this power because of everything she has done for her family. She works to provide food and a roof under her family's heads, she is considered the head of the household. Family members who are married into the family are treated like family. However, they are quickly disowned by the family if they disrespect my mother. There are no difference in attitude toward different genders in my family. Everyone is expected to do something that benefits the family in one way or another. I have learned really interesting things about my family through this exercise. I did not know that the older generations of my family still believe in witchcraft. I also was unaware of the ancient Mayan temples that are relatively close to where my mother's family lives. I have also come to the realization that my family holds loyalty as one of the most important aspects a person can have.

Subsistence and Economy: Hunter Gatherers and Agriculture

Part 1: Agriculture

1) Agriculture is defined as the cultivation of food plants in soil prepared and maintained for crop production. The benefit to agriculture is growing a population's own food using the same materials to feed the people and livestock. This practice is then used by the next generation and so on to keep a rising population. Agriculture also allows people to live off the land instead of depending on the population of certain animals.

As previously mentioned, agriculture can also help feed livestock so that the population also has meat they can add to their diet.

Although animals provide meat, some animals are used for other purposes such as providing milk for the population.

Hunter Gatherers

Like agriculture, there are also beneficial aspects of Hunter Gatherers. Their primary diet consists of meat which gives them stronger bodies because of the animals they hunt down. They also forage for plants that may contain healing properties. 

Hunter gatherers may also be more accustomed to the land they forage in. Every environment poses its own set of challenges, but hunter gathers might have learned some helpful tricks that only work for that specific environment and it's wildlife. This includes no spoils in the animals they successfully capture because every part of the animal will be used and has some benefit to the population like shelter or clothing. 

2) Although there are many benefits to both agriculture and hunter gatherers, they each also have their own disadvantages. For example, hunter gatherers depend on their skill in hunting animals and the availability of them in the first place. If the animal population were to decrease then the population would suffer and also decrease. This does not mean that agriculture is more well off than hunter gatherers because they rely heavily on the environment. Sometimes unexpected natural occurrences such as a drought may happen preventing them from growing crops to feed the people or their livestock because of the lack of water. 

3) In my opinion, agriculture serves the healthier diet than hunter gatherers. Agriculture than grow many different type of foods. Some foods such as carrots contain nutrients in them that improve eyesight. There are also other vegetables that provide some type of benefit to a healthier lifestyle. But agriculture is not only limited to vegetables but also meat because of the livestock. They feed and allow the animals to reproduce so they do not have to go hunt for more animals to add to their livestock. What the animals eat can also be controlled in order to have better quality meat. This is why I believe agriculture has the upper hand in a healthier diet. 

4) Early human populations started to transition into agriculture because of the probable abundant availability of a food source. I would imagine that hunting for animals would take time and the hunting endeavors would not always turn out to be successful.  With agriculture, there would be more security in there being something to eat in the future. But those early humans could have also found room for hunter gathers to find animals to add to the livestock for food. Although there are many more benefits to agriculture, people can not grow animals from the ground. So there was still a need for hunter gatherers which may in fact have actually helped agriculture grow. 

Part 2

1) The meaning of the statement in which there is a relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade is that even if there is a surplus of a particular food or item, it is not valuable if there is not one to trade with. It could also mean that the ability to transport one form of goods from other population to another may also be difficult or even impossible. 

2) Not only is trade beneficial by receiving certain types of goods from someone else, but it also helps build social relationships. This social benefit would allow for an equilibrium between two parties. They would have an agreement that they would only trade a certain type of good with each other which would benefit them both. Another social benefit of trade is generalized reciprocity in which whatever is given is not expected to have some sort of returned payment. An example of this is buying food for someone and not expecting anything from them. This does not only benefit the receiver, but also the person who shown kindness by giving them a "feel good" feeling. 

3) Like most things, there is a negative aspect for developmental trade. One of the negative social results are negative reciprocity which is to get more than what you give. Another word which most people recognize when addressing negative reciprocity is "cheating". This is the person who does whatever it takes to take advantage of another person and practices unfairness to end up on top. Another negative social aspect of developmental trade is a decrease is social standing. If for whatever reason a person does not repay a debt their social standing may be impacted. This causes a bad reputation and with a bad reputation, it becomes much more challenging to find another person to trade with.

4) With the development of agriculture came the development of trade. Agriculture allowed populations to start growing their own food and trade goods. This increase in trade goods allowed two different populations who practice agriculture to trade crops that the other does not grow. So both population would benefit because both would have crops from the other that they would not have otherwise. They are not only limited to crops however, they can also trade livestock for crops depending on a population's needs. Trade would also keep the peace between two different populations because they would realize that they need each other in order to receive certain types of goods. Trade would not happen so often before because there would not be much to trade as hunter gatherers. I would imagine it would be difficult to come across a surplus of food availability and would thus limit their trading power.