New Light On The Olmec Essays - Mesoamerica,

New Light on the Olmec The Olmec were Mesoamerica's first civilization. They were located in Laguna de los Cerros, tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo, La Venta, and the Tuxtla Mountains, in Mexico. The purpose of this report is to show how the Olmec lived, their beliefs, and their spectacular art. The Olmec were a mother culture to later civilizations. The culture of the Olmec started in Mexico's Gulf Coast between 1200 and 1400 B.C , approximately between the Trojan war, and the golden age of Athens, and ended about 3000 years ago. The Olmec were among the first Americans to design ritual centres and raise earthen pyramids. On the pyramids there were statues which were strategically placed as a shrine. As the Olmec culture gradually developed some Olmec villages grew strong and powerful, while others were less fortunate. The villages shared their resources, such as rubber and basalt. The Olmec had different social ranks, from workers such as fishers, farmers, traders and specialists such as artisans and sculptors, to rulers. Rulers were individuals who had the power to float basalt down the river and to commission colossal statues and other public work. The Olmec farmed and ate corn. They also ate shellfish, fish, turtles, beans, deer, and dog. Perhaps the most spectacular trait of the Olmec were that they used hieroglyphs. They used hieroglyphs to record dates, events, and to tell stories. Although the Olmec were hard workers they still had time for a ceremonial ball game. The Olmec had many beliefs. Among these beliefs were chaneques which were dwarf trixters who lived in water falls. They also had their own beliefs in cosmology. The Olmec had natural shrines devoted to the hill on which the shrine was located and the water. The Olmec were believed to have a corn god. Jaguars were also worshipped religiously, perhaps because the jaguar was the most powerful predator. The Olmec believed that the jaguar brought rain. The men would sacrifice blood to the jaguar, wear masks, dance, and crack whips to imitate the sound of thunder. This ritual was done in May. The Olmec also made offerings of jade figures to the jaguar. The Olmec had early achievements in art. Perhaps the most incredible findings from the Olmec culture are the sculptures. The Olmec used wood, basalt and jade to make the statues. The wooden artifacts are said to be the oldest in Mesoamerica. The Olmec used basalt to make colossal heads. The size of these heads ranged from 5 feet to 11 feet tall. Some say the heads represent sacrificial offering. Others think they portray the elite Olmec ancestors. These heads have also been interpreted as being warriors or ball players. Basalt was also used to carve thrones. The Olmec used art to glorify rulers by making them monuments of super natural creatures to portray them such as part human, part beast. The beast was usually the jaguar. It is believed that these monuments were annihilated after the death of the leader. The figurines made of jade were small and sexless. Some of the more elaborate statues wore extensive headdress with a long train, and rectangular chest plates, sat cross-legged, leaned forward and looked straight ahead. In conclusion the Olmec, Mesoamerica's first civilization were a mother culture to other civilizations. They had many beliefs, and had early achievements in elaborate art. The article, "New light on the Olmec," was an interesting article but it was very repetitive. It is scarcely recommended.

Salem Witch Trials Essays - Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Tituba

Salem Witch Trials Essays - Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Tituba Salem Witch Trials Chadwick Hansen. Witchcraft at Salem. New York: George Braziller, INC., 1969. 252pp. Many people believe that the witch-hunt of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, was based upon mere delusions of a few frightened teenage girls. Despite the popular viewpoint of many other historians, Chadwick Hansen's book, Witchcraft at Salem, offers a generally discarded point of view. He uses exhausted research and well-written material to argue that the events of 1692 were true signs of witchcraft. Hansen proves this thesis by elaborate descriptions of the girls who were afflicted and by extensive trial evidence. In many historical writings the girls that were afflicted by the witches were usually branded as liars, who were afraid of the repercussion of taking part in the craft. Hansen, however, takes the stand that the girls were, for the most part, believable. The convulsive fits were so grotesque that eyewitnesses agreed that it was impossible for the girls to be acting (1). The girls were believed above all others because the courts could not bear the thought that the fits and loss of memory, appetite, hearing, sight, and speech were false. Hansen goes on to describe the torment that the girls faced. They felt themselves pinched and bitten, and often there were actual marks upon the skin (1). Hansen's ability to describe to the girl's afflictions in such detail lends the reader to believe that actual witches caused the torture of the girls. For markings to appear upon the skin of the girls, where nothing physically had touched their skin, Hansen concludes that it could only be a result of supernatural beings. Hansen's well-researched trial evidence is a very convincing argument. He presents the reader with numerous cases and the process each went through. There were two cases unparticular as to which Hansen writes about explicitly. He writes of a maidservant, Tituba, and of a woman of the community, Dorcas Good. Both Tituba and Dorcas Good admitted to being involved in the art of witchcraft. Hansen uses these confessions and other numerous convictions for his basis that there was witchcraft in Salem. Fifty-two people were indicted for witchcraft, for which many of them were accused due to spectral evidence (205). Hansen relies greatly on spectral evidence as a basis for conviction, because for the majority of the time that was generally (if not only) all the evidence the court had to decide upon. The extensive sources Hansen cited for the foundation of his theory are historical writings. Many of the works he cited dated back to the late 1600's and early 1700's; however there are some that were as recent as the 1960's. There is a wide variety of material, with over 175 sources cited. Hansen went to great lengths to ensure that the material was accurate. He took a year off from teaching at Pennsylvania State University, and traveled to the Massachusetts area to work with more desirable information. His sources were well documented and extensively researched. There were witches in Salem, however there were not a significant number. Some of the girls were acting out of fear of the consequence of their actions in the craft. He has provided much evidence on many different trials but failed to point out a significant number of confessed witches. His weighty reliance on spectral evidence, as support to the convictions of the accused women, is a serious misjudgment. Furthermore spectral evidence was later viewed as an unreliable source due to the Devil's ability to impersonate anyone. The witch trials were an important event in Puritan society; however, it is hard to believe that among such a small number of people, there were a significant number who practiced witchcraft. Furthermore, medical knowledge of seizures and their cause was little known at this time. This avenue of thought would have enlightened known physical actions of the women. Lastly the Puritan religion was a strict religion with some fanatic beliefs which can cause people to m anifest ideas in their thinking. Hansen's work on the trials proves that a few people practiced witchcraft, however, that could not have true of fifty-two people

Student Research Paper

Student Research Paper Student Research Paper Student Research Paper: Enjoy Students Life If you are looking for highly professional student research paper that will bring you the highest grade and admiration of your professor, you have come to the right place. Our custom writing site is a paradise for those who are in need of professional help in academic writing. It does not matter at all whether you are in a sharp need of interesting and successful student research paper topics or you eager for buying professional student research paper, in both of the cases you are going to be greatly satisfied with a result. Our custom writing is like a magic wizard who makes all your dreams come true. However, instead of making magic and using magic wand for dealing with your wishes, we use our professionalism and great experience in academic writing. That is why if making use of our custom writing site, your desire about A+ grade for student research paper writing will obviously come true. Custom Writing Guarantees Original Research Paper Writing We have been running a business of custom writing for a long time and during this time, we have received an honorable name of trusted company that is always ready to help and to support students in their hard studying times. We have hundreds of thankful customers who use our servicing regularly and order student research paper to be written for them each time when they get a new task at their higher educational establishments. A lot of students understand now that students life is too short in order to waste it for writing student research paper and that is why they order it at our site and enjoy themselves instead of sitting in the library and hating the whole world. If you want to become that one who really enjoys students life and does not sit at home making friendship with textbooks instead of going out, we offer you to become our customer and to taste your life in real. Join our team of those who enjoy the life and do not consider student research paper to b e a difficult task. We Can Handle All Academic Assignments! We are waiting for you at our custom writing site in order to complete all your assignments such as student research paper writing and to give you a chance to live! Thanks to our policy of confidentiality of servicing no one will ever get to know that you have been using our custom writing site, we give you one hundred per cent of guarantee in this fact.

Is Wikipedia a Credible Source or Not Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Is Wikipedia a Credible Source or Not - Essay Example According to the essay findings, it can, therefore, be said that a lot of information from the Internet is not trustworthy. Someone, even an elementary student, who is not knowledgeable in a subject can contribute to the Internet information databases. Students often go to Wikipedia to get the majority of information for their essays or research papers; however, this site especially is not trusted. An experiment that I did on Wikipedia has proven this statement. I wrote â€Å"My article was published in 2002† on Nature (journal) on Wikipedia on May 27, 2007. What I wrote was obviously worthless information; however, it stayed on the website for six hours. According to Wikipedia article traffic statistics, there were 867 hits on May 27, 2010. Even though there were a lot of hits on the same day, it needed to be caught for six hours. If I wrote something sound, for instance, â€Å"Professor John McGuire at Harvard University published his biology article, a Novel Substrate of m TOR, Negatively Regulates Autophagy, in Nature on May 20, 2009,† someone would have believed this information, or someone would have used this in their essay as a resource. Getting accurate sources from the Internet involves time to think about whether it is reliable or not. We should closely look at an author’s expertise, the title of the website, and the date of publication or latest update. As I set out to prove, Wikipedia is definitely not a credible source.

Personal impression of Car designer Chris Bangle and his design Essay

Personal impression of Car designer Chris Bangle and his design - Essay Example BMW simultaneously passed Mercedes Benz and took the global leader title in sale of premium cars. He stood firmly for his designs and defended them against any criticisms. He retired from BMW after introducing GINA, a car of stunning concept, in 2009 (Bangle 4). In 2010, he brought his unique insight and extensive knowledge of design as he featured in annual design festivals in Victoria. Chris Bangle has inspired many people in the world of automotive design including children (Braes 12). However, Bangle states that art is the only secret to great cars. He says that automobiles refer to the embodiment of art, sculpture and entertainment that coincidentally provide transportation. In order for automobile design to be successful, the designer has to make very decisive designs. Bangle is the founding father of BMWs, which are very popular up to-date. He believes that automobile design is the only pinnacle of design, while others are only substrate forms. Today, the automobile has become a product with very high significant impact and emotional properties in the society. After houses, they are the second biggest purchased major properties in Bangle’s view. Developments in Automobile industry Automobile design has evolved from the frontier between science, art, and market, to progressively becoming an aesthetic reference (Bangle 5). Aspects like aesthetic appeal, brand expression and impression, and emotional response are greatly influenced by the appearance of the product and therefore it has become an area of great concern among automotive manufacturers and designers today. Factors that are related to aesthetic and identity like interior and exterior styling that increase a car’s attractiveness are the number one criteria in purchasing across the world. Bangle was very keen on this and that is what has made his car models very popular and classic until today. Activities in automobile design involve shaping the car until all its aspects are visible. This is in styling the shape of the outer body and interior’s graceful appointments, together with arrangement of the engine compartment components. Bangle (17) says that before technical features are evaluated, the direct perception of the vehicle plays a much bigger role in determining whether the vehicle will be accepted or rejected. According to Bangle, automobile design involves taking into account many elements like car function, market, distribution, production, promotion, safety, price reduction and environmental concerns. The Effects of Bangle’s Design Movement to the Industrial Design Industry Regardless of many sentiments from many critics, Bangle has significantly affected the industrial design industry (Braes 21). His one and half decade of service in automobile designs for Munich manufacturers was marked in his 2009 retirement. To understand the contributions that he has had in automobiles industry, it is important to take a look at BMW’s styling before and after his service. Since the 1960s stunning CS couples, BMW design was so conservative that getting more progress was rare. Conservativeness was like the polite way of saying and staying dull. However, the pr esence of Bangle really transformed the styling of BMW. It is not a wonder that within a short while, it overtook great cars like Mercedes Benz in demand and price in the market. The BMW’s driving dynamics and power trains were the envy of many manufacturers (Georgano 56). Its styling made their rivals spend sleepless nights, hence striving to improve their designs. Consequently, there was marked improvement in the industrial de

Essay --

Tea tree oil was introduced to me in 2009 when I experimented in a series of piercings. A friend at the time informed me of the medicinal uses and how it was effective on scar tissue. However the plant in which the oil is extracted from is far more entertaining. Tea Tree (Malaleuca alternifolia) is a plant belonging to the Myrtaceae family, known for their cleansing properties. There are over two hundred recognized species of Myrtaceae which majority is native to Australia. However a few species from the Myrtaceae family occur in Malesia, New Caledonia and as of the mid-1880’s M. quinquenervia was introduced, as an invasive species to Florida to assist in drying out swampy lands. The indigenous people of northeastern New South Wales historically had known about the healing mechanics of their native tea trees for thousands of years. They used them as disinfectants to treat minor cuts and wounds. Eventually they progressed in the knowledge of the plants uses and found that by inhaling evaporative oil from the leaves that it alleviated congestion and respiratory tract infections. Figure A. Order: Myrtlales, Family: Myrtaceae. Characteristic of the myrtle family is its use of distilled essential oils, such as Tea tree oil (Melaleuca oil) Compound Background The leaves of M. alternifolia are the primary part of the plant that is used. Rarely twigs from the tree is also used, it hasn’t been proven to be anymore or less effective to use the twigs. To create the oil, the leaves are extracted and harvested for a few days leaving the leaves to wilt. Essentially the leaves are limp through heat and deprived of water. The leaves are then inserted into a boiler with even temperature, distilling the leaves. Eventually both the steam and t... ...uman rights laws protect them. However there is no uniformed legislation that directly protects indigenous medical knowledge. When regarding the plant of interest Malaleuca alternifolia, it is in deed protected because of its indigenous heritage to Australia. Tea tree oil coming from M. alternifolia proves to be the main source for commercial tea tree that is manufactured and shipped around the world. However tea tree oil can be extracted from other plants within the Malaleuca genus. Which unfortunately has left M. viridiflora an endangered species providing more protection to the specific plant. Regarding the current situation presented in Australia, the conditions seem optimal for protection of their indigenous knowledge and organic compounds. They have many laws to protect themselves from outside thieves and are very developed concerning them as a world status.

Ancient China

Also the birth of the exam system for Chinese civil servants dates from this time. The doctrines were replaced by Confucian Philosophy. During Han Dynasty it was the period of further land expansion and it extended into a very large territory. They found a symbol to represent every idea. The Romans and the Chinese began a trade of woven silk which Romans cannot copy. Also they build the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City. These are the cultural markers highlighted in the film which speaks the centralized system of power in ancient China.The Chinese people used the same writing style for centuries. They could easily read the writings which were written ass's of years ago. Until the rule of a different emperor, who changed the writing and language and formed his own. People then took that new language and writing and used it in their everyday life. The Chinese created a symbol for almost all the ideas. For instance, sun and moon gives light, which means they are bright so they had a symbol for bright Also, the development of poetry and visual arts took place during this period.The Chinese had advanced throughout the centuries by knowing the same language for centuries, successfully creating a new language, and inventing symbols for every idea. The structures that the Chinese Empire had during this period were The Great Wall of China and The Imperial Palace. The Great Wall of China was built to defend against the Barbarians and the Northern Tribes. Also, it symbolizes to other people outside of China to acknowledge that this wall is where the territory of China is. The Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City is a place where the Emperor of China lived. Lay the Emperor was allowed to Rome though the Palace. Now in the present day it is one of the best tourist attraction in China. These great structures still stand today in China. The Chinese Empire created the Doctrines which were later replaced by the Confucian Philosophy. The Chinese also created the crossbow wh ich is a weapon. Their weaponry were made of bronze and they were best known for weaving of silk which even the ingenious Romans could not copy. Therefore a trade route was created where the Chinese merchant sell the silk to India, who will then sell it to the Romans.During the Han Dynasty, the area of land of China expanded significantly, expanding its territory' to the West. The Chinese Empire is still best known for its creations and ideas. These cultural marker based on the movie shows the centralized system of power in ancient China. This Empire goes all the way back to 5000 B. C. They created weapons, architectures, literature, ideas, and also expanded the land. The Chinese Empire is known to be one of the greatest empires and is considered to be the longest continuous civilization of mankind. Ancient China