Sunday, December 29, 2019

History of Olmec Art and Sculpture

The Olmec culture was the first great Mesoamerican civilization, developing along Mexicos Gulf coast from about 1200-400 B.C. before going into a mysterious decline. The Olmec were very talented artists and sculptors who are today best remembered for their monumental stonework and cave paintings. Although relatively few pieces of Olmec art survive today, they are quite striking and show that artistically speaking, the Olmec were far ahead of their time. The massive colossal heads found at four Olmec sites are a good example. Most surviving Olmec art seems to have had a religious or political significance, i.e. the pieces show gods or rulers. The Olmec Civilization The Olmec were the first great Mesoamerican civilization. The city of San Lorenzo (its original name has been lost to time) flourished around 1200-900 B.C. and was the first major city in ancient Mexico. The Olmecs were great traders, warriors, and artists, and they developed writing systems and calendars which were perfected by later cultures. Other Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Aztecs and Maya, borrowed heavily from the Olmecs. Because the Olmec society went into decline two thousand years before the first Europeans arrived in the region, much of their culture has been lost. Nevertheless, diligent anthropologists and archaeologists continue to make great strides in understanding this lost culture. The surviving artwork is one of the best tools they have for doing so. Olmec Art The Olmec were gifted artists who produced stone carvings, woodcarvings and cave paintings. They made carvings of all sizes, from tiny celts and figurines to massive stone heads. The stonework is made of many different types of stone, including basalt and jadeite. Only a handful of Olmec woodcarvings remain, busts excavated from a bog at the El Manatà ­ archaeological site. The cave paintings are found mostly in mountains in the present-day Mexican state of Guerrero. The Olmec Colossal Heads The most striking pieces of surviving Olmec art are without a doubt the colossal heads. These heads, carved from basalt boulders mined many miles away from where they were eventually carved, depict enormous male heads wearing a sort of helmet or headdress. The largest head was found at the La Cobata archaeological site and is nearly ten feet tall and weighs about 40 tons. Even the smallest of the colossal heads is still over four feet high. In all, seventeen Olmec colossal heads have been discovered at four different archaeological sites: 10 of them are at San Lorenzo. They are thought to depict individual kings or rulers. Olmec Thrones Olmec sculptors also made many enormous thrones, great squarish blocks of basalt with detailed carvings on the sides thought to have been used as platforms or thrones by the nobility or priests. One of the thrones depicts two pudgy dwarves holding up a flat tabletop while others show scenes of humans carrying were-jaguar infants. The purpose of the thrones was discovered when a cave painting of an Olmec ruler seated on one was discovered. Statues and Stelae Olmec artists sometimes made statues or stelae. One famous set of statues was discovered at the El Azuzul site near San Lorenzo. It consists of three pieces: two identical twins facing a jaguar. This scene is often interpreted as depicting a Mesoamerican myth of some sort: heroic twins play an important role in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya. The Olmecs created several statues: another significant one found near the summit of the San Martà ­n Pajapan Volcano. The Olmecs created relatively few stelae — tall standing stones with inscribed or carved surfaces — but some significant examples have been found at the La Venta and Tres Zapotes sites. Celts, Figurines and Masks All in all, some 250 examples of monumental Olmec art such as colossal heads and statues are known. There are countless smaller pieces, however, including figurines, small statues, celts (small pieces with designs roughly shaped like an ax head), masks and ornaments. One famous smaller statue is the wrestler, a lifelike depiction of a cross-legged man with his arms in the air. Another smaller statue of great importance is Las Limas Monument 1, which depicts a seated youth holding a were-jaguar baby. Symbols of four Olmec gods are inscribed on his legs and shoulders, making it a very valuable artifact indeed. The Olmec were avid mask makers, producing life-sized masks, possibly worn during ceremonies, and smaller masks used as adornments. Olmec Cave Painting To the west of the traditional Olmec lands, in the mountains of the present-day Mexican State of Guerrero, two caves containing several paintings attributed to the Olmec have been discovered. The Olmec associated caves with the Earth Dragon, one of their gods, and it is likely that the caves were sacred places. Juxtlahuaca Cave contains a depiction of a feathered serpent and a pouncing jaguar, but the best painting is a colorful Olmec ruler standing next to a smaller, kneeling figure. The ruler holds a wavy-shaped object in one hand (a serpent?) and a three-pronged device in the other, possibly a weapon. The ruler is clearly bearded, a rarity in Olmec art. The paintings in Oxtotitlà ¡n Cave feature a man with a detailed headdress styled after an owl, a crocodile monster and an Olmec man standing behind a jaguar. Although Olmec-style cave paintings have been discovered in other caves in the region, the ones at Oxtotitlà ¡n and Juxtlahuaca are the most important. Importance of Olmec Art As artists, the Olmec were centuries ahead of their time. Many modern Mexican artists find inspiration in their Olmec heritage. Olmec art has many modern fans: replica colossal heads can be found around the world (one is at the University of Texas, Austin). You can even buy a small replica colossal head for your home, or a quality printed photograph of some of the more famous statues. As the first great Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmec were extremely influential. Late-era Olmec reliefs look like Mayan art to the untrained eye, and other cultures such as the Toltecs borrowed stylistically from them. Sources Coe, Michael D., and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008Diehl, Richard A. The Olmecs: Americas First Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Lack Of Authenticity The Cost Of Conformity

The Lack of Authenticity: The Cost of Conformity In the Merriam Webster Dictionary, conformity is defined as â€Å"behavior that is the same as the behavior of most other people in a society, group, etc.† People have been conforming to fit in with the group, to not be seen as the odd one out. Following road signs is a method in which people conform. It is for the safety of others and ourselves. In almost all cases, people will conform to what they believe or what they stand is right. However, there can play a major downfall when people conform, they lose a sense of individuality. Sexual orientation plays a pivotal role in defining ourselves. Our orientation influences our current and future relationships, behaviors, and our potential†¦show more content†¦This can lead to frustration. People who choose to conform to the world’s view so that they can fit in society are not free from who they truly are. People should live with being free to be who you are in a soc iety that tells you otherwise. Conforming to not only sexual orientation but to peer pressure has the potential to also be detrimental to your identity. Peer pressure is the stress or pressure of doing something based upon the attitudes or behaviors of the group. There are several positive effects of peer pressure, yet this is only to positive actions. The need to be accepted or fitting in has the potential to be negative. The college social scene is characterized with the consumption of alcohol. The perceived normality of drinking on a college campus is apparent as â€Å"nearly half of all students routinely engage in heavy, or binge drinking† (Crawford 18). With almost half of the college population, participating seems to be the norm around college campuses around the country. Many people drink so that they can fit in with the majority, and many people have been pressured to drink. People can use this to peer pressure be inclined into drinking. However, there are people wh o have gone against the whole notion of the drinking lifestyle. This has been called the Straight Edge movement. This group of people have chosen not to conform to the recreational lifestyle that abstainedShow MoreRelated Comparing Saint Augustine and Charles Taylors Ideas of Authenticity5579 Words   |  23 PagesComparing Saint Augustine and Charles Taylors Ideas of Authenticity The notion of authenticity is one of self-fulfillment and Charles Taylor recognizes that there are dangers in accepting modernity’s drive toward self-realization. However, he is not willing to give up on this idea of â€Å"authenticity.† In The Ethics of Authenticity, Taylor lays out a system of thought and morals that connect our search for self-realization with our desire towards self-creation. 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Friday, December 13, 2019

Answer pastpaper Free Essays

Answer all the questions. Give non-exact numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place in the case of angles in degrees, unless a different level of accuracy is specified in the question. Where a numerical value for the acceleration due to gravity is needed, use 10 m s-2. We will write a custom essay sample on Answer pastpaper or any similar topic only for you Order Now The use of an electronic calculator is expected, where appropriate. You are reminded of the need for clear presentation in your answers. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. The total number of marks for this paper is 50. Questions carrying smaller numbers of marks are printed earlier in the paper, and questions carrying larger numbers of marks later in the paper. This document consists of 3 printed pages and 1 blank page. UCLES 2011 [Turn over 2 A car of mass 700 kg is travelling along a straight horizontal road. The resistance to motion is constant and equal to 600 N. (i) Find the driving force of the car’s engine at an instant when the acceleration is 2 m s-2. Given that the car’s speed at this instant is 15 m s-l , car’s engine is working. find the rate at which the A load of mass 1250 kg is raised by a crane from rest on horizontal ground, to rest at a height of 1. 54 m above the ground. The work done against the resistance to motion is 5750 J. (i) Find the work done by the crane. (it) Assuming the power output of the crane is constant and equal to 1. 25 kW, find the time taken to raise the load. 3 q 15. 5 N A small smooth ring R of weight 8. 5 N is threaded on a light inextensible string. The ends of the string are attached to fixed points A and B, with A vertically above B. A horizontal force of magnitude 15. 5 N acts on R so that the ring is in equilibrium with ngle ARB = 900 . The part AR of the string makes an angle B with the horizontal and the part BR makes an angle B with the vertical (see diagram). The tension in the string is T N. Show that T sin 12 and T cos B = 3. 5 and hence find B . [6] 4 A block of mass 11 kg is at rest on a rough plane inclined at 300 to the horizontal. A force acts on the block in a direction up the plane parallel to a line of greatest slope. When the magnitude of the force is 2X N the block is on the point of sliding down the plane, and when the magnitude of the force is 9X N the block is on the point of liding up the plane. How to cite Answer pastpaper, Papers