.artistry.

For this week my assignment involved an analyzation of the Lascaux Caves in France, here are my findings.

1) Functions of Early Art:

     

    a. What were the cave artists trying to say? 

I believe the cave artists were trying to walk the viewers through the steps and simplicity of life in its many forms. I believe they also wanted to show the graduation of that simple life into a possibly difficult life through the variation of color and detail as the cave went further in. They wanted to show their own creation story, how life gradually changed and what emphasis and focus was put in certain areas.

     

     b. Why do you think that there were so many animals and not as many people in the paintings? 

I think there were more animals because the animals were simple beings that moved as they pleased and very open for direct interpretation. Animals were went the cave artists knew and maybe even worshiped them. Animals were the givers of life, just by killing them, there was substance for the body to thrive. 

     c. What can the paintings tell us about other aspects of the life of cave dwellers or Paleolithic people? 

From the paintings I can see where the priorities of the cave dwellers lied. The emphasis wasn't on them it was more on the "wizard", animal, nature realm of life. 

     d. What difficulties did these early humans navigate in order to paint these pictures? 

They had to get the materials. They also had to risk there lives with the "spraying" techniques that they did in order to get a certain effect. They got this technique by blowing whatever substance they used out of there mouths. They also risked their lives with having to climb up to high locations and hold positions, and then handling all of the dips and dives to maneuver around the cave.

     e. Speculate as to three (3) possible functions of this art to early humans.

1. This art could have served as an outlet of what was going through the minds of the people that dwelled there. 

2. This art could have served as a marker of territory for outsiders to stay out and the people that were in the groups to stay in.

3. This art could have served as a manifestation to please whatever gods they worshipped at the time, something like an offering.

2. Commonalities in Function: 

    Compare the possible functions of the art from the Lascaux Caves to modern art, in all of its various forms. What are 

    some commonalities in function you can find in how the art of early humans and modern humans? 

The art from the Lascaux Caves and modern art are all in the same in different variations. From self expression, to protesting, to offerings of sacrifice for their art to the people that would see it. Modern art is full of experimentation of different styles, mediums, and tools.  Getting the wars of the mind out into the natural world and then stepping back to capture the essence of it's higher significance.

3. Introduce Us to Your Favorite Art: 

    a. For those who practice this form of artistic expression, what function does it serve? What are they trying to communicate?

They artists in this progressive metal art form are trying to use the strings and percussion of their instruments to express their emotional concerns that can't quite stand up to the words out of their mouths.

    b. Is there a complete culture surrounding this art form, i.e., a language, a set of behaviors, form of dress, etc.? Describe and 

        identify the features of this culture. 

They dress in a manner that in the background letting their instruments speak for themselves.

     c. How does this art form (and its culture) benefit society? Are there any detrimental affects? 

It shows people that they don't always have to speak out with the first thing that comes to their heads, life is more than that. 

Vengeance Above All

1. Rules or laws against killing are essentially a cultural universal, meaning all cultures have rules regarding the killing other people and the punishments for breaking these rules. How do the Yanomamo rules regarding killing and the consequences for breaking these rules differ from the rules in Western cultures in general? (5 its)                                                                                               In the Yanomamo culture the consequences are much more sever in the realm of kill and eventually be killed in return. An obvious difference is the way the rules are passed along from generation to generation and with them not having a written language to keep everyone in a certain guided path everyone in the different group know what the unspoken "rules" are. In Western cultures everything is written down (for the most part). Almost every civil matter has rules and laws that have attended to each subject. Everything is very structured leaving room for serious rebellion to take place. 
   
2. Describe the process of revenge killings as it is expressed in Yanomamo populations. (5 its)         With revenge killing in the Yanomamo population it all centers around groups called "raiding parties" no Yanomamo is said to every go out to do a revenge killing on their own. Once in these "raiding parties" they tea off to the place where the revenge killing will take place and out of the parities that make it to their preferred destination they are able to take revenge. The members of the group that for instance kill sue with an arrow is awarded upon returning back home.
3. Revenge killings are a dangerous for those who take part. What are the benefits of obtaining the
   status of unokais? How do they compare to the benefits of being a non-unokais? Why would a
   man choose to become an unokais instead of being a non-unokais? (10 its)                                        The word unokais means "Those who have killed" so with this title not only opens up a man's life for pride but also the man's "..., political status, economic support, marriage possibilities, and protection from aggressors" (988). Along with that they are as able to have many children thus increasing the size of the kin group. This growth leads it's self well to domination of not only that specific tribe but also neighboring tribes. 
4. Identify and describe the relationship between revenge killings and these aspects of the
   Yanomamo culture. How do they influence and affect each other?
   
   1. Political structure (5 pts)                                                                                                                 The Headmen are the ones who decisions are carried though and done.
      
   2. Social Status/Social Organization (5 pts)                                                                                     Social Status is contingent upon the number of killings that that person has all ready finished.
      
   3. Kinship (5 pts)                                                                                                                                   There are a lot of interrelated people within the culture that come from the same patriarchal line. It is preferred that women and men get tougher that are from the same lineage but just a town over (first cousin).  
   4. Marriage & Reproduction (5 pts)                                                                                             If a man is an unokai there he has the privilege to live a polygynous lifestyle. The man that is not a unokai do not end up passing their genes on. 
5. Behaviors that are usually labeled as “anti-social”,sat such as killing other people, are generally
   thought to be a bad thing to do under most circumstances, other than defense. Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to do? Use your reading of the article to help you explain your answer. (10 its)                                                                                                                          Without rules everyone would get to do what they wanted to do instead of what is right. With rules people know what the limits are and they comply and either stay within the hard guidelines or rebelling. LIke in the article it talked about the people of the unruled society can use their " own skills and coercive abilities" If everyone just relied on their own abilities then people would start to die off because the strongest would survive. 

Kinship Interview!

For this blog post I got to interview my Father, Dan Vaughn, and explore a side of my family that I thought I knew a lot  about, oh how wrong was I. My Father is a Black man who was born in Los Angeles, CA with 2 other siblings and a non-present biological Father (except with the oldest child) who she eventually divorced from. His Mother on the other hand, moved to different places to live with the three boys and on the way met their Step-Father and got married and he was their true live in Father. 

As the anthropologist interviewing my Father I still felt very comfortable at times when I thought I was asking my interviewee discomforting questions about his Father's involvement but I was able to play the questions by what the interviewee wanted to share the most about. I do not think my choice affected my interview because I was able to learn things through creating a semi-normal conversational flow with my interviewee. If I was unrelated to they person I was having this interview with I would probably start with multiple questions to get a gauge as to what topics my interviewee was comfortable with talking about and which topics changed their body language. I would tell build-up to the more uncomfortable questions after building-up rapport with the interviewee to have them feel like they can trust me. 

In my family I see a closeness in the children that were from the same Father even though they weren't as close to each other as the step-siblings when they were younger but with age the were closer. There is most definitely an emphasis on the maternal lines of the family. When I talked to my interviewee he knew more about the Mothers in the family than the Father's, and the Mother's took care of him in a more constant way that the man figures. Older individuals seemed to be held at a different standard than the younger ones. There was a trend towards lots of individual families as the generations got closer to me. For instance when talking about his Grandmother she was born into a family of 12, His Mother was the only child and within his family(generation) their were only three kids, from his Father and Mother, but his Father also had more kids by different women all the while. With each mother there were only 2 or less (that he knows about). My interviewee's Grandmother's Mother was full Native American but that was so far removed that it really didn't effect his quality of life.

To conclude my thoughts about my Dad's side of the family. I have always knew about my Mother and Father's side of the family. I actually socialize much more with my Mother's side of the family because I was with that side of the family the most since my Mother and Father never got married.

The Grandmothers in my family have always had more influence in the family matters. I think things are more maternal because women have stayed with their children while the Fathers have been in-and-out throughout the course of both my parents lives. 

Family members that were married into the family, though they were few, were treated like another part of the family. It might be because there was so many different families and infidelity that a strong close knit defensive group. 

There are slight differences between genders when it came to who took care of who. The Father's have been unstable and therefore been misunderstood because my parents did not know about there Father's when they were younger. And since my Father's biological Dad died when he was 18 years old so there was an emphasis on the Mother.

I learned that my Father's side of the family is more intricate than I previously thought. I'm realizing that I never knew anything about my Great-Grandparents Parents and I feel like I am missing out on an important connection to my family history. 

The Subsistence World

Part 1: Discuss and compare the costs and benefits of the two different subsistence patterns of hunter gatherers and agriculture, addressing the following questions in full:

 1. Identify the benefits of both subsistence patterns.
With both patterns you would be able to way the freshest food possible

 2. Identify the costs (or disadvantages) of both subsistence patterns.
With both patterns the amount of knowledge in the suspect of understanding how much food is needed at a particular time changes.


 3. Which subsistence pattern provides a healthier diet?
I believe the hunter-gethers have healthier diet

 4. Discuss why you think some human populations made the transition into agriculture?
I think some of the transitions into agriculture could have came from the desire to do what is best for some of the members of the group, Their might have been a good amount of older people and pregnant women that were traveling from place to place that could not take the unsettled activity.


Part 2: Economics and Trade:
 1. There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade. Explain the meaning of this statement.
I think this quote is talking about there being a strong correlation between the excess amount of a product and because of that excess a person a trade it (the excess) very easily because it is not needed to eat/survive with.

 2. Identify and describe 2 social benefits of trade.
- I builds a strong community: people intreat with other people day in and day out and they grow in friendship and can increase the quality of life that the person has.
-It teaches people about responsibility: With trading a certain level of responsibility arises from everything that is in involved with having a product. There are people that are needed for every aspect of the trading process from picking or gathering the product, cooking it if necessary, packaging it, and selling it. It teaches people to work in a different kind of way.

 3. Identify and describe 2 negative social results of the development of trade.
- People can start to get greedy: With trading, people in the same arena could be in competition with each other and one company can take things to a limit that it shouldn't really go to for the sake of just making another dollar.
- Corrupt politics can start to take over the trading system: People can start to mobilize with criminal groups when their needs aren't met in the way they want them to be.

 4. Given your answer in the question #1, explain  the relationship between the elopement of agriculture and the development of trade.
These two different aspects come tougher when survival opportunities arise and the human naturally looks at his/her resources to take care of his.her family (or themselves) at that moment in time.