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After reading all the readings, I found a lot of stuff interesting and new. I’ve never read information like this before. In Chapter 1, the evolution of Mesoamericans goes way back in time from the Preclassical through the Postclassical periods. Mesoamericans can also be referred to as Indians since they were the first kinds of people of our cultural background. However, most Indians didn’t receive any respect from others. Western scholars were superior and didn’t recognize the Indians. Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations were the top two of the world’s cradles of civilizations. Their biggest rival was the great civilization of China. One thing that all cradles of civilizations had in common was a good stable food source. The population enjoyed this because it was a huge supply of food. One food source that was popular was actually corn. Many people loved corn because it was essential to the evolution of indigenous cultures. Corn was a positive change that occurred as it helped mobilize labor to increase the population growth. People forget that just like the pyramids, corn was a product of human labor by the mesoamericans. Another important civilization, the Olmeca (1500 BC-500 BC) was so advanced. They built the first kingdoms and established a template of world view and political symbolism that Maya would inherit. Corn became an important resource that could support the rest of the villages. The Olmeca was known as the mother culture of Mexico. The last huge thing the Olmeca discovered that was very intriguing to myself, was that they discovered 3 calendars. Each one was different but had religious purposes. What some people don’t know is that developing the calendar required a knowledge of math. I think the title of the chapter goes perfect because it wasn’t just any pyramid that might have been built, it was a pyramid that was built by mesoamericans. They deserve all the credit and knowing that they weren’t credited at all was completely unfair in my view. This reminds me of the kind of racial issues that still occur today regarding Mexicans. Many view us not important but we do the most hard work while the white people take credit for it all. In Chapter 2, Spain’s occupation of Mesoamerica violently disrupted the latter’s evolution, destroying Mesoamerican social institutions, religion, and infrastructure. In this Chapter, what I found most fascinating was during the colonial period, women like Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was suppressed because of her gender. Other women from the indigenous classes were treated wrong. During this time, the roles of women started to change. Unfortunately, women suffered from rape and struggled in their lives. There were very few opportunities for them. However, in Yucatan, there was an introduction of sheep that led to the production of wool. Women were stuck with this opportunity as they are responsible for making woolen goods. When the Spaniards arrived, things changed once again for the women. Women would originally marry when they were in their 20 years but that quickly changed when Church friars wanted women to marry at the age of 12 or 14 years old. This favored the males has they felt superior and could rather control a 14 year old rather than a 20 year old. This was so crazy and shocking when I first read this. As my reading continued, Bartolome de las Casas was an important individual in his defense of the Indians. His view was that he was completely against War. He was appointed as the Protector of the Indians. He was against slavery and he wanted it abolished. God wouldn’t have liked this and especially not the war. The question rises, would God approve of this? Bartolome de las Casas spoke up and fought for what he believed in no matter what. Him and the Man above would not approve of this. Casas knew what was wrong from right. By learning these different historical perspectives will help develop a better opinion about these significant contributions and what history books leave out.
ReplyDeleteMichael Garcia
In chapter 1, we begin to learn about the different types of bands/tribes the Mesoamerican people consisted of. It starts from the Paleoindian times to the Post classical periods which were estimated to run from 40,000 BCE to 1519 AD. The olmeca were one of the first mexico civilizations followed by the Mayans and many smaller groups. They were located in Mesoamerica, also known as present-day Central Mexico, and were a part of one of the largest cradles in the world following China. One product extremely popular in this country was the abundance of maize and it's ability to produce. This cultivation of corn began around 1100 BC to 500 BC, and had spread northeast as the Nile river began to supply many of the population as well. Language was also said to have spread south to north not north to south. As Europeans began to explore this country, they come surprised to see all we had done by using nature to our advantages. Some even began using techniques that they've learned from the Native Indians, such as the slash-and-burn, to farm their crops. The Olmeca were one of the first people to develop calendars, not only to estimate the time and date of a day, but also for religious purposes. If not the Mayans, the Olmeca might've been the people to develop the numeric number 0. At this point in time, it goes to show how Natives used critical thinking using nature to better their future. Native tribes also ran a similar system where they had people whom they considered "elites," although in this case it referred back to family lineage and not based upon color. These people were more than likely chiefs of their bands or relatives of someone amongst that lineage. In chapter 2, we begin to learn about the discrimination in not only race and gender, but as well as the abolishing of culture, religion, and institutions created by Natives. During this colonial period, Europeans also started to compare that of our Indian color closest to African Americans. They analyzed how work was done by all races and perhaps developed a view that became misogynistic towards what women could/should do, one of which included making woolen goods from sheep. They were mistreated like pieces of property and sexually molested throughout most of their lives when the Spaniards arrived. As time went by, many people who carried ideas from their Christian religion saw it anti-Christian and inhumane to treat people differently based on their race and gender. Especially inflicting war upon natives, who at the moment were unarmed and did nothing to fuel a war. There was Bartlome de las Casas was in defense of the Indians, but of course had a whole lot of people who opposed his beliefs as well.
ReplyDeleteAdrian Martinez
I’ve always been amazed about our culture, where we came from and our roots. As I was reading the first couple of chapters of Acuna’s Occupied America my interest in this topic started to grow bigger and bigger. I find it so interesting how our race started thousands and thousands of years ago. As the years went by our people and culture started to evolve and we can see the progress by the way Acuna describes it. It is so amazing how in the beginning they had to be constantly moving to find sources of food until one day they saw how they could start growing and farming their own food. It all started with a grass that became as we know today as maiz/corn. This allowed them to start settling in Mesoamerica and start building strong roots for our civilization and being able to maintain and survive for many decades. Sadly, Acuna reveals how the Spanish came and invaded the Mesoamerica culture. They enslaved many of them, they destroyed their homes, and took their women. They brought their diseases with them. The population before them was about 25 million and after their arrival fell to amount One million, that means there was only about 0.04 % of the population left. That is a sad but truthful number. Even after the Spanish came and destroyed their homes they still fought till the end in order to survive. It is agitating to know that up to this day there are still some scholars who intentionally tarnish the Indian and Mesoamerica civilizations. They contributed to the world we know today and deserve the credit for building this sophisticated and successful societies.
ReplyDeleteBrandi Rae Rodriguez
Chapter 1 states that the main culture for the Americas and Mexico was Indian. It is fascinating to know that these people had made life on these lands since 8000 BC. Corn was the crop highest in demand back in the day. They were involved with so much corn as to harvesting and even as to worshipping the maize. They saw it as a gift because it helped them settle. There were different types of Indian civilizations during these times. You go from The Olmecas, being one of the oldest, to the Mayas, the Zapotecas, the Tarascos, the Aztecas, the Norteños and so forth. All of these civilizations had their own regions and land and they all did their own thing, but what pieces them all together is that they're all Indians. In chapter 2 it starts to talk about Spain coming into the big picture. Spain takes over and wipes out a little over 22 million of the Mesoamerican population by destroying their religion, infrastructure and institutions. The Spaniards started exploring more and more at got information on the Caribbean coastline of Middle America. I feel like Hernan Cortes was an important Spaniard because he sailed to find many new regions. Cortes not only encountered the Maya but as well as Veracruz and the great Azteca Empire what was later called the “New Spain”.
ReplyDeleteGiselle Sanchez
After reading the chapters, I learned a lot of new stuff that I didn’t know and it was actually kind of interesting. For example, I didn’t know Mesoamerican were also known as Indian because they were the primary culture. One of the parts that interested me the most, was how the Mayas thought that when they played a ball game they were communicating with the gods (deep religious significance). They also used this game to substitute for combat. The way this game was played was passing a large rubber ball through a stone of ring at opposite ends of the courts. It’s crazy how the number 20 symbolized a whole body. The Mayas and the Olmecas were probably the first ones to develop the concept of zero and with their advance mathematics they were able to develop an advance calendar, it’s obvious that the mayas wanted to improve their future. In chapter two what caught my attention was the part of the diseases, they had at least four major plagues (smallpox, smallpox with measles, tepiton zahuatl, cocoliztli) and that caused a lot of native to die, its sad how there wasn’t really much to do from them. By bring different types of products they also brought different types of diseases and that caused starvation and severe nutritional problems. As I continued reading, basically Bartolome de casa was against slavery and he wanted to stop it. He knew god wouldn’t like it and he fought for he believed in.
ReplyDeleteSandy Martinez
Upon reading each piece of text, I began to better perceive the injustices that were executed towards the Indians by the Spaniards. These people, who only knew of the land they fostered as their very own, were deceived and used as instruments of labor and gain. Yet, their offenders claimed to come in peace and aid to save them from their pit of ignorance, a juxtaposition exploiting profound immorality. In chapter two of Occupied America, Acuña divulges into the truths of the Spanish conquest in the Mesoamerican territories, and “In reality the conquerors often maltreated and abused the natives, keeping them in a state of serfdom” (23). This brought me to ponder on the mischief people are willing to act upon to obtain their own longings and desires; it is much more appalling to find that the Spanish manipulated the Indians through their proclamations in the good faith as if to conceal their wickedness. Furthermore, in “What Greater Grandeur,” Cortés provided enlightenment on my perspective towards the Indian people through the illustration of a wonderful civilization. “For what greater grandeur can there be than that a barbarian monarch should have imitations in gold, silver, [and] stones…?” (11). The thoughts that Cortés causes for the readers to reflect on are based on sensible reasoning; if the Indians were the terrible and foolish society the Spaniards identified them as, would they have been able to preserve success and harmony with one another? Also, as told in “Greater Than Constantinople and Rome,” the renown of their dwelling could not be compared to any other, not because of personal doings but through their ordinance as one unified people, for it was “…so full of people, and so well regulated and arranged, they had never beheld [that] before” (Del Castillo 12). The peace and stability of the society could be seen and felt. Finally, as found in “In Defense of the Indians,” it is arguable to declare that “War is not a suitable means for spreading Christ’s glory and the truth of the [G]ospel…” (Las Casas 120). The Spanish, in their hopes to change the Indians and their ways, approached them in an aggressive and unkind manner, enough to cause them to turn to defensive acts. The Mesoamerican peoples were indeed deprived of their rights and of the place they called home.
ReplyDeleteWord count: 387
Celine Brianna Salas
Learning about my culture has always been an aspiration of mine and throughout Acuna’s readings in “Occupied America” I began to understand the value of what our heritage descends from. What was entailed in the Spanish Conquest and the destruction it caused to the Indigenous people is often left out in what we learn today. I believe that gender has nothing to do with what a person can do. Therefore, limiting what someone chooses to do such as work or higher their education is a violation of somebody’s basic rights. When the Spanish conquest occurred many of the native women were oppressed and silenced because they were believed to be inferior to men. So much so that they were entirely controlled as to how they lived and at what age they were to be married. The work that they were granted was the production of wool goods and even then, was a physical strain. What I think is inspiring is that even through tribulation some women still stood strong and did not let the oppression of Spaniard men keep them from pursuing their desired actions. For example, Josefa Maria Francisca, who even though was uneducated, managed to protest and set free repartimiento workers. The limiting and brutal ways the Spanish men had towards the native women was not enough to stop the women from rising and standing against the subjugation. In the other readings presented I found the perspective of Bartolome de las Casas in, “In Defense of the Indians,” to be moving, because he, a Spaniard, realized that the ways the native people were being treated was against the ways of God. Casas sought change of the way things were being done. War was not the way to earn what was desired rather through understanding and compromise. Casas stood by the idea that we should treat those how we wished to be treated and the Spaniards were acting in contrast to that. In reading his response to what was happening we can all learn from what he is conveying, because sadly through all these decades later the statement of, “See that you do not do to another what you would not have done to you by another?” can still apply today.
ReplyDeleteAlma De La Llana
After reading and analyzing the texts I found many things interesting. Many would deny that our cultures are based on Indians, but the truth is that our cultures do come from such interesting cultures. Around 800 BC. there were six different cultures that came to be and these cultures relied on agriculture to get their food. One of the main crops was maize (corn) which was sacred to them and it is one of the crops that still is famous now days. Without corn we would have no tortillas and other delicious foods. Their laws were based on what they believed based on stories. By reading this chapter I also learned more in depth about the Mayan culture, which is one of the main civilizations in Mesoamerica, besides the Aztec. Later on in the chapter I found out that the cultures were also divided into zones in which they contributed to trade amongst each other. Furthermore, after reading chapter two I learned that everything was not as easy as “Oh let’s built our civilization here and live peacefully,” because then the Spaniards came along and disrupted the life’s of those who lived in Mesoamerica. Nothing would be the same after their conquest; the native population decreased and everything that they worked hard for went down, which I believe is not fair at all, but then colonization came around and a different way of living came to be and so. After reading all the texts, I gained knowledge over some of the civilizations that existed and of colonization. Most of it I found out is not fair at all, but would we be here if none of those things would of happened?, but in my opinion the fact that most scholars tell a different story to make their conquest the only truth is not something that should be done. We should all learn about our roots and where we come from and not just listen to one side of the story just to keep it believable and the “only truth”.
ReplyDeleteGuadalupe Cazares
Prior to these readings, I had a minimal understanding of how much Mesoamericans had impacted Mexico and North America to how we know it today. I remember only being taught about the Aztecas and Mayans in high school. I was completely oblivious to the amazing and fascinating history of the Archaic and formative preclassic periods. It is truly shocking to discover this history of my own ancestors and it is amazing how productive and innovative early Mesoamericans were, especially in Central America. They were clearly years ahead of their conquerors, the spaniards. The Spaniards were so blown away by their innovation, intelligence, and advanced society in general. They were also intrigued by one of the Mesoamericans' main crops, maize. The Spaniards did not see this wonderful crop in Europe, and they were curious on how to grow it. From here, the Spaniards became very aggressive.Where the Spaniards claimed to help they did quite the opposite. Mesoamerican religion, society, and infrastructure was completely turned inside out by the conquerors. Mesoamerica was a lot better off by itself, with advanced technology and societal norms that would come to Europe only years later. It is so interesting to me to think that Mesoamerica developed a lot of modern day western society and some inventions the world can use today.
ReplyDeleteMichael Gonzalez
In the readings I learned new things and I also emphasized what I already knew. In chapter 1, I learned how corn was a big factor in making positive changes such as: modes of production, mobilized labor and cope with environmental changes. Also, corn became the primary diet throughout Mesoamerica and then spread northward and southward. I dint know that there was more tribes and regions that the ones I already knew. For example, I dint know that there were six cradles of civilization such as: china, the Indus valley, Mesopotamia, the Nile, the Andean region and Mesoamerica. What I would find more helpful is to know why the European invasion was threat to the corn culture. What I found interesting is how the Olmeca Indians developed three religious calendars; this demonstrates that they were smart and sophisticated. They passed all of their art, religion and organizational forms to the Maya. How did the Olmeca culture influenced the Maya culture? Well, that’s very visible thanks to the Maya hieroglyphic writing they not only wrote on stone but, also wrote on hand made books during the Spanish conquest. In chapter two it describes how Mesoamerica was destroyed due to the Spanish conquest. In 1492, Christopher Columbus lands in Caribbean and found no gold or silver so he sends them back home and he stays there to establish a new colony. For me it’s very interesting to learn how Spaniards were making expeditions looking for riches. I mean how could they not look for something more useful like food and clothing? The inhumane treatment that Indians received by Spaniards if they refused to learn Catholicism. Lastly, I learned that the Mexican war of independence made complex societies and a lot of different people in different regions. In contrast to chapter three I learned that the consequences of the war still affect Mexicans today. What I found interesting is to know that women were seen at the battle of Bracito in 1847. Its certain that one loses everything for wanting more; in a way Mexico can relate to this because they have lost half of its territory. In the dispatches of father Bernal Diaz del Castillo he describes how the people of the three causeways were living. How people traded food for clothes and clothes for food. In the excerpts of Bartolome de las casas he is defending the Indians and how they were treated unequally just because they were considered “barbarians.” He even says that Indians are exceptionally better than most people of the known world.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Nicole Cantu
I admit I knew a little bit about the first civilizations in America, when I lived in Mexico I learned Indians tended to form groups and then civilizations by developing agriculture and trading resources to survive. After reading the first Chapter I realized that not all civilizations share the same traditions and features, for example some believed in blood sacrifice like the Mayas, but others like the Olmeca focused more on building structures and developing calendars. Most of the civilization had a trading system where each imported and exported resources to other civilizations, except for the Tarasco because they were not good traders. I believe the fall of these civilizations was responsibility of their leaders, I know the Spanish had more power to conquest them and they brought many diseases that were very dangerous, but I think the native Americans could do more if they would have done some deals about the wealth they owned. In Chapter 2 Colon started to use Indians as slaves to work in the sugar, that’s how slavery started in America. I think Indians deserved to be treated better so they could work better. One of the advantages of Cortez when taking control of Mesoamerica was the gunpowder, Indians did not have this technology, in my opinion Indians underestimated the Spanish, because of their beliefs in some gods they think they were superior to anyone. Once Indians were conquered, Europeans brought many diseases that killed almost 95% of Indians. In Mesoamerica women were treated according to their class, some were not allowed to work outside and other were victims of rape, I think women could have done so much more than working at home, for example they could have helped on checking if people were following the rules or counting the production of trades. In Chapter 3, we saw how Mexico started to independence from Spain so Texas did the same, the saw the chance to go for what it was more convenient for them which it was the Liberty. I strongly believe Liberty is the most important we have, I don’t imagine my self living as a slave, I would do anything to preserve my liberty and have a voice.
ReplyDeleteMissael Salinas Venegas
Throughout the first three chapters and the outside reading, it is clear that there is a lot of interesting history going all the way back to 40,000 BC. In my opinion, the most interesting topic was the Olmeca which took place around 1500 BC-500 BC. What made this specific part of the lecture the most interesting was because it was when a major change took place towards all the people who lived out of corn. In chapter one it mentions that the Olmeca civilization was extremely advanced compared to others at that time. Why were they specifically considered more advanced? Was it their ideas or experience that made them superior to the others? According to what I understood, this civilization was capable of “building the first kingdoms” that would then be passed on to the Maya. Back then there was close to no political symbolism but the Olmeca made it happen which is where I believe the big changes started to happen. What grabbed my attention was that they settled villages and even cities in the Gulf Coast lowlands. This is what made the population grow and what is hard to believe is the fact that maize became very important that it was capable of supporting a whole village. When I travel to different cities from Mexico, the pottery is very significant and learning about its origin made this topic stand out even more. The pottery opened doors to Mesoamerican people to form small villages because they were constantly used as storage of food surplus. It is amazing how the villages started to evolve much faster than other civilizations that it gave the Olmeca the chance to construct large formal templates, many known as the stone heads. It was obvious that since they were seen superior that they would have more privileges but I think that other civilizations could have been part of this change. In the end it was the Olmeca that made the biggest changes occur like increasing the trade which would all be passed to the Maya when their villages appeared around 1800 BC. (349)
ReplyDeleteBruno Morales
The readings show about all the different civilization that conformed the Mesoamerican age and how they consist, they were similar and different in some aspects, one of the similarities is that all of them started eventually to decline. The Mesoamerican age were different civilizations that extended from what today we all know is Mexico all the way to the Andes and parts of South America, these populations were primary formed by indigenous people. Some of the most famous groups that existed were the Olmecas, the Mayans, and the Aztecs, who all could develop and sustain themselves for decades and even centuries thanks to the production of maize, corn as we all commonly known was so important as it help them increase his growth population. The Olmecas are consider the mother culture of Mexico, they had three calendars, one for religious purpose, the other one was related to the sun and the last one was a combination of both, I think that these group was well organized. The Mayans based their life in agriculture in which was common for all the civilizations, something that got me thinking about, is that in these group historians discover homosexuality drawings although they said Spaniards were the cause. Another civilization that is mentioned is the Aztec empire, I think that this is the most important empire of all, because these were the most famous group that history happen to them in Mexico, also one interesting fact is that their capital Tenochtitlan is now what is called Mexico City. Cristobal Colon opened new doors for the Spaniards who later they will take too much advantage having one of the most famous conquistadores of all time: Hernan Cortez, who with tyranny took over the Aztecs and his resources “exchanging” them different disease that will kill them unfortunately. I think that the city of Tenochtitlan was beautiful considering that is incredible how a society like the Aztecs could build a city on top of the Lake Texcoco and is also understandable how Cortez decided to conquer such beautiful city that had an incredible infrastructure. It is so sad how all these people ended up killed so brutal by the conquerors that said that where Christians and wanted to be brothers in god with their new friends that they found but by actions like that the Aztecs were considering the Christian religion to be evil.
ReplyDeleteLuis Reyna
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis two chapters have helped me perceive better my culture, for instance in chapter 1 I learned how agriculture specifically corn was a huge factor in making a difference for modes of production, mobilized labor and cope with environmental changes. For instance, corn became the primary diet throughout Mesoamerica and then spread northward and southward. The completeness of the Maize culture supports the theory that Mesoamerican farmers brought corn into the southwest. Now, the corn spread a culture that extended through U.S interstate highway 10 and the eastern half of U.S, this means that the symbolic significance of maize and its role can be found in ceremony and virtual through much of North America. I also learn what put corn in extinction, well the Europe Invasion put the corn cultures in danger of extinction. This threat continues today in places like the remote mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Another interesting point that I learn in this first chapter was the way they read the calendars, it leads to 260 days cycle that was used for religious purposes. Solar calendar with 18 months of 20 days and combination of two calendars. The development of the calendar required a sophisticated knowledge of mathematics. Moreover, in chapter 2 I learn what drove the occupation of middle America, which was Spain occupation destroying Mesoamerican institutions, religion, infrastructure. This leads to native population fell from 25 million to just 1. It also got my attention when Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean in the year 1492 but had no success, then later in 1500s Columbus introduced sugar cane plants. I also learned about Spaniards vs. indigenous (colonization up south) and the colonization up north. Women couldn’t be the exception in this chapter how their roles began to change, they where victims of rape by Spaniards. Lastly in chapter 3, I learned that Mexico had lost over half of its territory. And that the treaty ended up reducing the rights of native tribes.
ReplyDeleteMaria G. Leal
After reading chapter one I was impress with so many information that I wasn’t aware of. Like for example I didn’t know that Benjamin franklin was the one that had the idea of invited Mexican territory to expand the United States. Other fact that I was really fascinated about was about people traveling with seeds all over America. Reading about the Olmeca civilizations was amazing because to know that they were an advance civilization I mean people thought they were from outer space, that’s why they were known as the mother culture of Mexico. An amazing piece of information that I didn’t know was that the Olmeca created 3 calendars which as the ritual (260 day cycle), a solar which is the one that we currently have (18 months of 20 and 5 days included), and the 3rd one was where they combined both. I thought that the Olmeca culture died with them but I was impressed to find out that they it wasn’t the Olmeca culture passed its culture forms, religion and art to the Maya, Teotihuacán, and to the Aztec. In chapter 2 I learned that Spain’s positions destroyed Mesoamerican religion and institutions. Also something that I already knew about was about Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes they always come out in ever Spanish class I had, but I found out that Hernan Cortez aside of confronting the Mayans he also confronted Veracruz. The women in Mesoamerica began to have more right with the help of the Spanish law but sadly some of them were getting raped by the Spaniards.
ReplyDelete-Mayra Saldana
What I liked most about the first chapter from Acuna’s book was how each civilization influenced each other. Whether it be with the human sacrifices or the hieroglyphics scripts and 260-day calendar to 365-day calendar celebrating gods or just playing a ball game to “communicate with the gods.” This is art that we can still see now, religion that has somewhat changed (no more human or animal sacrificing) but is still with us but the beliefs in gods and skills that they used to survive have gotten passed on from time to time all for us to have survived to this point where the crops have multiplied by millions and to think that Diego de Landa burned most of the Mayans books because to him they were “based on nothings but superstisions and falsehoods of the devil.” The one thing that makes me not as mad is that not all of them were burned and the ones who got saved were sent off to Europe to be examined in a way, although the Mayans were very smart that the Spaniards couldn’t figure out what the Mayans were talking about so I would guess that a good amount of those books were thrown away or left there to get dusted. Not knowing about the past civilizations makes me wonder what we missed on and what we could have learned from them. The Olmec being the mother of Mexico’s culture, one of the oldest of civilizations is just left for us to wonder where they originally came from and what it is that they did! Was it them the ones who came up with the number zero, with all the numbers or was it the Mayans? In chapter 2 I learned about Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes but we all already know about them two. Something that I really enjoy reading was about the women getting more rights I mean it doesn’t compare to the men right but I was glad to read that they were getting more and more respect. Aside from getting a little bit more rights the cruel truth is that they were still getting raped by the Spaniards.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Escalante
It is astounding to see the many civilizations that flourished throughout the centuries in Mexico and the Americas. I only knew of just a handful of these societies mentioned, with the Azteca being the most prominent. These ancient civilizations with their interlaced cultures, complex trading routes and advanced academics could rival the most advanced societies of modern time. It was also captivating to read how one crop; Maize, unified most of these Native American cultures. Having a great impact on their way of life and where they settled to build their prodigious empires. The decline of the Indian population was imminent compared to the progressive technology the Spaniards had, along with their old world diseases. Although some Mesoamerican civilizations had hierarchal societies, the conquest by the Europeans brought on more emphasis on social discrimination and sexism. The Spanish lack of compassion for the natives was very disturbing to read, comparing them to beast, and barbarians. More could have been done to preserve some of these rich cultures than just laws that had no set systems to enforce them. The Spanish yearning desire of richness and supremacy in a competitive world market had convened its perfect match in the undeveloped, ethereal landscape of Mesoamerica. (206)
ReplyDeleteVictor D. Gaytan
After reading the chapters and the article, it made me realize how proud i am to have a mexican culture and background. Although the chapters were very eye opening and fascinating, what really caught my attention was the article about the MAS program. I can't say what i would do if I was in some of those people shoes. And I can't imagine having an amazing program that taught me about my culture, about my history, about something that is a part of me, something that made me feel important, being taken away from me, and then years later giving it back but it not even being the same. But what i really can't comprehend, is why some of these people fought to have this amazing program taken away. In all reality it makes me livid how some of these close minded people think. They believe that all this is wrong but they don't even understand how amazing this program is, and whats even more upsetting is that they dont even try to understand whats going on. They refuse to look past at what a huge difference this program is making , how its making students happy and how it had a high percentage of people passing, how it impacts some of these students. But they don't even bother to see any of that. They just see all negative things. And even though they counted all that as racism, the program was never really the same. So why go through all that hassle of taking something great away and then returning it back but it not being the same as it use to be.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Lopez
After reading the chapters of ‘Occupied America,” I learned a lot of new information I was not aware of before and it is interesting to me to learn more about my culture. In chapter one, something that really caught my attention was the ball game that the Mayas played because I once went to a show in Playa del Carmen of Mexico’s history and it started with the Mayas playing a ball game like the book describes it, but I did not know the meaning of it and now that I have read about it, I know that the game had religious significance to them. In chapter two, women were getting married at the age of 20 but when Spaniard arrived, women were encouraged to be married by the age of 12, which I think is horrible because they were only girls. It is also horrifying that men were considered to have more power for marrying a 14 year old girl, than the men that married someone their age. De Las Casas defended the Indians saying they are harmless and used examples of how their families would feel if their loved ones were wounded, saying those things helps because it gets the others to put themselves in the Indians shoes, like how would they feel if they were the Indians.
ReplyDeleteYadira de Leon
After reading the first chapters of “Occupied America,” I realized that I did not know much about the roots of the indigenous groups of Mexico and Central America. In the first place, I did not know there were that many civilizations that flourished throughout the centuries. I am astonished to learn that these civilizations were a very important part in the development of Mexico, my native country. I have had the opportunity to travel to some southern states of Mexico and see that there are still whole towns that preserve the customs of their ancestors; they may not practice the same rituals, but still practice their native language, wear indigenous clothing, and rely completely on herbal medicine, which to me is admirable.
ReplyDeleteSomething that captivated my attention was to learn that these civilizations had impressive intellectual endowments. Talents like having the ability to design not one, but several calendars based on their astronomical knowledge; having an advanced mathematical system and being presumably the first civilizations to develop the mathematical concept of zero; to construct beautiful temples that had a great and unique meaning, as it is Chichén Itza that is part of one of the seven wonders of the world. All these attributes of the Mesoamerican civilizations make me feel very proud of my roots and has awakened in me a great desire to learn more about these indigenous groups that undeniably are part of my past and I can proudly call my ancestors.
Rossy Tapia Cervantes
Reading the first chapter of "Occupied America" taught me so much about the Mexican culture that I wasn't aware of. Such as, how things changed so quickly including the agriculture. Planting corn is one of their primary specialties. Maybe that's why the corn tastes so much better in the lands of Mexico. Another thing that interested me was the incline of all the diversity of people like the maya civilization or the torasco people. How they have their differences that defines me is even more interesting because I get to see how they survived, what were their priorities and what their culture was like. The maya game that was talked about in the chapter got me interested in how it’s played because I was thinking of basketball and soccer. In chapter two, religion starts to become a stronger aspect that is being practiced and taken more serious. As well as the woman’s roles and where they stand. Woman were victims of rape and Spain was trying to take control of slavery. Spaniards also went looking for the 3 G’s which were god, glory and gold. When they arrived, they pushed native Americans off their land. The history behind our culture is amazing because there are so many kinds of civilizations that were brought through and more over how the primary culture is Indians.
ReplyDeleteYarazeth Ramirez
Acuna discusses important topics of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations in a way that few have; he highlights accomplishments and advances that many of us under the American public school system have not learned. In chapter one he perfectly describes these ancient civilizations and how their ways of life were completely ahead of their time. Not only this but also how well off and advanced they were despite what may have been overlooked and unaddressed by mainstream European scholars. “Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations did not need Europeans to give them civilization;” (1) Throughout the chapter, civilizations like the Olmeca, the Maya, Teotihuacan, and the Tolteca all flourished through the rise of crops and intelligence which was filtered into perfecting many calendars as well as techniques that were used to improve their way of sustainability. I found the discussion about how corn made a stable food source and how it had direct correlation with the growth of civilizations and interesting read because it is definitely a very well-enjoyed crop to this day. His discussions go past the growth that these civilizations experienced and onto what caused their decline. For example, overpopulation was said to contribute to the decline of the Mayas which is ironic as it is a major contributor to their rise. What caught my attention from chapter two was the way the author depicted the colonization and exploitation of the native people and how this affected history and culture for the centuries to come. I find it captivating when Acuna goes into detail about the type of hierarchy these societies practiced when it comes to gender politics. Some started off fairly equal, but as described by the author, eventually fell into a patriarchy. “We should not romanticize this society as egalitarian.” (33)
ReplyDeleteAndrea Juarez
What I found interesting about the reading were how much I did not know. I’ve seen a lot of movies with different interpretation about the Aztecs such as Devinci Demons. I know corn was one of the major crops grown, but I didn’t think that it was grown because of survival. It was actually grown do to environmental changes. What I found the most interesting was how the Olmeca had equality among men and woman. In my understanding, I have always thought that the women were below the men. The main priority of a woman was to watch the young. Also, I thought the rulers were only male, but as I read I found out that two women ruled. Learning about the Aztecs in school was a bit different after all all I learned was how the Aztecs were savages and murderers. In the reading of Corez and Del Castillo it turns out that the Aztecs were advanced in many things. The Aztecs were incredible inventers as well all thinkers. They were more advanced than I would have thought of. Sometimes I wonder what tools they used carve out gold and create jewelry. After reading over everything I really enjoyed learning about my culture. To be completely honest I didn’t know Aztecs were a part of my heritage.
ReplyDeleteVictoria E Galvan