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The Precolumbian ballgame, played on a masonry court, has long intrigued scholars because of the magnificence of its archaeological remains. From its lowland Maya origins it spread throughout the Aztec empire, where the game was so popular that sixteen thousand rubber balls were imported annually into Tenochtitlan. It endured for two thousand years, spreading as far as to what is now southern Arizona. This new collection of essays brings together research from field archaeology, mythology, and Maya hieroglyphic studies to illuminate this important yet puzzling aspect of Native American culture. The authors demonstrate that the game was more than a spectator sport; serving social, political, ...
Based on recent archaeological surveys and excavations, the chapters in this volume provide current, comprehensive, area-by-area summaries of the region's Precolumbian past. Research in the last two decades has indicated that the evolution and adaptations of the indigenous cultures of the region parallel those found elsewhere in Mesoamerica, from the simple Formative groups to the complex states of the North. The topics discussed in the book--areal and cultural syntheses and specific problems such as chronology, social organization, and economic systems--present much new information crucial to the understanding of cultural variations in Mesoamerica.
In ice hockey, the term body check refers to a specific move to gain control. It is a blow from body to body, a dynamic clash of physical strength, which will determine the course of the game. In this book, too, the body is checked and there is physical confrontation. Not in the hockey ring, but on stage. This book deals with the body in contemporary (performing) arts. The focus is on exploring theoretical avenues and developing new concepts to grasp corporeal images more accurately. This theoretical research is confronted with the voice of artists whose work explicitly deals with the body. In-depth interviews with a.o. Meg Stuart, Wim Vandekeybus, Romeo Castellucci, Jerôme Bel reveal a very broad range of views on the (re)presentation of the body in today's performing arts. The combination of these two voices -the theoretician's and the artist's -shows that research by artists and cultural scientists is perfectly complementary.
Kokopelli the flute player is one of the most popular icons that American culture has adopted from the Native peoples of North America. The Kokopelli name and image are everywhere, adorning everything from jewelry, welcome mats, T-shirts, and money clips to motels, freeway underpasses, nature trails, nightclubs, and string quartets. Kokopelli evokes mystery and wonder, ancient ceremonies andøspirituality, Mother Earth and the purity of nature. But what exactly is Kokopelli? Just how Native American is this ubiquitous flute player? In this fascinating book, the distinguished scholar of Hopi culture and history Ekkehart Malotki describes the development of the Kokopelli phenomenon in American mass culture from its beginning to Kokopelli?s present status as pan-Southwestern icon. He explores the figure?s connections with the Hopi kachina god Kookop”l” and Maahu, the cicada, and discusses how this rock-art image has been appropriated and misunderstood. Kokopelli sheds light on a little-understood aspect of Hopi culture and testifies to the continuing power of Native cultures to spark the popular imagination and interest of outsiders.
"My overriding concern in this book has been, not to write a historical account of the theories and methods current at various times, and used by different researchers, but to pass in review the sequence of accretions to the store of knowledge, while at the same time giving some attention to those errors which often delay this process."--From the introduction.
The ultimate reference on the ceramic typology and chronology of Teotihuacan throughout the sequence of the city's occupation. Abundantly illustrated with drawings and photographs. Accompanying color photographs available electronically. Complete text in Spanish and English
As social contexts and demands change in the 21st century, pedagogies and policies must adapt to keep up. Increasing emphasis on global preparedness, competitivity, and holistic education alongside a fast-paced, ever-changing environment may make policy implementation difficult. However, Cheng asserts that it is only by understanding the current trends, visions, and issues in education policy, implementation, and research that we can reflect, adapt, and improve future initiatives. To that end, Cheng elucidates the different paradigm shifts in classrooms and pedagogy all over the world. In his exploration of third-wave paradigm shifts in education, he charts the rationales, concerns, and effects in topics such as contextualized multiple intelligences, integrated learning, national education in globalization, teacher effectiveness and development, school-based management, and systemic education reform. This book is a promising referential resource for any policy-maker, academic, and educator who knows that the only way to progress is to look at and learn from the current issues and future trends globally.
TheChichimec Sea is a metaphorical term for that large area of mountain, desert, and desiccated lake bed that covers much of northern Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. Aboriginally--indeed, well into historic times--this large area was inhabited by diverse bands of Indians who had in common mainly the fact that they shared neither in the complex civilization of Mesoamerica nor the sub-Mesoamerican cultures of the Greater Southwest. This comprehensive and unified volume of original essays deals with the complex problems of interaction--across and around the Chichimec Sea--between Mesoamerica and the Southwest. The twenty contributions to this volume, by anthropologists, archaeologists, geographers, ethnohistorians, and ethnobotanists, all deal with diverse aspects of the problem of Mesoamerican-Southwest contacts.
This volume explores the landscape settings of megalithic chambered monuments in Wales. Set against a broader theoretical discussion on the significance of the landscape, the authors consider the role of visual landscapes in prehistory, meanings attached to the landscape, and the values and beliefs invested in it. Wales is rich in Neolithic monuments, but the general absence of certain classic monumental forms found in the rest of Britain and Ireland, such as causewayed enclosures, henges, and cursus monuments, seems to have marginalized the Welsh record from many wider discussions on the Neolithic. Instead of seeing Wales as an area which lacks many of these 'classic' components, Cummings a...