Feasting In Mesoamerica Analysis

The Olmecs Early Agriculture in Mesoamerica Mesoamerican people began to cultivate manioc, beans, chili peppers, avocados, and gourds. By 4000 B.C.E., maize had become the major staple crop of the region. Tomatoes were later added as a crop that they cultivated. By 3000 B.C.E., agricultural villages started to appear and by 2000 B.C.E. agriculture spread amongst Mesoamerica.

If Mexican culture were a quilt, then the many varied fabric patches that comprise its surface would be meals, the batting would be equal parts family and religion, and the thread used to sew the quilt together would be tradition. The people of Mexico consider mealtimes to be of utmost importance in their culture; however, much like an attractive quilt that lacks proper insulation—pretty, but useless—mealtimes lose much of their meaning without the substance that family and religion provide. Mealtimes in Mexico are a family affair, and immediate families in Mexico are typically multigenerational and tend to be quite large. Unlike most Americans, Mexican meals are almost exclusively had in the home—rather than in restaurants—where they are prepared,

The development of Mesoamerica and Andean South America had one major item in common and that was neither civilization had the strong political powers that ran previous empires such as the Roman. Other likenesses were the agriculture both empires flourished with crops of corn, potatoes and beans because these products thrived in a variety of soils and with different climates (Wallech, 2013). Many differences that these two civilizations differ from others is simply because of location and the rivers that separated them and the ability to move easily and share cultural beliefs and achievements, but no matter how much space is between civilizations there was always violence and the pattern of societies rising and falling ("Notes on Mesoamerican

Between the time periods of 1450 to 1850, Latin American societies have shifted their original native rule to European rule because of the contrast between both societies’ advancements and beliefs and then reverted back to native rule primarily because of the influx of enlightened ideas which created the prospect of obtaining native rule again possible. Even with the shifts in power, Latin American societies stayed constant in terms of having autonomous rulers because of the persistent problems of poverty and confusion.

The 15th century, significantly the year around 1450 to present day, was a very momentum one for that of Latin America. Latin America During the time around 1450,began to transition at the arrival of the Spaniards. Polytheism disappeared as Christianity arrived, human sacrifice saw an abrupt termination, and the religions of Voodoo and Santeria began to form. Despite these changes certain trends remained the same such as continuities in the religion and practices of Latin America began to only be seen in the changes that developed and continued to present day.

Introduction South America is world’s fourth largest continent. It has an area of 17,840,000 km2 that covers one-eighth of the land area on Earth. South America is home to about 423 million people. There are 12 sovereign nations and other territories in the continent. South America contains natural wonders and unique cultures.

Native Americans gifted the first settlers with pumpkins. Instead of regifting, they put them to good use roughly 50 years after the first thanksgiving, when pumpkin pie appears. There are many forms of pumpkin pie before it settles into perfection. Early American settlers of plimoth plantation may have made pumpkin pies by making stewed pumpkins or by filling a hollowed out shell with milk, honey and spices, and then baking it in hot ashes. In 1651, Francois Pierre la Varenne’s cookbook features a pumpkin pastry recipe.

Aside from being depicted in Mesoamerican artwork, the concept of death in Mexico also tells the story of the imposition of Catholicism on Mesoamerican civilizations during colonial Mexico. Artwork during this time period illustrates images of death, such as a deceased nun, a masked death, devil and devil dancers, and ancient decorated skulls (Carmichael and Slayer 1992, 36). According to Stanley Brandes, scholars often have a difficult time minimizing the role of the Zapotec natives while simultaneously emphasizing on the European origins of the Day of the Dead holiday. Much of the pre-Columbian antecedents steams from the iconography of ancient civilizations living throughout Mesoamerica. This includes its huge amounts of skulls and skeletons during the modern Day of the Dead rituals as well as the variations of the meaning of the skeletal depictions as it differs from region to region.

The Jungle v. Fast Food Nation Brenton Beardsley Illinois Valley Community College In the book, The Jungle and Fast Food Nation, there was several points that were brought up about the values, beliefs, political ideas, and institution. These topics played an important role in both of the books, as many people just like the family in, The Jungle, face several hardships in our country to this day. During these hard times people find several ways to get to their inner self and overcome these hardships that are in their path to success. Also, migrants go to different countries and bring their traditions with them. Involved in their traditions are their beliefs, and then they also try to expand their traditions with other people surrounding them in their new society.

Mexican foods mostly originated from the aztec culture in the 16th century, they tried to bring their own kind of food to the country but they ended up mixing with other cultures. There were a lot of african and asian influences mostly consist of corn and wheat tortillas, also beans, tomatoes, chili peppers, chorizo, and many types of pork. They also have Empanadas which are handheld pasta pockets. Where as us americans eat a lot of things that are not as healthy, we eat a lot of processed foods, byproducts and lots of fatty, sugary foods. There religion mainly revolves around the value of church, Family and inclusiveness.

The geography of South America has affected the culture very much. The people that live in the Amazon can’t farm in the same spot for more than around two or three years because of poor soil. The people in the Andes mountains have to find different ways to travel. These are some examples of the ways the geography affects the culture in South America. The Andes mountains affect the culture in their area because People have to find ways to travel up and down the steep mountains.

Have you ever heard about the Aztecs and that they practiced human sacrifice? The Aztecs also built beautiful Floating Gardens called Chinampas. The Aztec society was on an island in the middle of a lake. They flourished from the years 1428 to 1519 C.E. They had Chinampas that covered the lake surrounding their capital city of Tenochtitlan.