Mesoamerican Cultural Analysis

The Maya could have had cultural diffusion with several other cultures like the Mochica, Toltec, Aztec, Mixtec, Chimu, and Teotihuacan because they lived in the same area around the same time. The Maya, the Mixtec, Mochica, and the Toltec could have had cultural diffusion because the Maya and Mochica made ceramic pottery sculptures and made paintings, the Mixtec made mosaics on their palace walls out of cut stone, and the Toltec carved faces into palace columns. The Mayans, Aztecs, Teotihuacan, and maybe the Chimu (who lived around the same time as the Mayans and Aztecs but in the Andes Mountains) believed in gods but maybe not the same ones. The Aztec and Chimu believed in Sky gods like a Sun God or a Moon God while the Mayans believed in Maize and Death gods and the Teotihuacan believed in Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent who created the world. The six cultures I think the Maya collided with through culture are the Mochica, Toltec, Aztec, Mixtec, Chimu, and the Teotihuacan.

Community and Friendship

In Charger Trails, I was a follower in some parts of the three activities (marble challenge, hog call, and maze). I tried to help people if they forgot the correct way. In Hog Call, I think I was more of a follower but in the marble challenge, I came up with an idea that could have worked so I think that in Charger Trails, I was a mix of leader and follower.

 

TCP Career Research

When I grow up, I want to be a physicist. To become one, you need a PhD in physics or a related field. Physicists try to figure out the origins of the world using their knowledge of physics. They do complex mathematical calculations to analyze physical and astronomical data like data that could indicate the existence of planets in distant solar systems. Physicists also develop new scientific equipment such as lasers and telescopes. They develop computer software to analyze and model data. They plan and conduct scientific experiments and studies to test theories and discover properties of matter and energy. They make theories and models that attempt to explain the properties of the natural world like atom formation and the force of gravity. They write scientific papers that may be published in scholarly journals and present research findings at conferences and lectures. Physicists use small or medium sized laboratories but some areas require hi-tech expensive equipment like nuclear reactors and particle accelerators.

 

Physics PhD students need to take courses in calculus, linear algebra, and statistics. Computer science classes are also needed because physicists and astronomers create programs to gather, analyze, and model data. If you seek a full-time researching job, you must begin at a temporary postdoctoral stage which lasts 2- 3 years. You work with experience scientists and continue to learn their specialties and get a broader understanding of related research areas. Your beginning work may be closely watched by senior scientists but as they get more experience, you get more complex and independent tasks. Physicists may spend a lot of time experimenting in labs but they also spend their time in offices, planning, analyzing, fundraising, and reporting on research.

 

NASA and the US department of Defense are two of the biggest employers of physicists and astronomers. The median annual pay is $106,840. The top 10% get at least $176,630 per year and the lowest 10% get less than $57,640 per year. The employment of physicists is expected to grow about 10%. As our knowledge grows, there will be a continual need for physicists and astronomers, especially in colleges, universities, and national laboratories.

 

A Snip of My Culture-Verse

The universal Arts and Recreation connects to the Camp Hanes trip. Camp Hanes wasn’t my first overnight school trip but it was the first one without my parents. Camp Hanes was connected to Arts and Recreation because it was all fun. It wasn’t related to any subject, no worksheets to fill out, and it was all fun. I was nervous because it was my first trip but there was nearly no reason to be worried. It wasn’t exactly leisure time because it was during what was supposed to be a school day but it was full of sports and games. I went zip lining for the first time and Camp Hanes was an overall good experience.

Writing and Education

Writing and Education

Aarav Gupta

What functions did scribes fulfill in the Ancient Egyptian society?

  • Egypt’s official record keepers
  • Performed various governmental and religious rituals
  • Administered laws
  • Collected taxes
  • Traveled with court members to keep an official record of events

How were the writing systems used in Egypt?

      • Only men became scribes but women learned to read and write
      • Most important part of the scribe school curriculum was reading and writing of
      •  hieroglyphs
      • Egyptians used hieroglyphs to record laws, business contracts, songs, jokes, and tales
      • It took Years to master hieroglyphics
      • Many students learned a simpler cursive writing system called hieratic script used for everyday tasks like record keeping
ca. 1490-1436 B.C. --- Hieratic script from the Tomb of Thutmose III. The tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt and dates from the Eighteenth Dynasty. | Located in: Tomb of Thutmose III. --- Image by © Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis
ca. 1490-1436 B.C. — Hieratic script from the Tomb of Thutmose III. The tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt and dates from the Eighteenth Dynasty. | Located in: Tomb of Thutmose III. — Image by © Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis

What was the school like for scribes?

          • School day sometimes lasted from dawn to dusk
          • Schoolmasters treated students harshly and if they weren’t willing to learn, they were scolded and physically beaten
          • Four years copying hieroglyphs on a slate to be trusted with writing on papyrus. [Papyrus is a plant that Egyptians turned into their version of paper]

What happened to scribes once they finished their training?

          • They worked alongside experienced scribes to learn about record keeping
          • Kept track of tax records in cities and villages
          • Kept track of food and grain supply in cities and villages and to help prevent a famine
          • Kept census, measured rise of Nile with Nileometers, traveled with military expeditions. [A Nileometer is a set of stairs, a pillar, or a well that marks the height of the water]

Nileometer pic

Picture Sources

      • [Image]http://www.euratlas.com/Atlas/egypt_nile/aswan_nilometer.html.September 16, 2015.Web.
      • [Image] http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-IH020076.jpg?size=67&uid=72c74a00-0f52-4fe8-adf3-19b9fc11fdc1.September 16, 2015.Web.

 

Seedfolks- Favorite Character

Tío Juan is my favorite character so far. He keeps trying to communicate even when nobody understands him. He was trying to talk to Wendell but it must have sounded like gibberish to Wendell. He came from somewhere in Central America maybe, and before that, maybe from a First Nation tribe or another place like Brazil! Tio Juan is different from everyone else, because of origin, language, and maybe skin color. He keeps on trying and when he found the farming lot, he was back. He had a purpose and he was going to use it. I can relate to him in a way because we both know a language not commonly known in our area. That is why he is my favorite character.