The Zapotec Culture

Hays’s The Burdens of Disease first chapter “Western Inheritance” discusses how different religions reacted to diseases and sickness. Hays discusses four main religions: the Aclepsian, Hippocratic, Galen, and Christianity. The Cult of Aclepios had the most notable healing traditions of the early Greeks according to Hays. According to Hays those who were sick would go to Aclepios’s temple and have ritual sacrifices, ritual bathing’s, and an “incubation sleep” (pg.9). This slumber would allow them to receive messages on what to do or automatic healing from the god himself.

The Zapatistas lived in a flourishing culture in the early 19th century until the North American Trade Agreement when it was placed in 1994 in order for us to trade between Canada, United States, and Mexico. The Zapatistas were trying to get health care, education and control over their land because they had been the lowest in the social order. They wear ski mask and anything in order to completely cover their face except their eyes. The main struggle of the people who live in Chiapas is the fact that they never really got the things a person needs in their regular lifestyles.

Tres Zapotes was occupied by the Olmecs and Epi-Olmecs (or post-Olmecs), with the majority of the remains from the Epi-Olmecs (1). The most important findings were two colossal heads and Stelae C (3). Stelae C was the second oldest Mesoamerican long count calendar, which dates back to 31 BC (3). The different structures and political mounds at the site shows how there wasn’t a centralized government, due to the equidistant spacing of the constructions (1). The people also had trade connections with other populations, which influenced the poplation’s art styles (2). For example, sculptures had similar styles to those from Izapa, Guatemala, whom they traded with (2). The population also had connections with the Mixe people from the Isthmian region of Mexico (3).

The Zapotec progress was past Olmec human advancements and was situated in Oaxaca, Mexico. Huge numbers of their natives get by right up 'til today and keep up their social myths and conventions. The remains of the old pyramids additionally demonstrate to us a portion of the engineering. The photo above shows what the pyramids here look like today, which is amazing considering they were worked back somewhere around 300 and 900 CE. Pyramids portrayed their way of life also, created human

Mexico’s history includes the historical development of human societies. The history of human societies began approximately 25,000 years ago. From this time on, archeological evidence of human presence started being detected. This historical period, is characterized by the development of various Indian cultures. According to the web page “Ancient History-Olmec Civilization”, the oldest Indian tribe known to preserve historic monuments as well as lay the groundwork development of all other Indian cultures, was the Olmec civilization. The Olmec civilization started forming in 1500 BC and the end of their culture is assumed to be around 500 BC. The Olmec were really skilled sculptors and they had great architectures. However, another very important

Around the world, cultures have always had their own way of explaining the unknowable and answering the questionable. Rarely will any two people completely agree on what is normal and what is not. Anne Fadiman's book peers into this from a medical standpoint. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," identifies the differences and challenges presented when differing cultural perceptions of disease and their treatments collide. She explores the conflicts that arise when a Hmong child named Lia Lee is diagnosed with severe epilepsy after her family immigrates to California from their home near Laos. The Hmong culture does not recognize epilepsy as a disease that needs to be stopped, so they do not follow the American medical treatment recommendations. Lack of understanding and an initial unwillingness to compromise on both sides ultimately impacts the child's health. Lia’s health eventually deteriorates to the point that she is left in a vegetative state. The reader is left with the questions like, “who is to blame,” “could this have been prevented,” and “where did things go wrong?” The answers are officially inconclusive but Fadiman’s book surely shows a glimpse into the vast differences two cultures can have in what is considered to be mentally and physically healthy as well as their style of treatments.

With majority of Somalia practicing the religion of Islam, it is believed primarily that illnesses and diseases are God’s will. The religion teaches that all calamities whether it be mental or physical sickness, that the individual remain patient. Mental illness in the Somali culture is socially unaccepted. The stigma surrounding this issue is that the mentally ill are rejected from society

Aztec and African are two distinctive cultures with many differences. The two cultures are on different continents that are far away from each other, and there is a wide difference between the two cultures. The beliefs and practices of the people are different in both of these cultures. However, as the world becomes more global, and as people become more exposed to different cultures, the differences between them seem to be narrowing. There are several similarities and differences between Aztec and African, specifically, dance, food and the education system. We live in a world with numerous countries and diversities. Each culture has its own appeal and positives and often times comparing the similarities and differences between these cultures based on a variety of aspects like topography, culture, language, economy, government dynamics. In this essay, I am going to compare the Aztec that are located in Central Mexico and the African culture that is located in all of Africa are two cultures that are studied by many anthropologists.

The Olmec are believed to be the first great Mesoamerican civilization. The city known as San Lorenzo existed around 1200BC and declined in 400 B.C. It is considered to be the first major city in ancient Mexico.

“African societies developed diverse forms, from large centralized states to stateless societies organized around kinship or age sets rather than central authority. Within this diversity were many shared aspects of language and beliefs. Universalistic faiths penetrated the continent and served as the basis for important cultural development in Nubia and Ethiopia.

Every culture has its own way of dealing with sickness and illness. Growing up both in Angola and the United States, a person is able to reflect on cultures and their own myths as well as beliefs. These cultures are very different from one another in respect to their outlook on illness and hospitalization. Being Angolan in the American healthcare industry, they experience many different attitudes about how to best treat medical illness. During the time of sick or for curing disease in Angola, the people would rather see their traditional healer than a doctor for such things as; fever, stomachache, bad dreams, pain, or mental disorders. They don’t have access to the same kind of healthcare services as the Americans do. Only a few people can afford good medical care and unfortunately many have a life expectancy that is below fifty years of age mostly related to poverty related diseases such as; tuberculosis, malaria, and measles.

1. “The particular cultures and societies of Africa and of the Americas discussed in this chapter

“Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa” by Charles Piot is a book based on the lives of the people of the remote village called Kabre located in Northern Togo. The author discusses the “vernacular modernity” of the people of Kabre village that has been influenced by a long tradition of encounters with outsiders that included the colonialists. The author provides an in-depth analysis with ethnographic details about the Kabre people as the author discusses a wide range of their culture and history that included houses and the structure of homestead, gender ideology, ritual like initiations, exchange system, and social relations (Piot 178).

Every culture has its own views of health care, diseases, and medical interventions. The way people of a given culture view health care affects how they handle themselves when they fall ill. For instance, the Asian culture believes that illnesses are caused by supernatural phenomena, which should be diagnosed and treated by means of spiritual healing or traditional herbs. Physicians and other medical practitioners should try to understand the cultural beliefs of their patients to handle them appropriately.

When understanding the many beliefs that cultures have, helps grasp an understanding the healing practices a family may have. In today’s society, “religious practices are usually rooted in culture” (Giger and Davidhizas, 2008). Typically each culture has a set of beliefs that they use to explain their health and manners that prevent or treat illnesses and diseases. When a family member is ill, a culture uses rituals to get rid of the disease.