Art as a Culture

Functions of Early Art

I believe that these artists were trying to depict of what life was like in their time. The art that is displayed in the Lascaux Cave shows the audience of what they saw when they saw animals through their eyes within that time era. The animals most often show movement and expression, as if the artists were trying to show how they functioned and behaved. 

I think they showed animals because at the time there were probably more animals than humans. I feel as though there must have been some type of spiritual connection with animals. The artists must have viewed them as very majestic creatures and were very fascinated by their movement, their features, and their life. I also think that drawing animals would have been simply easier than to draw a human at those times. Maybe they did not even consider it art, therefore, they just painted what they saw. 

These paintings tell us about the life of the animals thought the early cave dweller’s eyes. They show they shape and movement of many different animals.Also, the paintings show early human culture and what the early humans looked like. The paintings show what type of medium was readily available in the early cave dwellers life. The paintings also show some ancient figures such as ancient star charts. I believe this is because maybe the cave dwellers were fascinated by the sky as well which shows how much more intelligent these people came to be. 

The artists had to paint inside steep and dangerous caves. It would be a very difficult challenge just to get into the caves and around them without being injured. I think painting on surfaces of rock that is very uneven would be difficult to control the painting process and how one would want to paint.

These artists would also have to be weary of other animals like snakes. 

I think the paintings provided many important functions to these early humans. I think they knew that it would serve as a way of recording their own history within that time. I believe that these painters also would pass the time trying to paint these depictions which maybe some needed to do. I also think that this art served as a form of communication between people of that era by maybe telling a story and relating to one another. 

Similarities in Function

There are many similarities within the functions in the art of the early humans compared to that of modern art. In the first similarity, the art provides a sort of leisure to the culture. Art can be a form of hobby for some and a way to express oneself. Art can be viewed as a medium to illustrate stories in order to communicate storytelling and thought. Art can also preserve history and generations of what was in the passed and for years to come. Art can be viewed by many in the future and it shows a picture of what the person in that time was like and what influenced them to create it. 

My Favorite Art: Music

I believe that many who write or play or make music are trying to express themselves artistically. There are many other functions for music, such as telling one’s story, pleasing one’s listening, or even trying to evoke an emotion that cannot be expressed through words. Also, one can record music in history and it can show what was happening during that era. Music changes so often over the years that it is really an amazing way to express oneself and connect with one’s current culture. 

I think that music definitely has its own culture. People who are into music tend to act a certain way that is very creative. They are open to sounds and senses, as well as language. Throughout the years, many have dressed a certain way in order to show that they were part of that culture, like rock, rap, jazz, electronic, and even ritualistic music. However, music is so diverse that you do not need to fit into a culture in order to like music or all types of music. That is what makes it so universal and relatable. 

Music benefits society by mirroring what the culture is like in that time. It creates a sense of unity that can put everyone in a good mood. It can connect people from around the country who have never met nor speak the same language. In detrimental ways, however, music can also enrage a certain culture group. It can be used as a way of anarchy and propaganda that can cause hate. 

Yanomamo Culture

     All cultures have different rules or laws regarding the killing of other people and the punishment they shall receive. In Western cultures, many of the laws are usually written and carried out so that we may be able to protect people from hurting other people. Obviously each law has a consequence if it is broken. Some are more greater in the degree of punishment than others. As opposed to the Yanomamo, who have no written language and therefore have no formal laws. They violate general rules in order to gain for themselves. Since there are no formal laws, many of these unwritten rules are broken on a regular daily basis. This is why much of the violence occurs. 

     The most common act of killing in the Yanomamo culture is for act of revenge on a previous killing. Women are the main reason for why they act on this revenge. Because of this, many of the people who are out for revenge have to also be very weary and cautious that others might get revenge on them. In this culture, the people in a village who act quickly on gaining revenge are less likely to get attacked, and therefore have less mortalities. Men also see gaining revenge as a form of social benefit. They believe that these men have better reproductive success and a higher marital status. These two reasons are why the Yanomamo take this so seriously. 

     Unokais, meaning those who have killed, must follow a ritual purification called Unokaimou. One purpose of this ritual is to avert any supernatural harm on oneself from the soul of the victim. The benefit of being an Unokais means you are fierce and respected as one who enacts revenge. Another advantage is that the Unokais have more reproductive success. The benefit of being a non-unokais would be the benefit of a less risky life of killing and revenge. They live a life with fewer mortal risks than the Unokais.

     Revenge killing is an integral part of the Yanomamo culture. It has relationships with all aspects of life, including political structure, social status, kinship, and marriage and reproduction. Each village has certain descent groups that has one or more political leader. These leaders have a large amount of wives and many children. The political system is organized by kinship, so revenge killing is a big influence on social status. Those who participate are seen in a much higher perspective. A person is related to another if at least one genealogical connection between them exists. Most of the kin, however, are related in many different ways. For example, 80% of the members are related to more than 75% of the village. Killing among the Yanomamo culture is very important for the loss of individuals. Nearly 70% of all individuals (males and females) age 40 or older have lost at least one close genetic kin due to violence, and most (57%) have lost two or more. Revenge killing definitely has a large impact on the families and kin of the Yanomamo. The Unokais have greater success rate on marriage and reproduction because of their revenge killings. 

     I think we must have laws against “anti-social” behavior, like killing other people because even though most people do not want to perform such violent acts on others, a very few who do probably go with the notion that violence can be a very huge force and can be the driving force of human evolution. As people on Earth, we have been implanted with the traits to succeed in out survival and reproduction. People with anti-social behavior also can also not be aware of the crimes they are committing without realizing the importance of taking a human life. We must have laws in so people can be less likely to commit horrible crimes.

Kinship

     For this analysis I chose my father. This was a great choice for my interview because my father is very private and hardly chooses to disclose any information on his upbringing and thoughts about the family. He is very warm at heart, but he very reserved. My father was born in Tequila, Mexico in 1946. He was the second oldest of fourteen siblings. My father's life was very rural, doing chores that any farmer would do, like milking cows, tending to the pigs, and even grinding meat. Until he was about twenty two years old, he decided to travel to Los Angeles where he met my mother and married four years later. 

     The interview went very well with no pressure on both parties. I found my father to be at ease. We had just ate dinner so we were very relaxed. The television was kept at a low volume and we sat next to a shaded lamp, making the mood very relaxed. This interview was conducted in our home so it made things much more familiar and comfortable. There were moments of pause between questions that I had asked my father, but they were pauses of ponder, not awkwardness. He has a very serious tone and low voice, but he exudes a comfort with his words. This made me feel right at home, so there was no discomfort that affected me. If this was done in a different setting, however, it would have been more uncomfortable. Interviewing someone unrelated to me would be a bit of a challenge because of the personal questions I would ask. I would have to think of the setting, the words I choose, the tone of my voice, the lighting, the time of day, and other factors in order to make my subject feel much more at ease. Also, it would be more uncomfortable for me as an interviewer. I would have to mentally prepare myself which would give me a bit of anxiety throughout the entire process. 

     When analyzing my family’s kinship chart, I found some patterns dealing with family size, closeness, and socialization levels. The size of my family is very large and continues throughout the entire chart. Most sections of my family have at least three to five kids. This is higher than the average amount of kids. My father had so many siblings that their culture passed from generation to generation. My father is close to his children more than his nephews and nieces, but this was expected. Looking a the chart, I realized that most of the family members who were close with each other were in the same working class system with almost the same culture values. Although my immediate family is the same ethnicity, we do have many different types of cultures coming in from different places. There can be a clash of cultures at some points, but it is very light and meant for entertainment. There is a larger emphasis on paternal lines through my dad’s side. The attitude towards younger adults in the family is that they have to be great and work hard in order to strive. For the older adults, life is taken much more easier. My kinship chart did not follow a patrilocal residence because most of our families tended to live independently and away from their father’s home. 

     I know both sides of relatives from my mother and father's side well, but I know my father's uncles and aunts much more than I know my mother's sisters and brothers because of their distance away from Los Angeles. I do not socialize with anyone as much as I should because of who I am as a quiet and reserved person. It must be my father's gift to me. I do, however, know my father's side of the family more because they are very lively and hold annual parties which I attend if I have the time and energy. My sister holds the most decision making influence in my family. The reason I believe so is because of her righteousness, dedication, and ambition. She views our family as a sort of traditional family with morals, standards, and ethics. Because of this, her stern way of telling the family what ought to be done goes unquestioned and unchallenged. All family members who marry into the family basically become part of the family. Some of the members who marry are from different parts of the country, like Michigan, where their family is far away. We have always adopted them as our own and basically treat them like siblings. Some of the members who do marry into the family have different attitudes towards different genders, but not in a demeaning way. For example, my sister's husband is from Pakistan, and he treats men a little more serious then women because of his culture. Everyone, however, understands and tries to open up his perspective. Through this exercise, I learned that my family is very open. Although they hold on to tradition, they are able to open up enough to accept all different types of cultures and attitudes. I believe we enjoy life much more when our minds are open.  

Subsistence and Economy

Part 1

The benefits of a hunter-gatherer system were having less diseases because of constant migration and obtaining a healthier lifestyle because of the diverse range of foods and constant travel. Hunter-gatherers traveled from place to place which produced more exercise and regulation of energy. This idea also makes it less likely to get sick from viruses, infections and diseases. Also, the hunter-gatherer had a wide range of food because of the traveling they did to new environments. This means that they were more likely to eat all sorts of food with good nutrition and made their body more apt to digesting different types of food. Last, their lifestyle had the ability to prolong health by constantly walking and moving, burning more energy and keeping them healthy. The benefits of an agricultural system was that it included a steady source of food and was able to sustain large populations. This society gave people a steady source of food and supply that was used throughout most of the year. Of course, there were minor setbacks like drought and insect infestations. This meant that people were able to concentrate on other skills to prosper in their environments. Finally, the agrarian society settled in large populations because of a steady food source. These people could now stay in a settlement without having to worry searching for food.

The disadvantages of the hunter-gatherer system included having to find food daily in order to sustain their style of living. This meant that there was no permanent source of food, unlike the agrarian culture. Many would likely be able to die from hunger if they did not find food quickly. Another disadvantage included not being able to sustain a large number of people in these societies. they had to travel in small groups in order to be able to eat the food where they traveled. If too many people would join, there might have not been enough food to feed them all. The disadvantages that the agricultural system had was that, although abundant, their food supply was not entirely permanent. This means that they were susceptible to droughts, infestation of insects, and other environmental disasters. Also, because the agricultural system could sustain a large population, it was susceptible to diseases among the people. This could have created a much larger problem for them to deal with than having to worry about their food supply. 

In my opinion, I thought that the hunter-gatherer system provided a much more healthier lifestyle than the agricultural system. Migrating to places created a workout routine for these people and the different varieties of food meant that their body would adapt to change in diet. Because of the notion of having to find food everyday and having to share it meant that these people would eat less portions but more throughout the day, which is very healthy. 

I think that people from long ago chose the agricultural system because of the idea that they could settle and establish larger population. This meant that people could start large families and would not have to worry about feeding them everyday. Having to travel everyday with family could be very strenuous and worrisome especially for children. Being able to have a steady source of food basically meant security of survival. Families would also be able to build relationships with many more other families in these establishments, creating a bond and a sense of community. 

Part 2

  There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade because one must have the necessary amount of goods to survive, as well as to trade to other people. It is impossible to trade something that you do not have. Surplus also equates to trade. 

Two social benefits to trade include the increase in social relationships and the increase of being able to be skilled in a particular trade. When two parties trade, they are creating a social relationship between one another because they are trading items that benefit one another. The means that there are now open lines of connection between both parties. It is beneficial to both parties since it creates an economy. In addition, trading allows for a party to be very skilled in trading a particular trade. Since one party may be trading their products to others, they can specialize their technology so they become very efficient in order to make more money. 

Two negative social results of the development of trade include greed and monopolization, and creating debt within two parties in trade. Monopolizing a certain trade could cause harm because that party would have full control of that specific trade which means that they can drive up the cost, chose to trade exclusively, and not allowing other parties to specialize in that trade. Creating debt between both parties can also be a negative result. This means that a party can be very set back on paying back other parties which can, in turn, ruin their own society and specialized trade. If more debt means a low economy, then it cane very hard to come back up and sustain itself. 

Agriculture relates to trade because of the food products that can be traded between parties throughout the world. If one agrarian culture finds a way to grow crops because of the environment, then they can trade their abundant source of crops around the world in order to thrive in commerce and be able to sustain their survival. This helps a lot because many places cannot supply all that they need in order for them to survive. Therefore, trading with other parties helps everyone in return.