Prownian Analysis of a Hair straightener

February 18, 2016 by lindsayhaskins 1 Comment

I chose my hair straightener.

Description: This object is primarily plastic on the outside. The plates used as the heating elements are made from titanium. Obviously the mechanics of this object are covered inside part of the plastic pieces. There is also a cord to connect it to a electrical source to heat it.

Deduction: This object is used for flattening curly or otherwise un-straight strands of hair with the titanium heated elements. I would assume that it is primarily used by women, since culturally they more often then men, have more hair, hence more to straighten. The largest group to use this item would be women. Primarily located in the bathroom or where a woman would do her hair or makeup. Could also be located in most salons for styling purposes.

Speculation: In a culture where it seems that beauty is held above all else, it would seem that this item was created to perpetuate the value of “beauty”. The idea that fuzzy untamed hair is not beautiful and should or could be flattened, or even the grass is greener on the other side. Those who have straight hair want natural curls, or those who have natural curls want straight hair. I think this item was created in a culture that something you don’t naturally have will make your more appealing if you did have it.

Complex questions:

Will society always value physical beauty as much as we do now?

We all know the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, so why do we as a society strive for something others have that we don’t? In terms of physical beauty?

Is it the object perpetuating the need for physically beautiful attributes or is it us as a society perpetuating it by using the object?

Resources

-Thompson, Cheryl. “Black Women and Identity: What’s Hair Got to Do with It?” Black Women and Identity: What’s Hair Got to Do With It? 2008. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.ark5583.0022.105.

This article talks directly about specifics involving hair, though the discussion revolves around women of African decent. The author talks about how different types of hairstyles define different parts of these women’s lives and identities.

-Tate, Shirley. “Black Beauty: Shade, Hair and Anti-racist Aesthetics.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 30, no. 2 (February 02, 2007): 300-19. Accessed February 18, 2016. Taylor and Francis Online. doi: 10.1080/01419870601143992

This article does not apply as much as the previous one, but it does discuss the afro of African American women being and identifier for again, many aspects of life and identity.

I did not find any articles or blogs discussing a hair straightener or flat iron culture specifically. When using “cultural history of hair straightener” to search, almost all of the articles or blogs or websites that followed were about black women and what hair or hairstyles represented. There were a few articles that discussed black women finding it necessary or societally appealing to wear their naturally curly hair straight to gain some level of elite. The articles talked about flattened or straightened hair for African American woman representing them in a higher class then those with curly or natural hair. I don’t know how the authors of the articles I listed could be related to Prown’s method because there were not talking specifically about the object, but more touching on what the object was capable of creating because of our society.

5.2 Incas and Aztecs

February 13, 2016 by petewcook Leave a Comment

Religion-Kaleob

Empire- Logan

Mythology- Indea

Architecture-Lindsay

Engineering – Pete

Mythology: Aztec mythology like many cultures is various in it’s stories. The Aztec people (1) where nomadic people when they arrived in the Valley of Mexico. The other tribes saw them as uneducated and held them in disdain. to which they studied the groups already inhabiting the land and adopted aspects of their culture. (2)The ‘Toltec’ people where a large inspiration for their creation story as the Aztec saw the Toltecs as the Roman saw the greek. One of the most popular myths was that of ‘the five suns’ which describes the era’s (four of them) preceding the then current one. The myth said that each of the previous four eras had meet ruin of a natural disaster as as such were named after there catastrophe. The last era was said to be the result of Nanahuatl the most humble aztec god and Tecuciztecatl sacrificing themselves. Nanahuatls sacrifice started the sun moving in motion and thus time and Tecuciztecatl became the moon. Like the Aztec the Inca Mythology is rich in stories though what they have is the result of oral storytelling (3) due to most of their records being destroyed by conquering peoples. like the aztec, the Inca mythology was a mixture of the beliefs of the people around them Which can be scene in the iconography of peru’s historical relics and ruins.

“Aztec History and Culture.” Aztec History and Culture. 2016. Accessed February 14, 2016. http://www.history-aztec.com/.

2.Brundage, Burr Cartwright. The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979.

Roza, Greg. Incan Mythology and Other Myths of the Andes. New York: Rosen Central, 2008.

ARCHITECTURE: The most dominant aspect of both the Aztec and Incan architecture were and are still the massive bold temples. The force behind Aztec architecture was their desire to sacrifice to their gods. Part of the awe that is experienced in both empires architecture is the fact that both were built using tools such as hammer and chisel (1). The structures are massive and it is hard to believe such work could be done with simple tools. Local materials such as wood from surround forest and local stone were used in all of their structures. Art and decorations were carved into the stone structures. Relating Aztec architecture back to their religion and beliefs, the Aztecs carved figures as decoration into the stone (3). Some being eagles, representing the sun and warriors. Serpents representing fire or water. Conch shells to represent fertility. Sea creatures and frogs representing Tlaloc symbols (1). The extremely tall large temples built by the Aztecs and Incan were a way to get closer to their gods. These temples also had double staircases facing west towards the sun. There were 13 steps on the staircases, the reasoning for 13 steps had astronomical influence. The tops of these temples were flat, with block stone tops for the purpose of sacrifice (1).

1) Legends and Chronicles staff, Aztec Architecture

http://www.legendsandchronicles.com/ancient-civilizations/the-ancient-aztecs/aztec-architecture/

2) Read, K. A.. (1986). The Fleeting Moment: Cosmogony, Eschatology, and Ethics in Aztec Religion and Society. The Journal of Religious Ethics, 14(1), 113–138. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40015027

Empire:

At its peak, the Incan Empire stretched over current day Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador and had anywhere from 4 to 37 million inhabitants (1), the reason this number has such a wide range is because the Spanish Inquisition destroyed all the Incan census records they had. The Incan Empire was the largest pre-Columbian Empire in the Americas. The capital was located in Cuzco, Peru and where they had a well-organized imperial government with a strong central administration as well as intricate political and military powers. Around 1500, the leader of the Inca, Pachacutin, helped reinforce the Imperial Empire by forcing regional tribes to be vassals for local Incan Lords (1). All was going well until Francisco Pizarro conquered Cuzco with less than 200 men in 1533 and strangled the 13th and final Incan Emperor, Atahuallpa (2). The Incan Empire lasted right around 200 years, until it came to a swift end due to the arrival of the Spanish and their European disease which wiped out up to 95% of their population. Similarly, the Aztecs were also wiped out from being conquered by the Spanish and then further destroyed by small pox, measles, typhus, influenza and diphtheria. Although they came to the same demise, The Aztec Empire’s history is rather different. The Aztec empire was located in present day Mexico and had a triple alliance between the three city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoc and Tlacopan (3). They controlled vast parts of Mesoamerica between the 14th and 16th centuries. The Aztec Empire was based off a type of government where the capital cities were paid tribute to from outside villages which made the city an imperial center with its’s political reach extending from ocean to ocean and as far south as Guatemala. In 1519, Cortez reached the Aztecs and allied with their enemies, the Nahautl, in order to dismantle the Empire (3). The Aztec Empire was slightly smaller than the Inca Empire in population, 5 million to up to 37 million respectively, and the Inca Empire covered far more land.

1) Seaman, Rebecca M. 2013. Conflict in the early Americas: an encyclopedia of the Spanish Empire’s Aztec, Incan, and Mayan conquests. http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/?isbn=9781598847772. (188-189)

2) History.com Staff, Pizarro Executes Last Inca Emperor. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-executes-last-inca-emperor.

3) Sandine, Al. 2015. Deadly Baggage What Cortes Brought to Mexico and How It Destroyed the Aztec Civilization. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=213008

Religion

The ancient South American religion of the Incas is a polytheist belief that encompasses both political and spiritual elements as an essential part of the largest empire in the Americas. This religion held a belief system and a series of religious practices that intertwined with the ideology of the ruling elite. The Incas developed systems to control and organize their massive empire, much of which was centered on the management of religious symbols and rituals. An example of this was the consistent problem of water availability and water gods and goddesses were highly worshipped and mythologized, and given sacrifices to ensure survival. The supernatural had a constant presence in Incan society, and consisted of two categories: deities and animistic forces taking human form. All of this existed in a crucial balance of forces, whether it was supernatural, political, or social. Maintenance of these forces was essential to life and the prevention of chaos. Viracocha, was the creator god who initiated life for the Incan empire. In comparison to the Aztec religion, which combined and transformed a number of rituals, mythic, and cosmic elements from heterogeneous culture grouped in the central plateau of Mesoamerica. The city of Teotihuacan was organized into four great quarters around a massive ceremonial center that archaeologists have theorized that the four-quartered city was a massive spatial symbol for the major cosmological conceptions of Aztec religion. Aztec religion also held a polytheist belief, but has major problems due to the Spanish conquests to eliminate Aztec symbols, images, and ceremonial buildings.

Spivak, Deborah E. “Incas.” Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Ed. Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof. Vol. 1. Los Angeles: SAGE Reference, 2012. 545-47. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.

Carrasco, Davíd. “Aztec Religion.” Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 715-720. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.

Engineering

The Aztecs used primitive tools such as stones, chisels, and blades to construct their buildings, structures and temples. The warm and moist climate, which made the ground sink, provided a challenge for the Aztecs to build any structure. They overcame this challenge by creating a strong foundation that could hold up to the sinking of the ground. They used a very beautiful and easy to cut volcanic stone, tezontle, to form the base for their strong foundations. They also used other stone such as rubble and limestone. They mostly carved their stones for decoration, to show texture and a visual pop. The Aztecs also used Pine and Oak wood from the surrounding forests to build the beams and doors. (1)

1) Legends and Chronicles staff, Aztec Architecture

http://www.legendsandchronicles.com/ancient-civilizations/the-ancient-aztecs/aztec-architecture/

Inca and Aztec Group 5

February 13, 2016 by madisonklein Leave a Comment

By: Jake Sparhawk, Amanda Lennox and Madison Klein

The origin of the Inca Empire comes from a tale of four brothers and four sisters who emerged from a cave and set out to find where there people would live. One of the brothers named Ayar Manco carried a golden staff, and wherever the staff landed, a city would rise. The staff landed in Cusco, the “navel of the universe”. This was essentially the capital of the empire, and served as a political, military, and administrative center. The Inca empire was the largest pre-Colombian empire, and was divided into four different “suyu”, or regions: Chinchaysuyu, Antisuyu, Qullasuyu and Kuntisuyu. The empire as a whole was referred to as Tawantinsuyu. Beginning in the early 13th century, the empire lasted until 1572 when the strong Spanish army took over. It stretched from the Andean Mountains into Peru, Ecuador, west and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and south Colombia. Officially, the language spoken was Quecha, but there were variations based on region. Incan’s were allowed to practice different types of religion, but most practiced polytheism(16).

In contrast, the Aztec Empire began as an alliance between three city-states in the Valley of Mexico: Tenochitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. It existed from 1428 until Spanish conquer in 1521. The original people were called the Mexica, but the empire was a compilation of as many as 17 ethnic groups. The alliance was a conquering group; they began gaining control of surrounding areas quickly, and at one point controlled most of central Mexico(15). The city of Tenochitlan held a large part of the power, serving as the military power(17). The Aztecs allowed the current rulers of the regions they conquered to remain in power though. Nahuati was the main language spoken in the Aztec Empire. They, too practiced polytheism(18).

When comparing the Aztec and Inca empires with relation to their sacred structures, religion is the fundamental key in both. In Inca religion, sacred sites, or huacas, were spread most usually in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields or any type of place that was connected to the past Inca rulers(14). Most believed that their ancestors rose from things that trees or rich soil. The most familiar Inca site is a city called Machu Picchu. It is a city that was built in the Andes Mountains at the very top of a mountain(4). It was built very carefully and tactfully including terraces that allowed for rainfall to safely reach the bottom of the mountain without creating mudslide. One belief of why the Incas chose mountain tops was to align with the rising and setting of the sun. To the Incas, they had a God named Inti, who was the source of warmth, light and healthy crops (12). When they conquered new lands, they required the conquered citizens to also worship Inti. In every region, temples were built to worship Inti, and while they made other worship their God, they also accepted their Gods into the Inca pantheon(12). The Incas had a ritual called Inti Watana Stone where the stones were to be arranged in such a manner that they pointed directly towards to sun during the winter solstice. They believed that the stone was to hold the sun in place(20).

Both empires have scared structures that reflect their beliefs. The Aztec built several types of pyramid structures that either served as monuments for their many god or as ceremonial shrines to perform rituals.(3) There are Round Pyramids that are dedicated to the god of wind, Ehecatl, one of the forms of god Quetzalcoatl. The shape was used in order to prevent the structure as a “barrier” of the wind god’s entrance. Going on about the wind, they had a purpose for each type of wind the blow over the pyramid. The gentle winds were sent to the east where the god of paradise, Tlalocan, resided. Winds that possessed gales were sent to the underworld, Mictlan, in the north. Cool gentle breezes blew to the west, where Cihuapipiltin, a woman who died giving birth, stayed. And finally, winds that had a strong and gusty wind were sent to the south where the Huitznahua gods, the stars of the south, resided(3). The next type of pyramid were the twin star pyramids. These pyramids were used to house two deities, the god of good rain season and an abundant harvest, Thlacan, and the god of war and sacrifice, Huitzilopochtli. The two each had separate temples on the top of the pyramid. Thlacan had the temple on the left side and was painted in a blue and white colors in order to represent water and moisture. Huitzilopochtli’s temple was on the right side and was painted similar to Thlcan, with red being in the place of blue representing blood. The Aztecs relied heavily on these structures, as the gods controlled whether the season will yield a famine or not so they built the pyramids in order to be as close as they can to the sky, which was where the gods lived(3).Because of worship of many gods, they built shrines or Adoratorios. Since they were polytheistic, each shine had a different yet similar structure, depending on the god it was built for. The similar design was that each shrine had a circle table of which the offering was placed before the gods. Since the amount of sacrifices were immense, some structures were created in order to burn the offering in a fire, in order to make room for more. These structures were possibly the most influential in the Aztecs lives, as they truly believed that sacrifices would please their gods(3).

Although there are differences between the Aztec and the Inca empires, both had similar beliefs about worshipping, war and strategies to run the empires. They both were sacred to their beliefs with religion. Both empires believed in sacrifice(13), the Aztecs more so when dealing with human sacrifice. It was a honor to die for their Gods. When the topic of war is at place and their goals, both empires battle wars hopes were to take captives and expand their empire(13). The armies were a key figure in keeping the empire strong and maintained. Both ran the economies not based off of money, but off of agriculture, labor and goods(13). The Aztec empire ended up lastly a lot longer than the Inca empire but within time, both empires were conquered by the Spanish(13). Both empires are still looked at to this day as a great way to learn about the way of life at that time. Their structures can tell us about the way the lived, how to worshipped or how they ran their empire. Although the Incas did not have any written language, they managed to create a city on top of a mountain that has lasted around 500 years. Thankfully these empires were not forgotten so we can now reflect on their ways of living and engineering and help us to better ourselves for present and future generations.

1.http://blogs.harrisonhigh.org/shannon_herndon/herndondocs/11%20-%20aztecincacomparison.pdf