The Culture of Art

1. Functions of Early Art
a. What were the cave artists trying to say? The paintings on the Lascaux Caves were the artists’ interpretations of their everyday lives. It documented their way of living, showed characteristics (animal life) of their environment, and depicted their experiences.

b. Why do you think that there were so many animals and not as many people in the paintings?
I think that animals dominated the themes of the paintings since they played a significant role in hunter gatherer society. I believe it was a way for the painters to illustrate the kinds of animals that they considered to be sacred. The paintings served as a conspicuous display of the animals they hunted or as a ritualistic practice to bring them good fortune for the hunt.

c. What can the paintings tell us about other aspects of the life of cave dwellers or Paleolithic people?
The cave paintings provide a glimpse into the nomadic lifestyle of the Paleolithic people. For example, referred to as the “old stone age,” the Paleolithic era was a time period that was characterized by the early use of stone tools. Stone was one of the materials used for engraving. The paintings also tell us about other their aspects of their culture, such as their propensity for sharing. Although hunter gatherers are known to share their resources, this is not limited to just food, but also their knowledge, history, and experiences.

d. What difficulties did these early humans navigate in order to paint these pictures?
Some of the difficulties the cave painters encountered included obtaining a light source, using various techniques to accommodate depending on the rock support (characteristics/composition of the wall space), accessing the walls with respect to the limitation of height, and finding/obtaining raw materials/minerals for pigment/color as they lacked choice.

e. Speculate as to three (3) possible functions of this art to early humans.
1) Communication to cave visitors: Art could be used as a preservation of history, record-keeping of important events, and a representation of their lifestyle.
2) Expression: Art can be a form of cathartic activity in which the painters engaged in as their hobby/recreation/leisure. For example, perhaps they could utilize different techniques and certain parts of their painting can be distinguished by color to express emotion.
3) Ritualistic practice in regards to hunting: Art could function as illustrations of successful hunts or perhaps as a custom in hopes for future victories.

2. Commonalities in Function:  Compare the possible functions of the art from the Lascaux Caves to modern art, in all of its various forms.  What are some commonalities in function you can find in how the art of early humans and modern humans?
Art for early and modern humans share common functionalities in its abilities to communicate and express. Art provides information about people and places of that time. In both eras, humans have been able to transmit messages perhaps sometimes in a way that words themselves cannot express. It functions to convey certain emotions and opinions from the artist’s point of view, yet the multidimensional aspect of art allows a two-way street in which half of the communication channel opens up for the viewer/audience to interpret it and assign meaning.  

3. Introduce Us to Your Favorite Art
a. For those who practice this form of artistic expression, what function does it serve?  What
are they trying to communicate?
Photography functions to record and preserve personal and collective memories of different aspects of life - people, places, events, etc. Pictures communicate/share experiences and are visual reflections of the past. For example, the image included below is an Ansel Adams piece. His collections are largely composed of landscape photographs of Yosemite National Park because it holds significant memories as it was the location where he took his first pictures. While attempting to communicate the beauty of the environment, his photographs also function as reminders of his childhood and family.

b. Is there a complete culture surrounding this art form, i.e., a language, a set of behaviors, form of dress, etc.?  Describe and identify the features of this culture.
Although photography does not employ actual words, it still has a language, which is expressed through the different techniques utilized. For example, the use of different angles communicate power relationships - high-angle shots looking down at the subject indicate inferiority. Moreover, a closed composition creates a feeling of entrapment.

c. How does this art form (and its culture) benefit society?  Are there any detrimental affects?
Photography attempts to capture real moments in real time. Therefore, pictures are often thought to produce an accurate depiction of reality. However, this is not necessarily true - with the emergence of increasing technology, it is easy to manipulate these images and alter meaning, for example, through photoshop. Pictures of celebrities can be transformed in a way to make them appear slimmer than they really are, and this has devastating consequences on those that accept these images to be true and are influenced by a certain standard regarding body image.


References:
The Ansel Adams Gallery

Politics and Violence

1. Rules or laws against killing are essentially a cultural universal, meaning all cultures have rules regarding the killing other people and the punishments for breaking these rules. How do the Yanomamo rules regarding killing and the consequences for breaking these rules differ from the rules in Western cultures in general?

“The Yanomamo have no written language, precise number system, formal laws, or institutionalized adjudicators such as chiefs or judges.  Although there are customs and general rules about proper behavior, individuals violate them regularly when it seems in their interests to do so.” In contrast, Western cultures have a judicial system that strictly enforces rules against killing, but consequences differ depending on the circumstance - whether it be homicide, self-defense, drunk driving, etc. Unlike Yanomamo rules, laws in the United States, for example, are formal, written, and therefore punishments are rendered accordingly based on what has been devised by officials. Individuals don't violate such laws on a regular basis perse, and in the case of involuntary manslaughter, the criminal kills without the intention - this differs from the Yanomamo in which revenge killings occur with the exact purpose of killing in retaliation.

  

2. Describe the process of revenge killings as it is expressed in Yanomamo populations.

Revenge killings occur in raiding parties of typically 10-20 among villages. Warfare is often commonly initiated by conflicts with women or the death of a kinsmen. The day before they raid, they create an effigy to represent the target victim of the enemy village, even though they usually shoot the first man they come in contact with. Most of the times, victims are shot by more than one member of the raiding party.

3. Revenge killings are a dangerous for those who take part. What are the benefits of obtaining the status of unokais? How do they compare to the benefits of being a non-unokais? Why would a man choose to become an unokais instead of being a non-unokais?

High reproductive success is associated with unokais status. Revenge killings are highly valued and viewed as "cultural successes," being regarded with valor. Specifically, Yanomamo culture upholds the importance of ambition as being an attractive quality of the unokais. Such benefits/advantages are not observed in non-unokais.  

4. Identify and describe the relationship between revenge killings and these aspects of the Yanomamo culture. How do they influence and affect each other?
a. Political structure
Political structure is organized by kinship, in which the headmen of the village serves as the leader of the largest descent group. He is the political leader who makes the ultimate decision whether or not revenge killings should be in order.
b. Social Status/Social Organization
Social status is affected by revenge killings. For example, political power is awarded to unokais in the form of positions in public offices. Men who engage in violence and partake in violence are revered with high esteem, particularly desirable traits that deem them responsible and hard-working.
c. Kinship
Members of the village are organized by kinship. However, there is not a static definition of who belongs to which village since they all are connected in different ways. Groups function to collaborate and protect members in a collective effort. Kin groups are significant, in which a common reason for revenge killings is the bereavement of a close kin. Even after fission, members possess a sense of loyalty and alliance to their kin and express their unwillingness to raid. - However, this seems to be a mutual understanding and is generally understood/accepted by all members. At the same time, this could lead to animosity towards the resident group, causing one to rejoin the original group and retaliate against the current group that was responsible for the killing of his kin. Kinship density influences revenge killings since retaliation is provoked by the strength of relatedness.
d. Marriage & Reproduction
Headmen have multiple wives, and therefore several children, which leads to various families. A village can consist of kin groups that are interrrelated, so revenge killings and bereavement become complex with increasing kinship density since they have close kin across villages who they have established relationships with. Also, data reveals that compared to non-unokais, unokais have better chances in attracting mates (with qualities such as risk-taking, aggressiveness, ambition), and therefore more likely to get marrried, and successfully reproduce.

5. Behaviors that are usually labeled as “anti-social”, such as killing other people, are generally thought to be a bad thing to do under most circumstances, other than defense. Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to do? Use your reading of the article to help you explain your answer.

Although cultural assumptions often lead to the idea that killing is a socially unacceptable behavior, laws are necessary to prevent instinctive drives/urges that compel people to make rash decisions in which the individual sees legitimacy in his/her actions in the heat of the moment. Even if no one should want to behave in this manner, people still do, and a society must devise rules in how to deal with it. Terms of legitimacy/justification differs according to cultural values.

Family and Kinship

My aunt, Yong-In Kim, was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1960 and immigrated to the United States in 1983. Public schools in Korea have become lenient over time, but historically, they have been extremely strict and require students to wear uniforms, maintain their hair short and neatly groomed, and teachers would even punish troublemakers by spanking them. Koreans also place high emphasis on respecting elders, and interactions with them are distinguished through formal speech. At the same time, however, individuals who meet for the first time even have to speak to their counterparts of the same age through formal speech, until they feel comfortable and get to know each other before mutually consenting to speak informally. In addition, my aunt grew up as a very strict and devout Catholic, and her family’s piety was only further amplified when her two brothers became priests.
I was very comfortable conducting the interview because I have a fairly close relationship with my aunt. This made the interview an easy process since she was able to divulge any kind of information. At the same time, it affected my role as an anthropologist since I already had prior knowledge of her family background. It would have been a different story if I interviewed someone unrelated to me because I would probably discover parts of their history and cultural/ethnic background that I never knew before. It would eliminate bias on my own thoughts and feelings, and perhaps they would feel uncomfortable sharing or revealing certain information.
The only relative that lives in America is my aunt on my mom’s side. They are extremely close and see each other or at least communicate everyday. Their brothers are still in Korea and only talk to them on special occasions. However, my uncles visit each other frequently and spend a lot of time together at church functions since they share the same profession. There is a trend toward small families since my uncles are both priests and therefore celibate. The only family on my mom’s side is ours and my aunt’s family with only three children. On the other hand, my dad has five brothers and one sister, and nuclear families make up each household. Since all his siblings live close to their mother in Korea, they are very close and see each other often. However, because of the distance, my dad only keeps in contact with them a few times a year. On both my mom and dad’s side, there are no ethnic differences, although I am sure there would be a significant cultural and language barrier if they were to exist. There is no specific emphasis on maternal or paternal lines. Their general attitudes toward older and younger individuals in the family align with the perspective of their country. For example, they expect those that are younger to call elders by their appropriate titles that indicate “older brother” or “older sister,” instead of simply their names, in addition to formalized speech.
I only know my aunt’s family from my mom’s side really well since they are the only ones living in America, and therefore I socialize more with them than the relatives on my dad’s side. There is also less of a cultural and language barrier since they can speak English and have lived in America for most of their lives. On my mom’s side, I think there is a balance in which members influence decisions since my uncles are priest and the family in general has grown up with such conservatism. Cooperation and compromise are key in settling down to decisions. In contrast, I believe my dad’s family to be more strongly patrilineal since it is made up largely of men. The husbands influence decision-making, at least when it comes to economical issues, and I think this is also due to the fact that most of the women do not work. In both my mom and dad’s side, family members who marry into the family are not treated any differently because they hold Christian values to love and respect everyone equally. There are no differences in attitudes based upon gender on my mom’s side, but there are on my dad’s side because of its patrilineality. I feel like the men are more entitled to such power because they are the breadwinners. However, it is interesting to see this since I mentioned before that they share Christian morals to treat members the same. Through this exercise, I’ve learned that my family has been significantly influenced by their social, cultural, and ethnic background. Much of my parents’ conservatism is a reflection of their individual family values while practicing Catholicism and living in Korea. It shapes the person I am today because as an American citizen, I have grown up in a completely different environment and generation in which I became socialized through education and the media to stray away from the ideas that were strictly enforced by my parents.

Subsistence and Economy

Part 1:
1. Identify the benefits of both types of subsistence patterns.
Hunter gatherers live in an egalitarian society in which food resources are equally distributed and shared among members of the foraging group. As nomadic people, instead of lugging around luxuries or material possessions, hunter gatherers carry the barest necessities for subsistence. Since the food foragers are highly mobile and cannot afford to preserve surplus goods, differences in status are not dictated by one’s accumulation or wealth of resources. Moreover, hunter gatherers have a great deal of leisure time, in which close and intimate family, social, and spiritual/religious relations are significant. Because small group size is an important factor in mobility, cooperative social organization is a benefit among the food foraging cultures. On the other hand, the introduction of agriculture paved the way for a more sedentary lifestyle. With the advent of technologies to bolster food production with increased efficiency, surplus crop cultivation became possible. Therefore, food production is not only intended to meet the carrying capacity of the land, but could also create a surplus that could in turn be traded or sold for money (profitability). Industrial food production allowed for better control and manipulation of the environment to produce the crops they favor, as well as improved efficiency and conservation of human labor.

2. Identify the costs (or disadvantages) of both subsistence patterns. 
A disadvantage of food foraging societies is their mobility. They have to travel across different environments and climates throughout the year, and this is related to the level of energy expenditure. For example, in scorching weather, it is possible that the amount of food obtained from hunting could not be enough to compensate for the energy spent. Furthermore, food foragers have to constantly accommodate the carrying capacity in response to the instability and unpredictability of such seasonal or ecological changes. Agricultural societies suffer from the centralization of power. With the growth of cities, urbanization resulted in political and economic control over rural populations in regards to their surplus. With limited independence on how to manage their surplus, farmers were exploited and forced into peasantry. Moreover, although industrial food production enhanced productivity, technologies replaced human labor thereby driving down wages and people out of jobs.

3. Which subsistence pattern provides a healthier diet?  Explain.
I don’t think I can truly provide an answer as to which subsistence pattern provides a healthier diet. Both subsistence patterns have advantages to maintaining a well-balanced diet. Food foragers could obtain organic foods that are naturally rich in nutrients, while agriculturalists maintain control over the plants and animals they domesticate depending on their subsistence needs.

4. Discuss why you think those early human populations 12,000 years ago made the transition into agriculture?  Think like an early human, not a modern one! Your answer should not mention “machines” at all.
The transition into agriculture was made possible with a more permanent settlement. Crop cultivators could remain close to their cultivated fields and produce more food on large plots of land (maximum agricultural production with increased efficiency). Agriculture also generated changes in social organization/division of labor - since it didn’t require as many people to manage the crops, others could focus their time to developing tools in order to further productivity.

Part 2:
1. There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade. Explain the meaning of this statement. 
The availability of surplus allows for the ability to trade because goods aren’t merely being produced to meet the carrying capacity. The amount of food production is not limited to fulfilling a group’s subsistence needs, but involves an excess that could be traded or sold for profit.

2. Identify and describe two (2) social benefits of trade. 
A social benefit of trade is the proliferation of communication. Through trade, different communities could interact, share, and exchange various forms of culture, and thus goods, knowledge, and ideas across borders. Another social benefit of trade is the increased diversity and choices for consumers. With the arrival of goods and resources from various parts of the world, individuals can enjoy products from cultures other than their own.  

3. Identify and describe two (2) negative social results of the development of trade. 
The development of trade has a negative consequence in producing an unequal distribution of power. For example, agribusinesses have territorial power and control over rural populations and have driven away smaller family-owned farms. And while the exchange of culture can be regarded as a social benefit, at the same time, it can also be seen as a detrimental result, if manipulated. Specifically, the imposition of culture by “developed” countries onto those that are considered “underdeveloped” could be dangerous, offensive, and ethnocentric. A developed country could take the leading role and attempt a cultural invasion.

4. Given your answer in the question #1, explain the relationship between the development of agriculture and the development of trade.  Again, think like humans 12,000 years ago.
The development of agriculture eventually led to the development of trade because of the availability of surplus. Humans were capable of producing enough food for subsistence and had excess. However, in order to compensate for goods that they were not able to directly produce or easily obtain themselves, they acquired through the process of trading.