Overview of Toltec Gods and Religion

Overview of Toltec Gods and Religion The Ancient Toltec civilization dominated Central Mexico during the post-classic period, from approximately 900-1150 A.D. from their home in the city of Tollan (Tula). They had a rich religious life and the apogee of their civilization is marked by the spread of the cult of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. Toltec society was dominated by warrior cults and they practiced human sacrifice as a means of gaining favor with their gods. The Toltec Civilization The Toltecs were a major Mesoamerican culture who rose to prominence after the fall of Teotihuacn in approximately 750 A.D. Even before Teotihuacan fell, Chichimec tribes in central Mexico and the remnants of the mighty Teotihuacan civilization had begun coalescing into the city of Tula. There they founded a powerful civilization which would eventually extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific through networks of trade, vassal states, and war. Their influence reached as far as the Yucatan Peninsula, where the descendants of the ancient Maya civilization emulated Tula art and religion. The Toltecs were a warlike society ruled by priest-kings. By 1150, their civilization went into decline and Tula was eventually destroyed and abandoned. The Mexica (Aztec) culture considered ancient Tollan (Tula) the high point of civilization and claimed to be descendants of the mighty Toltec kings. Religious Life at Tula Toltec society was highly militaristic, with religion playing an equal or secondary role to the military. In this, it was similar to the later Aztec culture. Still, religion was extremely important to the Toltecs. The kings and rulers of the Toltecs often served as priests of Tlaloc as well, erasing the line between civil and religious rule. Most of the buildings in the center of Tula had religious functions. The Sacred Precinct of Tula Religion and gods were important to the Toltecs. Their mighty city of Tula is dominated by the sacred precinct, a compound of pyramids, temples, ball courts, and other structures around an airy plaza. Pyramid C: The largest pyramid at Tula, Pyramid C has not been completely excavated and was extensively looted even before the Spanish arrived. It shares certain characteristics with the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, including its east-west orientation. It was once covered with relief panels like Pyramid B, but most of these were looted or destroyed. The little evidence that remains suggests that Pyramid C might have been dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. Pyramid B: located at a right angle across the plaza from the larger Pyramid C, Pyramid B is home to the four tall warrior statues for which the site of Tula is so famous. Four smaller pillars contain relief sculptures of gods and Toltec kings. A carving on the temple is thought by some archaeologists to represent Quetzalcoatl in his aspect as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the warlike god of the morning star. Archaeologist Robert Cobean believes that Pyramid B was a private religious sanctuary for the ruling dynasty. The Ball Courts: There are at least three Ball courts at Tula. Two of them are strategically located: Ballcourt One is aligned to Pyramid B on the other side of the main plaza, and the larger Ballcourt Two makes up the western edge of the sacred precinct. The Mesoamerican ball game had important symbolic and religious meaning for the Toltecs and other ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Other Religious Structures in the Sacred Precinct: In addition to the pyramids and ball courts, there are other structures in Tula which had religious significance. The so-called Burned Palace, once thought to be where the royal family lived, is now believed to have served a more religious purpose. The Palace of Quetzalcoatl, situated between the two major pyramids, was also once thought to be residential but is now believed to have been a temple of sorts, possibly for the royal family. There is a small altar in the middle of the main plaza as well as the remains of a tzompantli, or skull rack for the heads of sacrificial victims. The Toltecs and Human Sacrifice Ample evidence at Tula shows that the Toltecs were dedicated practitioners of human sacrifice. On the western side of the main plaza, there is a tzompantli, or skull rack. It is not far from Ballcourt Two (which is probably not a coincidence). The heads and skulls of sacrificed victims were placed here for display. It is one of the earliest known tzompantlis, and probably the one that the Aztecs would later model theirs upon. Inside the Burned Palace, three Chac Mool statues were found: these reclining figures hold bowls where human hearts were placed. Pieces of another Chac Mool were found near Pyramid C, and historians believe that a Chac Mool statue probably was placed on top of the small altar in the center of the main plaza. There are depictions at Tula of several cuauhxicalli, or large eagle vessels which were used to hold human sacrifices. The historical record agrees with the archaeology: post-conquest sources recounting Aztec legends of Tollan claim that Ce Atl Topiltzà ­n, the legendary founder of Tula, was forced to leave because the followers of Tezcatlipoca wanted him to increase the number of human sacrifices. The Gods of the Toltecs The ancient Toltec civilization had many gods, chief among them Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Tlaloc. Quetzalcoatl was the most important of these, and representations of his abound at Tula. During the apogee of the Toltec civilization, the cult of Quetzalcoatl spread throughout Mesoamerica. It even reached as far as the ancestral lands of the Maya, where similarities between Tula and Chichen Itza include the majestic Temple to Kukulcn, the Maya word for Quetzalcoatl. At major sites contemporary with Tula, such as El Tajin and Xochicalco, there are important temples dedicated to the Feathered Serpent. The mythical founder of the Toltec civilization, Ce Atl Topiltzà ­n Quetzalcoatl, may have been a real person who was later deified into Quetzalcoatl. Tlaloc, the rain god, was worshiped at Teotihuacan. As the successors of the great Teotihuacan culture, it is no surprise that the Toltecs venerated Tlaloc as well. A warrior statue dressed in Tlaloc garb was discovered at Tula, indicating the probable presence of a Tlaloc warrior cult there. Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror, was considered a sort of brother god to Quetzalcoatl, and some surviving legends from the Toltec culture include both of them. There is only one representation of Tezcatlipoca at Tula, on one of the columns atop Pyramid B, but the site was heavily looted even before the arrival of the Spanish and other carvings and images may have been carried off long ago. There are depictions of other gods at Tula, including Xochiquetzal and Centeotl, but their worship was clearly less widespread than that of Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl, and Tezcatlipoca. New Age Toltec Beliefs Some practitioners of New Age Spiritualism have adopted the term Toltec to refer to their beliefs. Chief among them is the writer Miguel Angel Ruiz, whose 1997 book has sold millions of copies. Very loosely stated, this new Toltec spiritual belief system focuses on the self and ones relationship to things one cannot change. This modern spirituality has little or nothing to do with religion from the ancient Toltec civilization and should not be confused with it. Sources Charles River Editors. The History and Culture of the Toltec. Lexington: Charles River Editors, 2014. Cobean, Robert H., Elizabeth Jimà ©nez Garcà ­a and Alba Guadalupe Mastache. Tula. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2012. Coe, Michael D, and Rex Koontz. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008 Davies, Nigel. The Toltecs: Until the Fall of Tula. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. Gamboa Cabezas, Luis Manuel. El Palacio Quemado, Tula: Seis Decadas de Investigaciones. Arqueologia Mexicana XV-85 (May-June 2007). 43-47

The business trajectory of Continental Airlines Essay

The business trajectory of Continental Airlines - Essay Example The organization had major problems starting by the fact that the employees were unmotivated and dissatisfied in their workplace. A lack of motivation and enthusiasm are two reasons why business enterprises fail (Sasson, 2012). The employees considered Continental Airlines a crummy place to work. The firm suffered from customer dissatisfaction. A Forbes study revealed that the company ranked tied for last within the industry in profits-sales-assets per employee (Nohria, et al., 2010). In a separate study by the U.S. Department of Transportation the firm ranked last in the industry in on-time percentage, baggage report, and complaints of poor service. There was a lack of teamwork among the employees of the company. Teamwork in the workplace is critical to accomplish the organization’s goals (Cross, 2012). The company was in desperate need of an overhaul and reorganization. The person that came to the rescue of the company was Gordon Bethune. Gordon Bethune was elevated to the p osition of Chief Executive Officer in 1994. Bethune was a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. In 1978 Jimmy Carter passed the Airline Deregulation Act. The law was designed to give commercial airlines the latitude to set fare prices and it enable airlines the ability to enter or exit a plane route. The deregulation movement presented a tremendous opportunity for the industry. A firm that was able to capitalize on deregulation was Southwest Airlines. On the other hand Continental Airlines did not implement any effective strategies to capitalize on deregulation. The main root of the problem was the lack of leadership from the executive management of the company. Another problem was that there was also a power struggle for ownership of the company which deterred attention from implementing operational strategies to be able to capitalize on deregulation. Mr. Bethune was able to lead the turnaround at Continental by implementing sound business strategies. Four strategies that Bethune implemented at the firm were: Fly to Win, Fund the Future, Make Reliability Reality, and Working Together. The Fly to Win Strategy was a product service plan. The company removed air capacity of unprofitable routes. The firm eliminated 18% of its flights in an effort to reduce costs by eliminating unprofitable flight routes. A lot of the flights that were eliminated were from the CAL Lite program. One of the new emphases of the company was in becoming a customer friendly airline. The firm concentrated in offering flights to places people wanted to go. The Fund the Future strategy emphasized finding capital to fund the operations of the company. The organization res tructured its plane fleet. It reduced its fleet type from 13 to 4 (Nohria, et al., 2010). The company matched airplane size with the size of customer markets. It also eliminated above market leases on planes. For instance Continental eliminated all 21 of its Airbus A300 and the 4,000 employees that served them. Despite the company’s initiatives the firm faced risk of bankruptcy once again in December of 1994 due to the fact that the

Health and Human Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health and Human Services - Assignment Example The following denotes factual data on the racial and ethnic disparities in the US health and human services sector: †¢ Prior to 1994, the medical enrollment database only enlisted existing races as white, black, and other or unknown (Academic Journal, Sequist and Schneider 2006, pp. 1455). †¢ Over 50% of African Americans don’t receive appropriate key medical procedures relative to whites (Report, Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care 2009, pp. 2) †¢ Between the years of 200 and 2008, the percentage of dialysis patients increased overall, but blacks and Hispanics were less likely to be registered on waiting lists relative to whites (Government, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2012). †¢ Over the years, health services providers have both intentionally and unintentionally communicated lower expectations for patients in disadvantaged racial and ethnic positions (Academic Journal, Sequist and Schneider 2006, pp. 1456). †¢ In 2009, Blacks and Hispanics were the least likely to receive to receive medical attention on diabetes relative to whites (Government, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2012). †¢ 66% of young non-Hispanic white adults aged between the ages of 20 – 29 are twice as likely to get private health insurance coverage as Hispanics, who stand at only 33% (Report, Cohen and Bloom 2011). †¢ In 2007, Blacks made up almost half of the patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, despite being just 13% of the US population (Government, 2010).

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Essay

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Essay Example Russell uses vivid description to develop the different aspects of her story. A close analysis of the story reveals that she explores multiple gender issues. In a bid to analyze this gender issue, this paper will offer a gender perspective analysis of her work. In addition, it will also consider the historical and the cultural perspective portrayed by the author as she developed her story. In her story, Russell tackles certain critical gender issues that are of interest to many literary analysts. One of them named Natalyalc commenting of Russell’s book online said, â€Å"The story also seems to have gender roles as the main theme†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She continues to say, â€Å"Because they have separate homes for male and female wolves and furthermore taught differently.† The fact that the story is centered on 15 wolf girls struggling to acculturate and assimilate into the human society introduces a gender based perspective. She mentions that, brothers of the girls were in a separate home. The fact that girls and boys did not learn the new culture in an integrated system is an emphasis on the existing gender differences, and the conservative nature of the society concerning the gender roles. The 15 girls undergo a rigorous transformational process as the nuns struggle to shape civilized women out of them. Most of the activities they indulge in are defined by the gender roles evident in the society. One nun tried to help Mirabella conform to feminine behavior as Russell describes when she says, â€Å"Shed sit down with Mirabella and pry her fingers apart. â€Å"You see?" shed say softly, again and again. "What are you holding on to? Nothing, little one. Nothing† (Russell 241). For example, they were expected to learn how to walk with composure as ladies. Moreover, the nuns make efforts of combing the hair in order to give them a feminine look evident when the narrator says, â€Å"The sisters swept out hair back into high, bouffant

Managing Orgnisation Essay Example for Free

Managing Orgnisation Essay Organizational culture can be summed up as a complex set of assumptions, beliefs, perceptions, symbols and values that define how a company goes about doing business. Every organization has its own unique culture or value set. Most organizations do not consciously try to create a certain culture as the culture of the organization is typically created automatically and unconsciously, based on the values of the top management or the founders of an organization. How things are said and done in a company reflects and shapes its organizational culture and can be seen in the following ways based on norms, critical incidents, rituals and significant symbols. Norms are a set of unwritten rules and guidelines that are standard for appropriate behaviour. Critical incidents are the events that occur in a company for example; a manager pointed out a mistake in the boss’ work and got passed over for a promotion. It shows that the company does not tolerate criticism. Based on this, other employees will learn from it and keep quiet even if their superiors made a mistake on their jobs. Rituals are the company’s traditions and customs, which are known as rites. Each company has their own set of rituals and can be extremely different from one another. A few examples will be the dress code, work pace, where to sit during meetings and recognition; how achievements are awarded. A significant symbol is how the employees and customers describe the organization. This means the language used to reflect the beliefs that are an everyday part of life for the organization. They are an indication of what values the company holds important. Based on the above introduction and explanation, we can derive that certain aspects of the culture can and cannot be managed. As said before, the top of the organization are the ones who set the goal and mission for the company. But based on the settings, different values and beliefs branches out as people have different perceptions and way of getting job done. Each culture is like a finger print and there can be no same culture between two unrelated organizations. The culture [1]‘is one type of environmental influence which impacts the way people (employees) think, perform tasks, and  communicate/interact with each other.’ Harris (1994) said: [2]‘Work is done by people who make up an organization, not by the organization itself. Organizational culture is ultimately manifested, represented and maintained by sense-making efforts and actions of individuals.’ It means organisational culture will first manifest itself before having impact on individuals and in turns affect an organization’s productivity, performance and their good points. In any kind of businesses, having a good culture is key matter in sustaining a good organization and in return creating good working results. Creating a â€Å"positive† culture would be extremely difficult to implement. At a certain point of situation, there will be a need to manage the culture of the organization. This is when there is a change in the tops of the management; the board of directors. It can also occur when there is a merge and overtaking by another organization.

Coke Strategy Essay -- Strategic Management Business

Coca Cola is the leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of soft drinks in the world. With domestic market nearing saturation, the potential for growth lies in international markets. In recent years, economic, political and social changes have made the global environment more uncertain, forcing Coke to reevaluate its strategy, structure and culture to maintain a competitive advantage. The following is a dynamic analysis that tracks the evolution of Coke’s strategy from global standardization to a multi-domestic strategy that emphasizes national responsiveness. During Goizueta’s management term, Coke is already a large, mature company in the formalization stage of its life cycle and in the international stage of global development. The organization’s official goal is to dominate the global beverage market and maintain its market leadership position over Pepsi and other competitors. Its primary operative goals are productivity, efficiency and profit. Coke is a highly formalized, centralized organization with a clear hierarchy of authority and a mechanistic management process. Employees believe in the supremacy of the product, and the company’s rigid, heavy-handed culture helps maintain control and drive aggressive marketing and expansion plans. Given the steady consumer demand and low uncertainty created by the simple/stable environmental dimensions, the vertical structure is appropriate because it provides management with high degree of efficiency and control. Coke’s effectiveness is a result of the synergistic fit between its structural and contextual dimensions. Coke realizes economies of scale/scope and low-cost production from a globalization strategy that enables product design, manufacturing and marketing to be ... ...our product categories. With greater distances between regional units, Coke needs to establish more global coordination mechanisms such as transnational teams and functional managers to link resources, disseminate knowledge and bring products to market faster. To ensure that regional units don’t act too autonomously, headquarters needs to develop unified plans and procedures to ensure control and coordination. With more differentiation, Coke’s challenge is to stay competitive in new product categories without weakening the flagship product or diluting its brand image. Looking to the future, Coke should consider moving to a transnational model, which would transform the organization into a network of interdependent global operations that work together to achieve multi-dimensional goals by simultaneously achieving efficiency, national responsiveness and shared learning.

Cheerleading Captain Essay

There are many different opinions out there about cheerleaders, many good, and many bad. Some think of them as the girls standing by the football field, but I think of cheerleading as a symbol of all the spirit that we can share, and a token of appreciation toward the team that’s being cheered on. Cheerleading is such a vital part to many sections of the school. If I, Nina Guenther, am chosen to be a captain for the Burrell High School Junior Varsity squad, I will make sure that everyone has a positive outlook, and the great qualities the squad holds are emphasized.One reason I’d make a great choice for a captain, is that I would be dedicated to the squad, and won’t give up when faced with an obstacle. To me, extra practices, time spent making cheers, organizing stunts, and many of the other things a captain is chosen to do, is not work, but a privilege. These tasks would not bother or frustrate me, because as long as it’d help the girls on my squad, Iâ₠¬â„¢d be happy to do anything to help. I’d handle all obstacles, whether they concern individuals, the squad, a cheer, or a stunt, in an effective way that would help the squad grow.If I were chosen, I’m sure that I could help the squad surpass past years, and I could help every girl on the squad grow and become a better cheerleader. I have a strong belief that the change and growth in others affects you. I remember as I walked into the first tryout practice, last year, how nervous I was. I worked hard throughout that season to sharpen my physical and mental skills. Even though I’m far from perfect, if I continue to learn and get better, then I will influence and persuade others to do better.Growth will not only be seen in the abilities of the squad members, but in their attitudes. If I were a captain, I would make sure that everyone kept a positive outlook and worked harder than ever. Hopefully, by the end of you reading this, you can see how dedicated I am to this squad, and how hard I’ll work to make sure this season is one of the best we’ve ever had. I see a lot of promise in this year, and if I’m chosen as a captain, this squad’s full potential will be realized. Cheerleading, to me, isn’t just about standing on sidelines yelling cheers.It’s about how a group of people can support another group through their spirit. It’s not about bows or matching outfits, either, it’s about how people can come together to achieve something. Finally, it’s not about standing in rows, it’s about how if we can all come together to support something, we can make a difference. It’s about friendship and teamwork, hard work and dedication. Please consider me as a choice for one of the captains for the 2013-2014 cheerleading season on the Burrell High School Junior Varsity Squad. Thank you.