玛雅文化实地考察报告英文.docx

玛雅文化实地考察报告英文.docx

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玛雅文化实地考察报告英文

2015YucatanTripReport

OverviewofYucatanTrip

ThestateofYucatanislocatedinSoutheasternMexico,whichisthemajorcomponentofMayaregion.Specially,ithasitsowngovernment.WestartedourfieldtripfromMerida,andmadeatouraroundarchaeologicalsitestoUxmal,IzamalandChichenItza,amongwhichUxmalandChichenItzaarethemainrulingandceremonialsitesofMayaregion.Afterthat,wewenttoCancun,afamoustouristcitysituatedalongthecoastinsoutheasternMexico.

CityTourinMerida

Meridaisthecultural,financialandpoliticalcapitalcityaswellasthelargestcityofYucatanpeninsula.ItisfamousforitsrichMayanhistoryandcultureaswellassomeofotherremarkableMexicanarchaeologicalsites,whichmakesitoneofthemostimportanttouristcitiesinMexico.ThoughtbacktothehistoryofMerida,weknowthatitwasonceaColonialcity,makingithaveamixedcultureofbothlocalMayancustomaswellasSpanishone.AswewalkedaroundthestreetinMerida,wecanseealotofcatholicbuildings,whicharemostlyinfluencedbyprehispanicstyleaswellassomeEuropeanstylesuchasFrench.Typically,theyorganizedtheirtraditionaltowninaSpanishstyle.Standinginthemainstreet,thereisthegovernors’palaceononeside,andsomeCatholicChurchbuildingsontheopposite,whichisconsideredtobeanorganizationformthatcanprotectthecity.

ThepictureontheleftisafamousstructureinMerida,theMeridaCathedral.Accordingtoourteacher,thecathedralwasbuiltonthetopofoneoftheruinedMayancity.TheSpanishrushedintheMayancityandforcedMayaasslavestobuildanewreligiouscenterinthecenterofthecityforthem,whichmakestheCathedrallookexactlyaSpanishstyle.ItisaCatholicChurchthatbuiltbyMayas,whichmakesitstillremainsometypicalcharacteristicsofthelocalcustom.Forinstance,itwashighlydecoratedwithbeautifullightsallalongitswallsadroofs.Whatismore,theyaddedsometraditionalMayancarvingsonthewallabovethedoorwayaswellasthewindows.Attractively,thewindowswereusuallydecoratedwithcolorfuldrawingslikesomehumanfiguresorgeometricpatterns.

Afterthat,wealsolookedaroundotherbuildingalongtheway.Onsomestructures,wecanseeamixedstyleofFrenchandSpanish.Usually,therearesomehumanfigureslikeroyalwomenandmen,orheroicwarriorscarvedonthewall.Typically,wecanseethefigureofawarriorstandingonthehangingheadofanotherdeadman,whichmayshowthevictoryandpowerofthewarrior.

Besides,wewalkedaroundthelocalmarket.IfeltlikeIhavebeenbackinChinaatthefirstsight,sinceIhaveneverseenanymarketthatsellingfreshmeatintheUS.IntheUS,peopleusuallybymeatsandvegetablesinsupermarkets,whicharewellpackedandthemeatsareusuallystoredinrefrigeratorseparatedbydifferentpartsoftheanimals.ItisreallyaninterestingexperiencebycomparingthemarketinMeridaandthatinChina,whichmakesmethinkaboutthedifferencesbetweendevelopedanddevelopingcountriesthroughatinyscope.

PhysicalEnvironment

MeridaislocatedinthenorthwestpartofthestateofYucatan,whichisnotalongthecoast.ThestateofYucatanisaflatareawhichisonlyalittleabovesealevel.Throughthewholestate,itmainlyhasthreelandtypes—volcano,tropicalrainyforestandrockymountain.TheYucatanPeninsulaisanareawithKarsttopographywhosebedrockismainlycoveredbylimestones.（ThatshouldbethereasonthattraditionalMayanstructuresweremostlybuiltwithlimestones.）Asaresult,thereisverylittlesurfacewater,nottomentiondrinkingwater.Thus,wecouldfindalotofcavesandsinkholescalledCenotesthatcanbeusedbytheMayastoaccessthegroundwater.

Asfortheclimate,Yucatanfeaturesahotandhumidclimate,andhaveanaverageannualhightemperatureofabout33degreecentigrade.Thus,itissuitableforvarieskindsofcropsandfruitstogrowinthisarea.Besides,YucatanPeninsulahasonlytwotypicalseasons—tropicalwetanddryclimate,whichmeansresidentsneedtostorewaterfordryseason.Merida’srainyseasonmainlyrunfromlateMaytoOctober,duringwhichresidentswoulddefinitelydoalltheycantostorethewaterfortherestoftheyear.AsismentionedinGallopin’sarticle,theMayaregioninMexicowasseparatedintohighlandMexicoandlowlandMaya,and“Oneconditionseparatingthesetwosettlementadaptationistheavailabilityofwater.”（Gallopin,1）.Fromthisreference,itisapparentthatwaterisamaincontributingfactorforthedevelopmentofanarea,asweknowthatlowlandMayawasonceathrivingregion.ItsoundsquitereasonablethatGallopinclaims:

“However,inthoseareasofthesouthernMayaLowlandswithoutsuchwatersourcesandwithanabundantthoughseasonalrainfall,reservoirmanagementmayalsohavecentralizedpopulationaggregates.”（Gallopin,3）.Whereverhaveabundantsourceofwater,itcanattractpeopletogatherorsetupatribe,becauseonlyifwithenoughwatercantheyfulfilltheirneedsfordailylivesaswellasagriculturalirrigation.

Agriculture

InmanypartsofMayaregion,theyareshortofwaterbuthaverichsoil,clayandiron.Asaresult,traditionalMayaneconomicsystemislargelybasedonagriculture.IthaslargeareaoffarmlandwithintheentireMexico,buttheirproductionefficiencyisprettylowbecausetheiragricultureismostlybasedonlaborforceratherthanhigh-techequipment.However,itisalsoapparentthatwaterisadominantfactorforagriculture.AccordingtoGallopin’sarticle,theMayalowlandhaveanaveragefour-monthperiodofannualdrought,whichisdefinitelymakingitachallengeforfarmerstoprovideenoughwaterfortheirplantsandcrops.Consequently,buildingdifferentkindsofreservoirsistheirsolutiontocopewiththeproblemofseasonalunavailabilityofwater.Depressingly,theydonothaveahighprobabilityofirrigation,whichmeansitisdifficultforthemtogrowanyplantsthatneedalargeamountofwaterregularly.Thus,theymainlygrowplantssuchascorns,coffeebeansaswellascotton.

AccordingtoDunning’sarticleaboutMayancultureandagriculture,“AncientMayaagriculturewashighlyvariedinnature,adaptingtoachangeablemosaicenvironmentsandrespondingtoshiftingculturalpressure.”（Dunning,1）.TheregionofLowlandMayahavealargevariationinrainfall,soilandbiologicalprocess,whichmakesitimpossibletouseasingleagriculturalmodelthroughthewholeregion.SotheancientMayadevelopedgreatdiversityofadaptivepatternsfortheiragriculturalsystemaswellascivilization.

However,aftertheyentertheNorthAmericaFreeTradeArea,thetraditionalagriculturesystemsfaceaseverechallenge.AconsiderablenumberofruralresidentsarerushingoutfromruralplacestoseekforbetterjobopportunitiesineitherlargecitiesinMexicoorillegallytraveltoAmerica,leavinglargeareasofvacantfarmland.Hence,theoutputofagriculturalproductskeepsfallingdowninrecentyears.ThissituationmakesMexico’sfoodsupplygraduallytransferredfromself-sufficiencyandexported-orientedtoimported-oriented,whichmayalsoservesasanobstacleintheprocessofdevelopingandindustrializingwithintheMexiconation.

Economy:

Exported-oriented

Besidesagriculture,Mayaneconomyalsoreliesoncraftproductionandtrade.Peopleearnedmoneymostlybyexportingtheirproductsliketextiles,agriculturalandsidelineproducts.Inrecentyears,theyalsodevelopE-commerceasanewchanneltostimulatetheireconomy.RegardingthefactthatMexicosharesboarderwithUnitedStates,whichisawell-developedcountry,itgeneratescouplesofmanufacturingindustriesandautomobileindustries.Generallyspeaking,theindustrialsystemofYucatanareaisanexported-orientedoneandmainlybasedonlightindustry.Ithasvastareaforplants,whichmeansitcanprovidethosedevelopedcountrieswithallkindsofindustrialrawmaterialssuchascottonandrubber.AccordingtothearticlebyDr.South,thoseexported-orientedmanufacturesarecalledmaquiladoras,whichare“basedonlabor-intensiveassemblyofimportedcomponents”（Biles,3）.Also,Dr.Southmentionsthatthereisa“changingexported-orientedindustryinMexicoandpositsthattheflyinggeesemetaphor,aproductcyclevariation,providesaconceptualunderstandingofatransitioningindustry.”（South,4）.Notsurprisingly,thereisabundantcheaplaborforceinMexico,whichmeansthegovernmentsmaytrytheirbesttocreatejobopportunitiesforthem.Thus,alotofdevelopedcountriesmaytendtochooseMexicoasatransitionbasefortheirindustries.

Fortunately,wehadthechancetovisittwomaquiladoras.OneisatailoringmanufacturefactoryforAmericanpolicesuits,whileanotherisamanufacturebaseforHenequenplant.Whenweenteredthetailoringfactory,itwasfullofbusyworkersandthesoundofdifferentmachines.Mostofthesewingworkarecompletedbyworkerwithdifferentkindsofsewingmachines,andthecuttingworkaredonewithlargemachines.Alltheworkersstandwhentheywereworkingormovearoundtodifferentplacestogetmaterialsthattheyneed.Accordingtoourguide,thisworkingpatternpreventstheconditionthattheworkersfeelpaininvariouspartsoftheirbodybecauseofsittinginafixedplace.Inthemanufacturebaseforhemprope,wecanseetheoverviewofatraditionalHaciendafarm.Also,oneoftheworkerbrieflyintroducedustheprocessofmakinghempropes.TheyfirstusealargemachinetosmashtheHenequenplants,afterwhichthefiberinsidetheplantwillbesqueezedout.Thentheplantsgothroughapartofthemachine,whichse