Timeline of the Ancient Maya

The Maya were an advanced Mesoamerican civilization living in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and northern Honduras. Unlike the Inca or the Aztecs, the Maya were not one unified empire, but rather a series of powerful city-states that often allied with or warred upon one another. Maya civilization peaked around 800 A.D. or so before falling into decline. By the time of the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, the Maya were rebuilding, with powerful city-states rising once again, but the Spanish defeated them. The descendants of the Maya still live in the region and many of them continue to practice cultural traditions such as language, dress, cuisine, and religion. The Maya Preclassic Period (1800–300 BCE) People first arrived in Mexico and Central America millennia ago, living as hunter-gatherers in the rain forests and volcanic hills of the region. They first began developing cultural characteristics associated with the Maya civilization around 1800 BCE on Guatemalas western coast. By 1000 BCE the Maya had spread throughout the lowland forests of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The Maya of the Preclassic period lived in small villages in basic homes and dedicated themselves to subsistence agriculture. The major cities of the Maya, such as Palenque, Tikal, and Copà ¡n, were established during this time and began to prosper. Basic trade was developed, linking the city-states and facilitating cultural exchange. The Late Preclassic Period (300 BCE–300 CE) The late Maya Preclassic Period lasted roughly from 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. and is marked by developments in Maya culture. Great temples were constructed: their facades were decorated with stucco sculptures and paint. Long-distance trade flourished, particularly for luxury items such as jade and obsidian. Royal tombs dating from this time are more elaborate than those from the early and middle Preclassic periods and often contained offerings and treasures. The Early Classic Period (300 CE–600 CE) The Classic Period is considered to have begun when the Maya began carving ornate, beautiful stelae (stylized statues of leaders and rulers) with dates given in the Maya long count calendar. The earliest date on a Maya stela is 292 CE (at Tikal) and the latest is 909 CE (at Tonina). During the early Classic Period (300–600 CE), the Maya continued developing many of their most important intellectual pursuits, such as astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. During this time, the city of Teotihuacà ¡n, located near Mexico City, exerted a great influence on the Maya city-states, as is shown by the presence of pottery and architecture done in the Teotihuacà ¡n style. The Late Classic Period (600–900) The Maya late Classic Period marks the high point of Maya culture. Powerful city-states like Tikal and Calakmul dominated the regions around them and art, culture and religion reached their peaks. The city-states warred, allied with, and traded with one another. There may have been as many as 80 Maya city-states during this time. The cities were ruled by an elite ruling class and priests who claimed to be directly descended from the Sin, Moon, stars, and planets. The cities held more people than they could support, so trade for food, as well as luxury items, was brisk. The ceremonial ball game was a feature of all Maya cities. The Postclassic Period (800–1546) Between 800 and 900 A.D., the major cities in the southern Maya region all fell into decline and were mostly or completely abandoned. There are several theories as to why this occurred: historians tend to believe that it was excessive warfare, overpopulation, an ecological disaster or a combination of these factors that brought down the Maya civilization. In the north, however, cities like Uxmal and Chichen Itza prospered and developed. War was still a persistent problem: many of the Maya cities from this time were fortified. Sacbes, or Maya highways, were constructed and maintained, indicating that trade continued to be important. Maya culture continued: all four of the surviving Maya codices were produced during the Postclassic period. The Spanish Conquest (ca. 1546) By the time the Aztec Empire rose in Central Mexico, the Maya were rebuilding their civilization. The city of Mayapan in Yucatà ¡n became an important city, and cities and settlements on the eastern coast of the Yucatà ¡n prospered. In Guatemala, ethnic groups such as the Quichà © and Cachiquels once again built cities and engaged in trade and warfare. These groups came under the control of the Aztecs as a sort of vassal states. When Hernà ¡n Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521, he learned of the existence of these powerful cultures to the far south and he sent his most ruthless lieutenant, Pedro de Alvarado, to investigate and conquer them. Alvarado did so, subduing one city-state after another, playing on regional rivalries just as Cortes had done. At the same time, European diseases such as measles and smallpox decimated the Maya population. Colonial and Republican Eras The Spanish essentially enslaved the Maya, dividing their lands up among the conquistadors and bureaucrats who came to rule in the Americas. The Maya suffered greatly in spite of the efforts of some enlightened men like Bartolomà © de Las Casas who argued for their rights in Spanish courts. The native people of southern Mexico and northern Central America were reluctant subjects of the Spanish Empire and bloody rebellions were common. With Independence coming in the early nineteenth century, the situation of the average indigenous native of the region changed little. They were still repressed and still chafed at it: when the Mexican-American War broke out (1846–1848) ethnic Maya in Yucatà ¡n took up arms, kicking off the bloody Caste War of Yucatan in which hundreds of thousands were killed. The Maya Today Today, the descendants of the Maya still live in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and northern Honduras. Many continue to hold to their traditions, such as speaking their native languages, wearing traditional clothes and practicing indigenous forms of the religion. In recent years, they have won more freedoms, such as the right to practice their religion openly. They are also learning to cash in on their culture, selling handicrafts at native markets and promoting tourism to their regions: with this newfound wealth from tourism is coming political power. The most famous Maya today is probably the Quichà © Indian Rigoberta Menchà º, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. She is a well-known activist for native rights and occasional presidential candidate in her native Guatemala. Interest in Maya culture was at an all-time high in 2010, as the Maya calendar was set to reset in 2012, prompting many to speculate about the end of the world. Sources Aldana y Villalobos, Gerardo and Edwin L. Barnhart (eds.) Archaeoastronomy and the Maya. Eds. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2014. Martin, Simon, and Nicolai Grube. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames and Hudson, 2008. McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. Reprint edition, W. W. Norton Company, July 17, 2006. Sharer, Robert J. The Ancient Maya. 6th ed. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Biography Of Hideo Kojima s Influence On The World

Hideo Kojima was born on 24 August, 1963. He was born in Tokyo, Japan, but his family moved to western Japan shortly after his birth. Growing up as a latchkey kid, he had to deal with loneliness and loss as a child, when his father passed away while he was just 13 years old. From an early age, he knew that he wanted to be a writer and illustrator, but faced a lot of pressure to seek out a safer and financially stable line of work. Despite discouragement from his family and peers, as a teen, he wrote and illustrated original short stories and sent them to magazines, although none ever got published. He first went to college to study economics, He spent most of his spare time playing video games. He shocked his peers by saying he wanted to go into video game design his fourth year of college. Kojima became famous beginning with the release of the first iteration of the Metal Gear series in 1986, Metal Gear biggest and most recognizable contributions to the gaming world. The main character of the title, Solid Snake, has even made appearances in other video games like Nintendo s Super Smash Bros Brawl. In the start of his career, he gain a lot of rejection most of his game ideas failed. Nonetheless, he was hired by Konami Digital Entertainment. The Metal Gear series is a prime example of a war game that includes violence and gun. The player takes control of a special forces operative, Snake, who is assigned to find the super weapon Metal Gear, a bipedal walking tank with

The Hunters Moonsong Chapter Eleven Free Essays

â€Å"Coffee, my dear?† Professor Campbel – James, Elena reminded herself – asked. At her nod, he bounced to his feet and bustled over to the tiny coffeemaker perched on top of a teetering stack of papers. He brought her a cup of coffee, creamed and sugared, and settled down happily in his chair, gazing across his crowded desk at her with an expression of innocent enjoyment. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Eleven or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"I think I have some cookies,† he offered. â€Å"Not homemade, but they’re reasonably tasty. No?† Elena shook her head politely and sipped her coffee. â€Å"It’s very good,† she said, and smiled at him. It had been a few days since she had told Stefan and Damon she needed to take a break from them. After a much-needed sob session with Bonnie and Meredith, she had done her best to be normal – going to class, having lunch with her friends, keeping up a brave mask. Part of this attempt at normality was coming to James’s office hours, so that she could hear more about her parents. Even though they couldn’t be there to comfort her, talking about them offered some solace. â€Å"My God!† James cried out. â€Å"You have Elizabeth’s face, and then, when you smile, Thomas’s dimple comes right out. Just the same as his – on only one side. It gave him a certain raffish charm.† Elena wondered if she should thank James. He was complimenting her, in a way, but the compliments were real y directed toward her parents, and it felt a little presumptuous to be grateful for them. She settled for saying, â€Å"I’m glad you think I look like my parents. I remember thinking when I was little that they were very elegant.† She shrugged. â€Å"I guess al little kids think their parents are beautiful.† â€Å"Well, your mother certainly was,† James said. â€Å"But it’s not just your looks. Your voice sounds like hers, and the comments you made in class this week reminded me of things your father would have said. He was very observant.† He delved into his desk drawers and, after a bit of rummaging, pul ed out a tin of butter cookies. â€Å"Sure you won’t have one? Ah, Well.† He chose one for himself and took a bite. â€Å"Yes, as I was saying, Elizabeth was extremely lovely. I wouldn’t have cal ed Thomas lovely, but he had charm. Maybe that’s how he managed to win Elizabeth’s heart in the end.† â€Å"Oh.† Elena stirred her coffee absently. â€Å"She dated other guys, then?† It was ridiculous, but she had kind of imagined her parents as always being together. James chuckled. â€Å"She was quite the heartbreaker. I imagine you are, too, dear.† Elena thought unhappily of Stefan’s soft, dismayed green eyes. She had never wanted to hurt him. And Matt, who she had dated in high school and who had quietly gone on loving her. He hadn’t fal en in love, or even been real y interested in, anyone else since then. Heartbreaker, yeah. James was watching her with bright, inquisitive eyes. â€Å"Not a happy heartbreaker, then?† he said softly. Elena glanced at him in surprise, and he set his coffee cup down with a little clink. He straightened up. â€Å"Elizabeth Morrow,† he said in a brisk businesslike voice, â€Å"was a freshman when I met her. She was always making things, particularly amazing sets and costumes she designed for the theater department. Your father and I were both sophomores at the time – we were in the same fraternity, and close friends – and he couldn’t stop talking about this amazing girl. Once I got to know her, I was sucked into her orbit, too.† He smiled. â€Å"Thomas and I each had something special about us: I was academical y gifted, and Thomas could talk anyone into anything. But we were both cultural barbarians. Elizabeth taught us about art, about theater, about the world beyond the smal Southern towns where we’d grown up.† James ate another cookie, absentmindedly licking sugar off his fingers, then sighed deeply. â€Å"I thought we’d be friends forever,† he said. â€Å"But we went in different directions in the end.† â€Å"Why?† Elena asked. â€Å"Did something happen?† His bright eyes shifted away from hers. â€Å"Of course not,† he said dismissively. â€Å"Just life, I suppose. But whenever I walk down the third-floor corridor, I can’t help stopping to look at the photograph of us.† He gave a self-conscious laugh, patting his stomach. â€Å"Mostly vanity, I suppose. I recognize my young self more easily than I do the fat old man I see in the mirror now.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† Elena asked, confused. â€Å"The third-floor corridor?† James’s mouth made a round O of surprise. â€Å"Of course, you don’t know al the col ege traditions yet. The long corridor on the third floor of this building has pictures from al the different periods of Dalcrest’s history. Including a nice photo of your parents and yours truly.† â€Å"I’l have to check it out,† Elena said, feeling a little excited. She hadn’t seen many pictures of her parents from before they were married. There was a tap on the door, and a smal girl with glasses peeked in. â€Å"Oh, I’m sorry,† she said, and started to withdraw. â€Å"No, no, my dear,† James said jovial y, getting to his feet. â€Å"Elena and I were just chatting about old friends. You and I need to have a serious talk about your senior thesis as soon as possible. Come in, come in.† He gave Elena an absurd little half bow. â€Å"Elena, we’l have to continue this conversation later.† â€Å"Of course,† Elena said, and rose, shaking James’s offered hand. â€Å"Speaking of old friends,† he said casual y as she turned to go, â€Å"I met a friend of yours, Dr. Celia Connor, just before the semester started. She mentioned that you were coming here.† Elena whipped back around, staring at him. He had met Celia? Images fil ed Elena’s mind: Celia held in Stefan’s arms as he traveled faster than any human, desperate to save her life; Celia fending off the phantom in a room ful of flames. How much did James know? What had Celia told him? James smiled blandly back at her. â€Å"But we’l talk later,† he said. After a moment, Elena nodded and stumbled out of his office, her mind racing. The girl who was waiting held the door open for her. In the hal outside, Elena leaned against the wal and took stock for a moment. Would Celia have told James about Stefan and Damon being vampires, or anything about Elena herself? Probably not. Celia had become a friend by the end of their battle with the phantom. She would have kept their secrets. Plus, Celia was a very savvy academic. She wouldn’t have told her col eagues anything that might make them think she was crazy, including that she had met actual vampires. Elena shook off the unease she felt from the end of her conversation with James and thought instead of the picture he’d told her about. She climbed the stairs to the third floor to see if she could find it now. It turned out that the â€Å"third-floor corridor† was no problem to find. While the second floor was a maze of turning passageways and faculty offices subdivided from one another, when she stepped out of the stairWellon the third floor she discovered it was a long hal that ran from one end of the building to the other. In contrast to the chatter of people at work on the second floor, the third floor seemed abandoned, silent and dim. Closed doors sat at regular intervals along the hal . Elena peered through the glass on one door, only to see an empty room. Al down the hal , between the doors, hung large photographs. Near the stairWell, where she began looking, they seemed like they were from maybe the turn of the century: young men in side-combed hair and suits, smiling stiffly; girls in high-necked white blouses and long skirts with their hair pul ed up on top of their heads. In one, a row of girls carried garlands of flowers for some forgotten campus occasion. There were photos of boat races and picnics, couples dressed up for dances, team pictures. In one photo, the cast of some student play – maybe from the 1920s or ’30s, the girls with shingled flapper cuts, the guys with funny covers over their shoes – laughed hilariously on stage, their mouths frozen open, their hands in the air. A little farther on, a group of young men in army uniforms gazed back at her seriously, jaws firmly set, eyes determined. As she moved on down the hal , the photos changed from black-and-white to color; the clothes got less formal; the hairstyles grew longer, then shorter; messier, then sleeker. Even though most of the people in the photographs looked happy, something about them made Elena feel sad. Maybe it was how fast time seemed to pass in them: al these people had been Elena’s age, students like her, with their own fears and joys and heartbreaks, and now they were gone, grown older or even dead. She thought briefly of a bottle tucked deep in her closet at home, containing the water of eternal life she’d accidental y stolen from the Guardians. Was that the answer? She pushed the thought away. It wasn’t the answer yet – she knew that – and she’d made the very clear choice not to think about that bottle, not to decide anything, not now. She had time, she had more life to live natural y before she’d want to ask herself that question. The picture James talked about was close to the far end of the hal . In it, her father, her mother, and James were sitting on the grass under a tree in the quad. Her parents were leaning forward in eager conversation, and James – a much thinner version, his face almost unrecognizable beneath a straggly beard – was sitting back and watching them, his expression sharp and amused. Her mother looked amazingly young, her face soft, her eyes wide, her smile big and bright, but she was also somehow exactly the mother Elena remembered. Elena’s heart gave a painful but happy throb at the sight of her. Her father was gawkier than the distinguished dad Elena had known – and his pastel-patterned shirt was a fashion disaster of epic proportions – but there was an essential dadness to him that made Elena smile. She noticed the pin on his horrific pastel shirt first. She thought it was a smudge, but then, leaning forward, she made out the shape of a smal , dark blue V. Looking at the other figures, she realized her mother and James were wearing the same pins, her mother’s half-obscured by a long golden curl fal ing across it. Weird. She tapped her finger slowly against the glass over the photograph, touching one V and then the others. She would ask James about the pins. Hadn’t he mentioned that he and her dad had been in a fraternity? Maybe it had something to do with that. Didn’t frat boys â€Å"pin† their girlfriends? Something nudged at the edges of her mind. She’d seen one of these pins somewhere. But she couldn’t remember where, so she shrugged it off. Whatever it stood for, it was something she didn’t know about her parents, another facet of their lives to be discovered here. She couldn’t wait to learn more. How to cite The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Eleven, Essay examples

Business Project Management German company Daimler AG

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Project Managementfor German company Daimler AG. Answer: Introduction Mercedes-Benz is one of the largest manufacturing automobile company as well as a division of German company Daimler AG. The company is well known for its luxury vehicles, coaches, buses and truck into worldwide market segmentation. Mercedes-Benz has come to the affect in 1926 and the headquarters is situated in Stuttgart Germany (Kaplan 2012). It is a first gasoline-powered automobile company in the world. The internal mission and vision statement of the company is not available publicly. There are some drives which show the value of Mercedes such as commitment of a legacy honor, considering the vision of every details and foresight of taking responsibility. As stated by Braun et al. (2016), the company maintains corporate social responsibility in environment which includes production and suppliers. The company has manufactured and assembled in across 20 countries into worldwide. It has a personal TV for customers in the company website. The company also has some strengths and weakn ess in the country. The cost of maintenance is high as well as there is a lack of capital constraints which the company is trying to reduce within the country (Benz 2013). Future Prospect of Investigation Situation Happening while Addressing new Technology According to Lagemann, Bhm and Binder (2015), in the 19th Century, the company was not so developed into worldwide. However, now the company is running well across the country but there is some issue which the company is facing to grow up in the future strategy of market segmentation. Previously there was lack of latest tools and technology by which the company had to face some difficulties in the market. Though the competition was not so high, the business had earned less profit because the concept of production was less on that time. Nowadays, the production has increased with the help of latest tools and technologies. At previous time, the company used some oldest machine by which the production was less and products are insufficient. There is an often of breakdown illustration which shows the high cost of maintenance across the country. Now the company is spreading internationally and making more profit into worldwide. Now the company is making new innovation with new and latest technology such as 3D cameras, night vision, radar and LED headlights those adjust the brightness of the car automatically. Mercedes has introduced a new S-Class car which is never launched before. Inadequacy of Existing Resource and Skills As stated by Braun et al. (2016), there is an existing resource of the company because it is running since the 19th Century. Previously there was more inadequacy of natural resource and skills because the company did not have more customers for its product. One of the basic reasons of inadequacy is the tourist customers of the company because there was a glowing influx of tourist as well as inadequate number of accommodation and Hotels. For this, more customers were not involved with the company. However, in the 21st Century, these issues are removing consistently from the company and making some fundamental approaches to reach the business at its success point. Competitors Action The company needs to maintain some constant new design for its products by which it can face challenges in the market when it becomes competitive. The company needs to have some retail consumers which can buy the products as daily basis. There are some competitive companies are also available in the marketing strategy which are also doing well business across the country such as Audi and BMW (Coad and Teruel 2012). These are the competitive companies of Mercedes. The company is now giving some design to its existing product by which it may get large segmentation of customers. In todays era, there are many challenges in the market for this the company is facing difficulties to sell its product. The company has to maintain this for well growth into global market segmentation. Unstable Situation The external environment will greatly affect business development of Mercedes in the coming future. In addition to a fluctuation in the laws, rules, taxonomy structures and regulations, the company will be significantly impacted with a re-defining of the market. An increase in pollution regulations, setting of atmospheric excretion standards and re-establishment of carbon offset rules will greatly drive the manager`s decision (Spry and Lukas 2016). Additionally, a development in the technological aspect within the country will also exert a pressure on the future progress levels. A launch of new services, automation or robotic control will help in building up new cars and further result in a brighter future. Supply Restriction Like any other company, Mercedes also is dependent on the regular supply of raw materials to ensure a smooth operation. Further, with a change in the downfall of sources there will be a vast change in framework of the firm. According to Serrano et al. (2015), apart from an additional impose of control on primary materials that will affect prices will ultimately lead to an uneven situation of the organization in the future. It is also noted that a increase in oil prices and deforestation of sources will also noticeably affect the growth of Mercedes in the coming days. Conclusion It can be observed that the consumers of the Mercedes Benz are highly satisfied with the service of the cars. The consumers, who are conscious about the brand, are willing to purchasing the cars from this organization. In addition, Mercedes Benz has a greater impact on the resale value. In this connection, it can be added that the resale price of the cars are comparatively higher than the other luxury cars due to the higher demand of the models of this definite car manufacturing company. Moreover, it can be mentioned that good communication skill with the consumers can effectively increase the sales of an organization. In this purpose, the management of the organization tried to provide training to the sale representatives, so that they can easily communicate with the consumers and can convince to the consumers to purchase cars from them. Furthermore, it can be added that Mercedes Benz has the efficient source of fund, which is provided by the Daimler Company. The investment fund is required for increasing the production. In this section, it can be mentioned that Mercedes Benz has been suffering from the slow growth. Mercedes Benz has facing a tough battle against BMW group as well as Volkswagen AG. Therefore, it can be noticed that global sales of Mercedes Benz has decreased by 19 percent from the year of 2007. Therefore, it can be mentioned that the management of the Mercedes Benz car manufacturing company requires taking some relevant marketing strategies, which can reduce the existing competition as well as can also increase the sales of the organization. The management of Mercedes Benz car manufacturing company can add some addition features in the cars and can provide this to the consumers in turn of affordable prices. Therefore, the consumers are also willing to purchase Mercedes Benz. On the other hand, it can be added that this car manufacturing company used to deliver their products to the consumers within the proposed date. As opined by Uhl and Gollenia (2016), it used to take long period t o the clients after their purchasing. Therefore, in this connection, it can be mentioned that the car manufacturing company requires delivering the cars within the proposed date. This will effectively increase the goodwill of the organization. Moreover, some of the models of this particular car manufacturing company are not easily available (Liebl 2013). Therefore, the consumers feel reluctant to buy the cars from this organization. In addition, it can be identified that the consumers sometimes require to pay a huge amount of tax in case of import of the models from outside of the country. Therefore, it can be stated that the consumers will suffer from the tax burden. After reviewing the business position of Mercedes Benz, it can be predicted that the revenue earning by the organization will be increased. In addition, it can be mentioned that the cost of production will also reduce; therefore, the profitability margin will also improve. In case of import of cars, government of a country will receive higher tax revenue from the dealers. References Benz, M., 2013. Mercedes Benz.Retrieved July,12, p.2013. Braun, T., Lckert, P., Duvinage, F. and Mackensen, A., 2016. Mercedes-Benz diesel technology OM654 near-engine-mounted SCR system for WLTP and RDE. In16. Internationales Stuttgarter Symposium(pp. 239-255). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Braun, T., Lckert, P., Duvinage, F. and Mackensen, A., 2016. Mercedes-Benz diesel technology OM654 near-engine-mounted SCR system for WLTP and RDE. In16. Internationales Stuttgarter Symposium(pp. 239-255). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Coad, A. and Teruel, M., 2012. Inter-firm rivalry and firm growth: is there any evidence of direct competition between firms?.Industrial and Corporate Change, p.dts018. Kaplan, A., 2012. design, construction and testing of the most efficient exhaust for a mercedes-benz c-class. Lagemann, I.V., Bhm, J. and Binder, S., 2015. Steel Pistons for Mercedes-Benz PC Diesel Engines Lightweight, Efficient and Sustainable.MTZ worldwide,76(6), pp.4-9. Liebl, C., 2013.Kommunikations-Controlling: Ein Beitrag zur Steuerung der Marketing-Kommunikation am Beispiel der Marke Mercedes-Benz. Springer-Verlag. Serrano, A., Faulin, J., Astiz, P., Snchez, M. and Belloso, J., 2015. Locating and Designing a Biorefinery Supply Chain under Uncertainty in Navarre: A Stochastic Facility Location Problem Case.Transportation Research Procedia,10, pp.704-713. Spry, A. and Lukas, B.A., 2016. Brand Portfolio Architecture and Firm Performance: The Moderating Impact of Generic Strategy. InLooking Forward, Looking Back: Drawing on the Past to Shape the Future of Marketing(pp. 866-867). Springer International Publishing. Uhl, A. and Gollenia, L.A., 2016.Business Transformation Essentials: Case Studies and Articles. Routledge.