Reinterpreting Coatlicue : the Sculptural Narrative of Defeat at the Shrine of Huitzilopochtli

"Images of the decapitated, dismembered female warrior Coyolxauhqui, a main character in the Mexica mythology of Huitzilopochtli, figured prominently in Imperial Mexica sculptural campaigns at the Templo Mayor. However, monoliths of a terrifying, dismembered female from the shrine have traditionally been identified as Huitzilopochtli’s nurturing mother Coatlicue, or permutations of goddesses. Such studies do not adequately address why these sculptures depict mutilated beings whose characteristics are antithetical to Coatlicue’s appropriate female behavior depicted in myths and images"

How Competition Over Limited Natural Resources Impacts the Formation of Culture

This project analyzes the closely linked connection between the competition over limited resources and the formation of culture as it pertains to art and literature. The project is broken into three main topics: the influence of limited resources on competition, the role that competition and other factors have on the formation of culture, and finally how art and literature are reflective of resources, the competition for those resources, and other historical influences. This paper concludes that while there are many factors in the creation of cultures, competition over limited natural resources plays the most integral role in the formation of culture.