Some study questions for the midterm
 

What are the characteristics that distinguish a closed corporate community from an open one?

According to Magalena Villareal, women beekeepers used several phrases to construct their identities.  What are they?  How do they explain social change in that village?

Basso talks about ritual greetings among the Kuna as a formalized dialogue.  What are some characteristics of this formality?

Locate on the map all of the countries of Mexico and Central America

Locate on the map the main archeological sites of Guatemala

Locate on the map the capitals of Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize

What was the U.S. role in Guatemala during the 1950s?  How did this affect the recent history of the country?

What is the 260 day calendar?  Is it used today?

What was the “requirement?” during the conquest?  Why is it important today?

Why are towns in Mexico and Central America considered as their own cultures?

What was a pochteca in Aztec society?  Why were they important?

What was “peonage” in Mexico and Central America?

The encomienda system based on tribute and education.  Why did indigenous people accept the encomienda system?

What is the role of ethnicity in Belize?  Why does Stone say that the popular view of Belize as an egalitarian social democracy is not correct?