The Role of Ideology, Religion, and Ritual in the Foundation of Social Complexity in the Belize River Valley

2018 ◽  
pp. 87-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. KATHRYN BROWN ◽  
JAIME J. AWE ◽  
JAMES F. GARBER
Keyword(s):  
Social Complexity ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Belize River Valley

The Role of Ideology, Religion, and Ritual in the Foundation of Social Complexity in the Belize River Valley

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kathryn Brown ◽  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
James F. Garber
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Public Architecture

This chapter examines the role of ritual and religion in the development of social complexity and the institutionalization of hierarchy in the Belize River valley. The authors synthesize Preclassic data from the sites of Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich related to early religious behaviour and document how ritual activities and public architecture changed through time in order to both emphasize and reinforce inequalities within the society, and thus reflect transformations in shared religious beliefs. Evidence from the Belize River valley suggests that rituals revolving around the veneration of ancestors were a critical component in the processes of both establishing and maintaining social hierarchies.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of river valley evolution before and after the emplacement of the giant Seymareh rock avalanche (Zagros Mts., Iran)

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 929-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Delchiaro ◽  
Marta Della Seta ◽  
Salvatore Martino ◽  
Maryam Dehbozorgi ◽  
Reza Nozaem
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Time To Failure ◽  
Stress Release ◽  
Seismic Triggering ◽  
Rock Creep ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. The Seymareh landslide, detached ∼10 ka from the northeastern flank of the Kabir-kuh fold (Zagros Mts., Iran), is recognized worldwide as the largest rock slope failure (44 Gm3) ever recorded on the exposed Earth surface. Detailed studies have been performed that have described the landslide mechanism and different scenarios have been proposed for explaining the induced landscape changes. The purpose of this study is to provide still missing time constraints on the evolution of the Seymareh River valley, before and after the emplacement of the Seymareh landslide, to highlight the role of geomorphic processes both as predisposing factors and as response to the landslide debris emplacement. We used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date lacustrine and fluvial terrace sediments, whose plano-altimetric distribution has been correlated to the detectable knickpoints along the Seymareh River longitudinal profile, allowing the reconstruction of the evolutionary model of the fluvial valley. We infer that the knickpoint migration along the main river and the erosion wave propagation upstream through the whole drainage network caused the stress release and the ultimate failure of the rock mass involved in the landslide. We estimated that the stress release activated a mass rock creep (MRC) process with gravity-driven deformation processes occurring over an elapsed time-to-failure value on the order of 102 kyr. We estimated also that the Seymareh damming lake persisted for ∼3500 years before starting to empty ∼6.6 ka due to lake overflow. A sedimentation rate of 10 mm yr−1 was estimated for the lacustrine deposits, which increased up to 17 mm yr−1 during the early stage of lake emptying due to the increased sediment yield from the lake tributaries. We calculated an erosion rate of 1.8 cm yr−1 since the initiation of dam breaching by the Seymareh River, which propagated through the drainage system up to the landslide source area. The evolutionary model of the Seymareh River valley can provide the necessary constraints for future stress–strain numerical modeling of the landslide slope to reproduce the MRC and demonstrate the possible role of seismic triggering in prematurely terminating the creep-controlled time-to-failure pathway for such an extremely large case study.

Culture and attitudes towards contraception of women in subsistence markets: the role of values and social axioms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divaries Cosmas Jaravaza ◽  
Fanny Saruchera
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Developing Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Axioms ◽  
Fate Control ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Social Cynicism ◽  
Subsistence Markets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on attitudes to contraception by rural-based women in a developing economy. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 395 rural women in Eastern Zimbabwe, this study examines the hypothesized relationships between values (resultant conservation, resultant self-enhancement), social axioms (reward for application, social cynicism, religiosity, social complexity, fate control and Ubuntu) and contraceptive attitudes, considering the moderating effects of age and education. Findings Using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-Group Analysis, this study found that resultant self-enhancement, fate control, the reward for application and religiosity significantly relate to attitudes to contraception whilst resultant conservation, social complexity, Ubuntu and social cynicism, did not produce significant correlations. Age and education moderate the significant relationships. Research limitations/implications The study's findings suggest that contraception social marketers, non-governmental organizations and health practitioners should develop marketing strategies to neutralize the negative impact of these beliefs held by rural contraceptive consumers to increase contraceptive awareness and uptake in such subsistence markets. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence on the role of Ubuntu as a new culture construct in African markets. Originality/value Despite being limited to a single developing economy, this paper extends prior research on consumer culture and attitudes on contraception use by exploring the role of values and social axioms, an imperative issue for rural women health and general subsistence market well-being.

scholarly journals Comparison of southern part of Volyn and Zhytomyr Polissya river valleys (for example Horyn and Sluch)

2014 ◽  
pp. 386-394
Author(s):  
О. Budko
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Ukrainian Shield ◽  
River Valleys ◽  
Different Parts

At the article a Horyn and Sluch river valleys are described. Terrace levels are allocated, the structure of valleys as a whole is analyzed. Special attention is concentrated on differences in geomorphologic structure of the river Sluch within the Ukrainian shield and Volyn-Podilska plate. Identified and characterized the different parts of the Goryn and Sluch valleys. The conclusions about the role of structural, lithological and other factors in the construction of river valleys are maked. Key words: river valley, terrace, Sluch, Goryn, alluvium, Polissya.

The government’s role in creating an innovation ecosystem: the Springfield Armory as hub in the Connecticut River Valley

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-579
Author(s):  
Robert C. Ford ◽  
Keenan D. Yoho
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Connecticut River ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Ecosystems ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Connecticut River Valley

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate, through the example of the Springfield Armory and its role in the development of interchangeable parts, the critical role of government in establishing a cluster of organizations that evolved into an innovation ecosystem primarily located in the Connecticut River Valley in the 1800s. Using the Springfield Armory example, we use the related but largely unjoined concepts of ecosystem and networks to show that these organizational forms are effective in driving innovation. Design/methodology/approach The design uses an in-depth analysis of the role of the Springfield Armory to explicate the joining of network and ecosystem theory as an early example of the importance of governmental funding and support for innovation. Findings The development of interchangeable parts in the American arms industry in the 19th century transformed manufacturing worldwide. At the heart of this transformation was the network of arms makers that developed in the Connecticut River Valley as a direct result of US Government investment and support. This network of arms makers evolved into an ecosystem of mutually reinforcing relationships as machine tool manufacturers benefited from an environment of free-flowing intellectual property, information and growing governmental demand for arms. The Armory illustrates the government’s role in initiating and sustaining clusters of innovation that otherwise might not have developed as quickly. Originality/value Much of the research on the role of government in creating innovation ecosystems and organizational networks is based on modern organizations. This use of the Springfield Armory in the early 1800s broadens the knowledge on how innovation ecosystems in conjunction with networked organizations can be created by governments serving the public good.

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