Unit 5 Lesson 2: El abrigo cuesta... Flashcards
Maya had set up a very advanced civilization in parts of what is now México and Central America. Their empire, made up of city-states, had an economy based on agriculture and trade. It makes sense then, that they would have to develop some type of number system to keep track of their commercial transactions. What was there number system like
The Maya people had a number system with three symbols for numbers, which roughly resemble a stone, a stick, and a shell. In addition, there was a symbol for 0, which served as a placeholder, just as 0 does in our system. The Maya is the first world civilization known to have a 0 and the system of placeholders.
Differnces from our number system today to the Mayans
Unlike our system, though, the Maya system was based on 20, instead of 10. The symbols could be combined in different ways to form numbers from 0 to 19. (This is also different from our decimal system, which has numbers from 0 to 9.)
I said that the Maya people could do math operations into the millions. Let’s see if we can do some, too. The Maya number system is a base 20 system. Here’s how it works.
A pebble is worth one, and a stick is worth five. So, five pebbles make up one stick. Pebbles and sticks are put together in different combinations to make any number through 19. A shell is the symbol for 0 and serves as the placeholder. Look at the following examples:
When are El Salvador traditional costumes used
They are usually worn during celebrations or for performing their traditional dances.
What do mens’s costumes look like
Men’s costumes are usually white cotton pants, a white shirt and straw hat, worn with sandals or boots.
raje de poblana
traje de poblana, a long white dress with a broad colorful sash and embroidery on the blouse, is used by town ladies.
Peasant costumes
Peasant costumes are traditionally a skirt and blouse of the same printed cotton fabric, with contrasting ribbons.
Some Salvadoran clothes show a clear indigenous influence. For example, the huipil
a T-shaped blouse woven of cotton or wool
huipil are often very elaborate and were traditionally worn with a wrap-around skirt called a
refajo
how do Huipils differ from town to town
Huipils from different towns have their own identifying designs and embroidery.
Cacaopera
Cacaopera is one of the few indigenous towns in El Salvador. It is rather isolated and maintains many of its unique traditions.
Cacaopera unique tradition danza de los emplumados
One of them, which dates back to pre-Columbian times, is a dance that was performed as a thanksgiving for the harvest. The dance is performed by men wearing colorful and elaborate headdresses decorated with feathers of different colors. This costume gives the dance its name of danza de los emplumados, or dance of the feathered ones.
