Vocabulary Story for ENG 1010

Henry was a timid man.  Some might say that Henry was a bit of a narcissist.  He was rarely seen with anyone else and he seemed quite content in his self-inflicted, ostracization.

Henry reveled in the litany of precocious planning of his ostentatious picnics, which he took at least once a week.  This week, however, would prove to be fastidious. 

With a glib pride, Henry prepared for this week’s junket.   Henry gathered the items from his list and tossed them into his picnic basket. 

Henry walked, picnic basket in hand, to the city park where he ritualistically had his picnics.  He found his favorite hill and laid his picnic blanket among the gregarious wildflowers.  Henry removed the items from his picnic basket, laid back, sighed deeply and thought, “what a perfect day for a picnic”.  Paradoxically, as soon as the words left his mouth the skies opened up at it started pouring.  Panicked, Henry gathered his picnic and proceeded home.  With a sense of malaise Henry commented to himself, “Well, that was a fiasco”. 

The next day, Henry pretended to be oblivious to the previous day’s events and started planning his picnic once again.  Though the grass was still damp, Henry laid out his blanket in the wildflowers, removed his items, laid back, sighed deeply and thought, “what a perfect day for a picnic”.  As soon as he said the words, a woman was standing at the end of his blanket and asked if she could join him.  “I was just leaving”, replied Henry.  He gathered his things and left the woman standing there. 

The next day, Henry was determined to have the perfect picnic.  He gathered his things, went to the park, laid out his blanket, laid back, sighed deeply and thought, “what a perfect day for a picnic”.  However, when he removed his items from his basket, he realized that he had left his bread at home.  Still determined to have the perfect picnic, Henry glanced around the park to see if there was a place to find bread.  He spotted a woman a few feet away having a picnic of her own. 

Against his timidity, Henry gathered his strength, took a deep breath and walked over to the woman.  When he neared, he realized it was the same woman from yesterday.  He thought about turning back, but realized that his perfect picnic wouldn’t happen.  He asked the woman for two slices of bread.  She replied, “Oh, you!  You may have two slices of bread on the condition that I may join you at your picnic.” 

Henry returned to his picnic blanket with mercenary bread in hand and the woman following closely behind.  Together, they chatted a little, but mostly just sat and enjoyed the sunny day and the perfect picnic.

Research Synopsis: Aztec Cannibalism

The mysteries of Mesoamerican culture are still veiled in little more than speculation.  The rituals, practices, norms, and beliefs of the ancient Aztec world are still being discovered and theorized.  One thing on which scholars agree is that Aztecs practiced cannibalism.  There is still speculation as to how widespread this practice was in pre-Columbian America.

Though there are still remaining, isolated, groups who practice necro-cannibalism (eating of the dead), it is globally accepted as a taboo practice.  Homicidal cannibalism (killing of a human for food) is believed to be extinct.

The origins of the practice of cannibalism in the Aztecs, is again, shrouded in mystery.  There have been several theories of how and why Aztecs would eat the flesh of a fellow human.  In the religious practices of the Aztecs, human sacrifice was commonplace.  Human sacrifice was seen as a necessity to the continuity of life.  The Aztec people regularly took part in autosacrifice, child-sacrifice, warrior sacrifice, self-mutilation, and bloodletting.  Human sacrifices were generally self-volunteers as it was perceived an honor to sacrifice one’s self for the benefit of the community.

Religion in the Aztecs was built on a hierarchy much like the Catholic Church of today.  There was a leader (such as the Pope) and several bishops, priests and so-on.  The Aztecs had no separation of church and state, religion was very much a part of their everyday life.  From agriculture to war, the Aztecs held a god responsible for nearly every aspect of life.

The Aztecs were meticulous in their record-keeping and calendars.  Today, we are left with a clear record of Aztec rituals and practices.  While cannibalism is widely accepted as a common practice among Aztecs, there is little record as to why, how, or who was eaten.