Writing without Paper - Alex Garcia

 Artifact 1

Cuneiform tablet: Student Exercise Tablet ca. 20th–16th century B.C.

The cuneiform learning tablet of lenticular form was created with clay and written with a stylus to form wedge-shaped markings. The purpose of the artifact was to learn the art of cuneiform. The teacher would write the form on the obverse, and the student would then repeat the exercise on the reverse. Moreover, such elementary exercises were often completed on tablets that could easily fit in the palm of a hand (Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d.). Similarly, the technology of a learning tablet has evolved to form the function of modern-day school tablets. The tool's resourcefulness serves as a powerful commodity in a learning curriculum.

Artifact 2

 Family pictograph panel at Painted Rock. From left to right is the “child” Hairy Man, “mother” Hairy Man, and “father” Hairy Man.

The Hairy Man stone paintings located at Painted Rock in California were estimated to be between 700 to 2000 years old. It is believed the painting was present prior to village establishment 500 years ago. The artifact communicates a bigfoot family and their involvement with the surrounding environment. Strain (2012) explains the cultural impact of Hairy Man on Native Americans as "a spiritual, physical, and mental protector of the tribe. A sighting is very powerful and is considered a blessing. Hairy Man’s most important cultural role is as caretaker of the recently dead" (p. 5). Additionally, my personal encounters intrigue me the most about understanding a deeper love and fascination for Bigfoot. 

Artifact 3

"United We Stand"

Graffiti is not an art I tend to admire but it does have a powerful feng shui if communicated with a purpose. Art Crimes provided a 9/11 mural to promote devotion and perseverance after the country suffered an act of terror. This work, along with the others in the mural, communicates the love and patriotism for a nation after such horrific events.

References

Art Crimes: September 11 Murals. Art crimes: September 11 murals. (n.d.). 

Art Crimes: September 11 Murals (graffiti.org)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Cuneiform Tablet: Student Exercise Tablet ca. 20th–16th 

century B.C. Metmuseum.org. Cuneiform tablet: student exercise tablet | Babylonian | Old

Babylonian | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Strain, K. M. (2012). Research Article Mayak Datat: The Hairy Man Pictographs. 

How People were made: All the birds and animals of the mountains went to Hocheu (Painted

Rock) to make People (isu.edu)