A prosecutor is a lawyer who argues in a court that the defendant should be found guilty of a crime. The prosecutor represents a client, which is sometimes the state (government). It is the prosecutor's job to do what he can to have criminals punished for their crimes.
Ibiza
Ibiza (in Catalan Eivissa) is an island which is part of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea which all belong to Spain. It is famed for its nightclubs and nightlife.
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917) was a French writer. His most famous novels are "Le Jardin des supplices" (in English: "The Torture Garden") (1899) and "Le Journal d'une femme de chambre" (in English: "Diary of a Chambermaid") (1900). His best known comedy is "Les affaires sont les affaires" (in English: "Business is business") (1903).
Christmas Island (disambiguation)
Christmas Island could mean:
Tumulus
A Tumulus (one tumulus, several "Tumuli") is a certain type of grave. The word comes from Latin. This way of burying people was common in the Stone age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. There are different layouts. Sometimes sarcophaguses were used, at other times, urns were placed in the grave. There are layouts with one or with multiple chambers. Sometimes the location is privileged, and stone circles can be found nearby.
Zapotec
Zapotec could mean:
Zapotec civilisation
The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization. It was mainly in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeologists think their culture goes back at least 2500 years. The Zapotec left traces at the ancient city of Monte Albán. There are buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods. In the graves, finely worked gold jewellery was found. Monte Albán was the first major city in the western hemisphere. It was the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of what is now the state of Oaxaca.
The name "Zapotec" comes from Nahuatl "tzapotēcah" (singular "tzapotēcatl"). This word means "inhabitants of the place of sapote". The Zapotec referred to themselves as "Be'ena'a", which means "The People."
The Zapotec developed a calendar and a special system of writing. This system has a separate glyph for each of the syllables of the language. It is one of several candidates thought to have been the first writings system of Mesoamerica. It is the predecessor of the writing systems developed by the Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec civilizations. Currently there is some debate if Olmec symbols, dated to 650 BC, are actually a form of writing which is older than the earliest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BC.
In the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, there were Zapotec and Mixtec artisans who made jewellery for the Aztec rulers ("tlatoanis"), including Moctezuma II. Relations with central Mexico go back much further. This can be proven by archaeological remains of a Zapotec neighborhood within Teotihuacan and a Teotihuacan style "guest house" in Monte Albán. Other important pre-Columbian Zapotec sites include Lambityeco, Dainzu, Mitla, Yagul, San José Mogote, El Palmillo and Zaachila.
The Zapotec were a sedentary culture. They were a well-advanced in civilization, living in large villages and towns, in houses constructed with stone and mortar. They recorded the principal events in their history by means of hieroglyphics, and in warfare they made use of a cotton armour. The well-known ruins of Mitla have been attributed to them and were claimed to be the tombs of their ancestors.
Like most Mesoamerican religious systems, the Zapotec religion was polytheistic. Two principal deities include Cocijo, the rain god (similar to the Aztec god Tlaloc), and Coquihani, the god of light. It is believed that the Zapotec sometimes used human sacrifice in their rituals.
The Zapotecs tell that their ancestors emerged from the earth, from caves, or that they turned from trees or jaguars into people, while the elite that governed them believed that they descended from supernatural beings that lived among the clouds, and that upon death they would return to such status. In fact, the name by which Zapotecs are known today resulted from this belief. In Central Valley Zapotec "The Cloud People' is "Be'ena' Za'a."
The last battle between the Aztecs and the Zapotecs occurred between 1497 and 1502, under the Aztec ruler Ahuizotl. At the time of Spanish conquest of Mexico, when news arrived that the Aztecs were defeated by the Spaniards, King Cosijoeza ordered his people not to confront the Spaniards so they would avoid the same fate. They were defeated by the Spaniards only after several campaigns between 1522 and 1527. However, uprisings against colonial authorities occurred in 1550, 1560, and 1715.
In 1850 there was another rebellion against the local government of Oaxaca, followed in 1866 by one against the Royal French Army, during the French invasion of Mexico. In recent times, there was an uprising against the local governor Manuel Zárate Aquino in the late 1970s.
Olmec
The Olmec were a people who lived about 3000 years ago in what is today south-central Mexico. The Olmec were the first civilization in the ancient area known as Mesoamerica. Because they were the first civilization, many later Mesoamerican civilizations used and repeated Olmec features and characteristics.
The Olmec people discovered and made use of many natural resources in the area, including rubber and corn. Dozens of mysterious stone heads were discovered in the Olmec territory as well; archaeologists are still not sure what their purposes were.
The Olmecs lived from 1200 BC to about 400 BC. They had two important cities, first San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan and then La Venta. The Olmecs were able to thrive due to the fertile land around the Coatzacoalcos river basin. The reason for the fall of the Olmec empire is unknown. They developed many different cultures.
The Olmecs created a range of artwork such as altars, jade masks and stone carvings.
The Olmec colossal heads are the most recognized symbol of the Olmec civilization. The height and weights of the heads vary, but the largest head is about twice the height of an average human male. They include seventeen heads found in the southern Mexican cities of La Venta, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Tres Zapotes, and Rancho la Cobata. Each head shows a unique facial expression and wears a helmet bearing distinctive decorations. No two are alike. The origins and meaning of the heads are mysterious, and they are the subject of much speculation among scholars and archaeologists.
Scholars have tried to explain how the Olmecs might have made and moved such big objects. The heads were sculpted out of a hard, dense rock called basalt. Archaeologists think the Olmecs found most of the basalt in the Tuxtlas Mountain range. According to this theory, the basalt heads were sculpted roughly in the mountains and then either floated or dragged by thousands of people from the construction site to the Olmec cities.
Perhaps the most notable features of the sculptures – and a clue as to their meaning – are the helmets worn by all the Olmec heads. These helmets, and the rubber balls found near the sculptures, may be evidence that the Mesoamerican ball game originated with the Olmec civilization. The Mesoamerican ball game was a team sport with profound religious and cultural significance for the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America. The Olmec heads were once thought to have represented Mesoamerican ball players who were sacrificed after losing a match. The current theory, however, is that the heads honor Olmec rulers.
Mixe-Zoque languages
The Mixe-Zoque languages is a group of languages and dialects. They are currently all spoken in Mexico. There are about 350.000 people speaking one of the languages. Depending on who is asked, there are between 12 and 16 languages, with several dialects. Some languages that have become extinct are not counted in these.
Step pyramid