Maya Abu al-Hayyat (born 1980) is a Palestinian poet who thematizes motherhood, love, war/revolution, grief, and political hypocrisy in her poetry. In the context of Palestinian literature, she fits within a tradition of Resistance Literature, yet redefines it. Given that al-Hayyat has not been widely translated into English, this thesis presents 33 translations of her poems taken from her three poetry collections: Mā qālathu fīhī (Thus Spake the Beloved, 2007), Tilka al-ibtisāma-- dhālika al-qalb (This Smile, That Heart, 2012), and Fasātīn baytīyya wa ḥurūb (House Dresses and Wars, 2016). Throughout these three collections the poet shifts her use of vocalization and her poetic techniques. As argued throughout, translating al-Hayyat into English is important because it marks a shift from resistance as a uniform, collective experience to an individual and multifaceted one. Additionally, in this thesis I argue that the speakers in al-Hayyat's poetry are anxious agents. I interpret the speakers’ anxiety as manifested in the body and caused in part by living under occupation. The speakers are agents because they criticize patriotic motherhood and gender-based inequality. Finally, I explain how the translation concepts of renarration and the deformation zone inform each other because they force the translator confront their position in society and to the text. These terms are significant because they address the anxiety of translators potentially enacting orientalist violence and catering to American poetry values when translating Arabic women's poetry into English.

Goal of this diploma thesis is to get knowledge about history and evolution of computer graphic in area of realistic image synthesis, get knowledge about rendering system mental ray and about writing shader for it and write several shader. Create manual about writing  shaders for mental ray. Get knowledge about program Maya and create a tutorial hot to get the shader into it.

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This thesis is a supporting paper for three of my 3D animations created and presented for a Master of Fine Arts graduate exhibition. It discusses how the two realms of graphic design and 3D animation helped me to develop my heuristic techniques of creating animations. Using the three animations as examples, I make an attempt to explain how linear and figurative images influence each other in the creative process of creature/character development. I also discuss the various influences and cumulative explorations behind the imageries of animation. A brief discussion about Asian Indian aesthetic concepts and the general methodology of creating 3D animation using Alias|Wavefront Maya is also included.

The objective of this study was to use soil chemical properties, particularly carbon isotopes to describe the agricultural landscape in the Blue Creek region on the Rio Bravo Escarpment in northwestern Belize. The primary question associated with this study focused on the comparative agricultural potential of the soils between the upland karst environment and the lowland coastal plains using the distribution and frequency of ancient Maya maize production. Soil physical features, such as clay concentrations throughout profiles in conjunction with soil chemical properties were used to aid in determining the level of ancient maize production. Isotopic evidence suggests that anciently, lowland soils were used for maize production more so than upland soils. In addition, profiles at Crocodile Lake indicate the potential for transport of soil δ13C signatures as a result of mass movement events.

Manos and metates are ubiquitous at archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. Unfortunately, grinding stones are understudied, and thus, not much is understood about them. Understanding that archaeology is based on the use of analogy to infer past life-ways, little work has been done to create analogies specifically for manos and metates. The purpose of this thesis is to study modern grinding stones used by Mayans living in Guatemala to better understand manos and metates used by ancient peoples. I worked for two field seasons in Guatemala recording the life histories of manos and metates used by the Q'eqchi' and K'iche', two contemporary Mayan groups. I conducted surveys with 97 people which highlighted the history of their grinding stones, associated cultural beliefs, their physical descriptions, and metate use-location. I also interviewed several men who manufacture manos and metates at two of the few existing metate quarries in Guatemala. After analyzing the information gathered, I determined many new ways to interpret manos and metates found within the archaeological record. Some of the implications of my study are the identification of wear patterns and the behaviors that cause these patterns. I also show that manos and metates can be multi-generational and are often passed from one generation to the next. Taboos that determine how people handle and use grinding stones as well as other cultural beliefs are discussed in my thesis. I also compare the use-location of manos and metates among the modern Maya to help interpret the locations of these tools among the Maya of the pre-Columbian site Cerén, El Salvador. Other contributions of this study include a correlation between the size and function of manos and metates and many ethnographic implications such as the manifestation of gender roles through grinding stones and the gradual loss of cultural traditions due to economic development. Finally, this study has preserved information on the production and use of manos and metates. These traditional utilitarian tools will soon be abandoned by the Mayans of Guatemala and further study may not be possible.

The objective of this study was to use pedological evidence in conjunction with Geographic Information Systems, and soil physical and chemical analyses as means to better understand the agricultural landscape surrounding the ancient Maya city of Uci. Specifically, the query of this thesis is to determine whether there is an association between settlement density and soil resources, and what relationship if any there is between the ancient sacbe of Uci and its surrounding agricultural potential. Stable carbon isotope analysis of the humin fraction of the soil organic matter was conducted on several profiles from karst depressions known as rejolladas near the site center, and from a select number of sufficiently deep profiles along and surrounding the ancient sacbe, and from beneath ancient structures. A strong C isotopic signature of ancient C4 crops was found in a limited number of profiles while a majority of the profiles showed no evidence, or little to inconclusive evidence due to a mixture of C3 and C4 plants in the natural landscape. A majority of the soils surrounding Uci are shallow to extremely shallow and many profiles sampled and studied did not allow for C isotopic analysis. Isotopic evidence along with other soil chemical and physical characteristics suggests that settlement density was linked to soil resources, specifically in the case of the rejolladas proximity to the Uci site center. However, it does not appear that the construction and location of the sacbe was linked to its surrounding soil resources or agricultural potential even though ancient maize crops may have been cultivated sporadically close to the sacbe and nearby structures. The soil resources of Uci are not conducive to the production of large maize crops and the ancient Maya of this area likely utilized maize along with alternative crops, arboriculture, wild game and trade to sustain its population.

The large public plazas of the ancient Maya were likely swept clear of debris and durable artifacts that could have provided evidence of the ancient anthropogenic activities. However, geochemical residues of food or mineral ores and pigments became affixed to soil and floor particles. These particles chemically bound so that natural movement of water is insufficient to cause them to move, leaving invisible geochemical signatures of ancient activities. This line of study is focused on the relationship between the geospatial distribution of element concentrations and ancient human activities using current laboratory techniques and isopleths, or chemical concentration contour maps, to identify activity areas. Surface samples were collected from ancient plazas at the sites of Kiuic and Sayil in the Puuc Hills of Yucatan and at the site of Caracol Belize. Mehlich II and DTPA extraction procedures were used to determine the elemental concentrations of P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn. Total elemental levels of additional elements were determined by portable X-ray fluorescence. The objective was to discover geochemical evidence of economic exchange activities at these important site centers. The Kuche Plaza at Kiuic produced evidence of ancient food storage, consumption, or trade activities but such evidence was lacking from the largest open space at the site. The Mirador group at Sayil failed to produce compelling evidence of any market activities. In the Conchita plaza at Caracol there are significant chemical signatures of human activities including evidence of ancient food storage, consumption, or trade activities and evidence of workshop activities potentially including the use production or trade of pigments. Our results from the Conchita plaza suggest ancient marketplace activity, and a geospatial division for the use of the Conchita plaza at Caracol.

The ancient Maya afterlife is a rich and voluminous topic. Unfortunately, much of the material currently utilized for interpretations about the ancient Maya comes from publications written after contact by the Spanish or from artifacts with no context, likely looted items. Both sources of information can be problematic and can skew interpretations. Cosmological tales documented after the Spanish invasion show evidence of the religious conversion that was underway. Noncontextual artifacts are often altered in order to make them more marketable. An example of an iconographic theme that is incorporated into the surviving media of the ancient Maya, but that is not mentioned in ethnographically-recorded myths or represented in the iconography from most noncontextual objects, are the "travelers": a group of gods, humans, and animals who occupy a unique niche in the ancient Maya cosmology. This group of figures is depicted journeying from one level or realm of the universe to another by using objects argued to bridge more than one plane of existence at a time. They travel by holding onto or riding objects familiar to the ancient Maya that held other-world or afterlife symbolic significance and that are connected to events related to birth, death, and leadership. This group of figures (the "travelers"), represented across time and space and on wide ranging media, provides insight and broadens what is currently understood about the ancient Maya view of life and death by indicating a persistent belief in the ability to move from one realm to another in the afterlife.