The Research Papers

Animal Trade

The two largest illegal trade rings in the world are weapons and drugs, but many people do not know that animal trade is the third largest illegal trade in the world. People also don’t realize that the greater majority of the animals being traded are to be used as pets, and not as fur. In Guatemala there is a high amount of animal trade due to the jungle and the large amounts of exotic animals that live there. Animals that are often traded include: spider monkeys, howler monkeys, iguanas, parrots, toucans, wild hogs, lizards, jaguars, and ocelots (for their fur).

Having just gotten back from Guatemala myself I would say that if somebody was aiming to catch a monkey it would be relatively easy. When I was at Tikal I would simply look up at the trees and see monkeys easily. I also stayed at a wildlife rescue center called ARCAS. ARCAS is an animal rehabilitation center, so they don’t just take care of the animals, they also teach them how to be wild again. Teaching animals to be wild includes dehumanizing them and so ARCAS staff and volunteers do have to be a little mean. They teach the animals their basic survival skills, like how to get food and water, how to interact with other animals of their species, and how to move through the jungle.

All of the animals at ARCAS come from the illegal pet trade. One monkey at the center somebody had as a pet, and that person is now going to go to jail. I also heard from one of the volunteers that a hotel in Guatemala has a toucan just sitting out in the lobby as an attraction, and that someone else in the hotel had a howler monkey chained for the same purpose. I also witnessed some monkeys in captivity. While in a bus traveling from one city to another, I saw a front yard that was covered in vegetation much like the jungle, and there were chained up monkeys in the front yard that everyone could see. The pet trade needs to be stopped because it is cruel to the animals.
My experience at ARCAS was amazing. It felt really good to help out, feed and care for the animals. You really knew that you were making a difference, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The atmosphere was amazing; the facility was built directly into the jungle. I would definitely recommend for someone to go volunteer at ARCAS.

Mason Petrancosta

High Tech High International

The Mayans

The Maya are possibly the most graphically stereotyped ancient civilization ever. Vivid images of tribal wars and blood sacrifice are usually the first things that come to mind when we think about the Mayans.

But the Maya were highly sophisticated. The impossibly high temples and pyramids stand as testament to their mastery of architecture. The Mayans even quarried limestone, and laid down large tiles until they could build their entire civilization on flat, even ground. And such feats are even more impressive knowing that they accomplished this without the aid of the wheel or other simple machinery. The Maya had no telescopes or equipment for cosmic observation, and yet their knowledge of the stars is clearly demonstrated by what they left behind. The Maya had two calendars, a daily calendar for keeping time, and a religious calendar for holidays and rituals. Amazingly, their daily calendar consisted of 365 days, just like ours, even compensating for discrepancies such as leap years! Almost everything about the Maya reflected their fascination with the stars. Their entire religion revolved around these mysterious glowing entities, and they built great pyramids upon which to observe them.

Just as their buildings were enormous, the Mayan empire was colossal. The influence of the Maya spreads from present-day Guatemala, to Belize, Western Honduras, El Salvador, and southern Mexico! But they were not a single and connected empire. The empire of the Maya was separated and split up like Greek city-states. This mostly had to do with the geology of Central America. The Peten/Yucatan peninsula is a single immense mass of limestone jutting into the Gulf of Mexico. Such even terrain allowed for Tikal, the greatest of the Mayan cities, to be built. However, in the highlands of Mayan territory, the land is broken and constantly changing with mountains, ravines, rivers, and jungles. Likewise, the cities of the Maya were also broken up into smaller settlements. Decades of alienation from other Maya led to the separate development of these ancient city-states. Even though the cities were similar religiously and artistically, the Maya language evolved differently from one city to the next. Their languages became so disentwined in fact, that a Mayan from the lowlands would never be able to communicate with a Mayan from the highlands or vice-versa.

Thus, the Mayan cities became their own societies, so separate from each other that hostilities often arose between them. For example, the Mayans of Tikal invaded and conquered a neighboring city, Uaxactun, in order to capture slaves and resources. Many wars and skirmishes occurred between cities; however these conflicts between cities were not what led to the downfall of the Maya.

At about 900-1000 A.D. the Spanish arrived in Central America looking for land, money, and power. Drawn like moths to a lamp, the Spanish salivated over the massive amounts of gold and jade the Mayans possessed. Armed with gunpowder, the vast numbers of the Mayans began to wane due to the new technology of the Spaniards. But smoke and fire was not what caused such a massive empire to fall.

In actuality, the Spaniards did not cause the untimely demise of the Mayans. Many of the great Mayan cities were abandoned before the Spaniards came, and many more fell in the years to come. This mystery has plagued modern archeologists for centuries. Some believe that the Mayans fell victim to a long series of droughts and famines caused by solar cycles, and yet, the Mayans were excellent astronomers. Some would argue that they should have foreseen this and prepared beforehand. Some think that the Mayans burned too much of their rainforest for agriculture, causing detrimental effects on the atmosphere such as dry spells, or unfertile soil. Many suspect that the vast number of slaves rioted and overthrew the government sending the entire civilization into disarray. Countless theories surround the mysterious downfall of the Maya, but the question is not why did the Mayans disappear, but why did they abandon their great cities.

A day in Central America will yield encounters with many indigenous Mayans still living in the land of their ancestors. So although their great stone monuments lie in disrepair, their blood and their culture live to this day. Even the Mayan religions and traditions continue to be practiced. But the Maya hold an importance in Central America that transcends that of the region’s cultural heritage. Most Central American countries are third or second-world nations meaning that their governments are poor. Since these countries lack a stable economy, they export and sell a valuable commodity that they have, unfortunately, in limited supply: wood. The rainforests of Central America are but a fraction of their original size and splendor. Miles upon miles of rainforest have been cut down to fuel the economy. But were it not for the Mayans, the rainforest might already be gone. Each year, millions of tourists are drawn to the Mayan ruins. Eco-tourism is one factor that is saving the rainforests of Central America. These tourists pay to take tours, stay in lodges, eat food, and buy souvenirs, bringing a potentially inexhaustible source of income to Central America and combating the need to destroy one of the most bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet.

For me, visiting the Mayan ruins was the most incredible and awe-inspiring section of the trip. I could literally feel the presence of past lives there, as if I was staring through a window into the past. Unexplainable auras hung suspended in the air, as if the ancients had made these monuments of stone to tell me a story, and were whispering secrets in my ear. I sat on a single stone for an hour, trying to put my sense of awe onto paper, and though many inspirational words flowed from my pen, nothing can really explain that sort of connection with the past: Knowing that someone was here before you… Sensing the lifetimes that have come and gone right beneath your feet… It was absolutely amazing…

Adam Burnier

High Tech High International