Commonalities and Variations

I am going to approach my blog a little differently this time and put the main points of each section that I found interesting.

The first section, "Continental Comparisons"

• Human cultures evolved in quite similar fashion around the world. 
• Almost everywhere hunting, gathering, and fishing remained the sole basis for sustaining life and society. 
• The absence of most animals capable of domestication meant that few pastoral societies developed in the Americas. 
• Eurasia, Africa, and America had the momentous turn of the Agricultural revolution. 

The next section, "Civilizations of Africa"

• Africa was the most tropical of the worlds three supercontinents. 
• Climate conditions spawned numerous diseases.

"Meroe"

• A Nubian civilization almost as old as Egypt. 
• Queens appeared in sculptures as women with prominence and power equivalent to their male counterparts. 
• Meroe had a reputation for great riches.
• Declined because of deforestation caused by the need for wood to make charcoal for smelting iron. 

"Axum"

• Economic foundation was highly productive agriculture that used a plow-based farming system which generated large amounts of wheat and other foods. 
• Taxes on a certain trade provided major source of revenue for the Axumite state. 
• Both Axum and Meroe were in direct contact with the world of mediterranean civilizations.

"Along the Niger River"

• Due to a prolonged dry period, growing numbers of people from the southern Sahara into the fertile floodplain of the middle niger. brought things like domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats. 
• Was a "city without citadels"
• This wasn't like a city state and not part of a large imperial system. 

The next section, "Civilizations of Mesoamerica"

• Americas- different rugged mountain terrain. 
• All major achievements occurred without many large domesticated animals or ironworking technologies. 
• Was a distinct region due to its many common cultures. 

"The Maya"

• Attracted the most attention. 
• Intellectuals developed a mathematical system that included the concept of zero and place notation and was capable of complex calculations. 
• Writing recorded historical events, masses of astronomical data, and religious texts. 
• The Maya drained swamps, terraced hillsides, flattened ridge tops, and constructed a water-management system.

"Teotihuacan"

• By far the largest urban complex in the Americas. 
• A lot is unknown such as their governing and their real name, and language. 
• Valley of Mexico
• Along South boulevard were the grand homes of the elite, and off the main avenues lay thousands of residential homes and apartments. 
• Didn't have a tradition of written public inscriptions as the Maya did. 

The next section, "Civilizations of the Andes"'

• Andes- a towering mountain chain with many highland valleys. 
• Sought access to many resources through colonization, conquest, or trade. 

"Chavin"

• Has strategic location on trade routes to both the coastal region to the west and the Amazon rain forest to the east. 
• Prominent artwork with influences from both the desert coastal region and rain forests. 

"Moche"

• Economy was rooted in a complex irrigation system requiring constant maintenance.
• There Shaman-rulers conducted ancient rituals that meditated between the world of humankind and that of the gods. They often were under the influence of hallucinogen drugs. 
• They were subject to drought, earthquakes, and occasional torrential rains. 

"Wari and Tiwanaku"

• Provided a measure of political integration and cultural commonality for the entire Andean region. 
• Both were centered in large urban capitals.
• Both governments collected surplus food in warehouses as an insurance against times of drought and famine. 
• Both empires established colonies at lower elevations on the eastern and western slopes and through highlands.

"Bantu Africa"

• The second-wave era involved the accelerating movement of Bantu-speaing peoples, cultures, and technologies into the enormous subcontinent. 
• Went through immense economic and cultural changes.
• Bantu-speaking farmers had many advantages. 

"North America"

• North America- an arid land cut by mountain ranges and large basins. 
• In a desert region, farming was risky and maize had to be gradually adapted to the local environment. 
• In the eastern woodlands, people independently generated a modest Agricultural revolution. 

"Pacific Oceania"

• Created enduring human communities without the large cities, states, and empires so prominent in civilizations. 
• They hunted, gathered, and fished.
• Human activity contributed to species disappearing. 
• They have spoken hundreds of different languages but almost all of them are members of the Austronesian family of languages.