AnnieRooMorgan: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Classical Era Variations, chapter 7 in Ways of the World, elaborates on the continents Africa and America. It goes into great detail of civilizations that brought together what we now know as Africa and America. To start off, Africa’s and America’s civilizations occurred between 500 B.C.E.-1200 C.E. Africa’s population was 11% of the world and America had 5%. These were the smallest continents during the time, because most of the population was in Europe and Asia.

            Africa is described as a massive land mass. It is the most tropical continent because it is located right in the middle of the equator. Arica had many civilizations, cultures, and societies due to the different geographies of the continent. Because of its close location to Europe they were able to trade with them. They also imitated Rome’s belief in Christianity; although, they put there own ideas into the religion such as St. Augustine during 354-430 C.E. Africa had many distinct civilizations that included Moroe near the Nile River Valley, Axum that took over the Moroe civilization, and Bantu located in Nigeria. Moroe civilization is south of Egypt in the Nile River Valley. They existed from 300 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. They often traded and fought with Egypt, which lead to competition with each other. They were governed by monarchs and had religious leaders that they buried. They were also known for sacrificial victims. They were a rainfall-based agriculture unlike the Axum civilization that was a plow-based farming system. For both of the civilization they were dependent on iron that provided trade for the both of them from Europe. One reason Axum is important is because they had their own language called Geez. Because the two were both reliant on the product of iron, by the Moroe burning too much wood for the use to melt iron and by Axum having deforestation in their region caused the two cultures to collapse. Bantu, in Nigeria, took over the gatherer-hunter people’s way of life. They brought in many cultures, trade, and population. They brought ideas to the civilization such as witchcraft that later introduced the idea of sacrificial rituals. They were known as the original “civilizers” of the earth.

            Now to go on to America, known as Mesoamerica. America had little interaction with any other continents because of its desolate location. America had two major civilizations: the Andes and Mesoamerica. They were from Mexico to the northern Central America. Because of their many microclimates they had plenty of competition between the two in their chiefdoms, cities, and diversity. The two civilizations grew maize, beans, chili, peppers, and squash. Within these two major civilizations were small civilizations: the Maya, Teotihuacan, Andes, Moche, and the Chavin. The Maya were located in Guatemala in 2000 B.C.E. They were at a high intellectual achievement because they had their own math system, writing system, and their idea of stargazing. Teotihuacan located in the Valley of Mexico, was a planned society in 150 B.C.E. Much of their civilization is unknown but one thing they are known for is their enormous palaces, temples, plazas and pyramids. They were the “city of gods.” The Andes civilizations were a mix of the Incas and Norte Chico societies. Located in the mountains, Andes had many rivers running through it that provided irrigation and cultivation for them. Chavin located in Peru had a small-scale irrigation, but luckily they had the opportunity to trade with the Amazon and the coast. Last but not least the Moche civilization replaced the Chavin’s civilization after they fell. One thing they are known for is there fertilizer, which they called “guano”. Another important aspect of them was their skillful craftsman. 

Chapter 6: Social Hierarchies

Eurasian Social Hierarchies is the title for chapter six in Ways of the World. The chapter describes how China, India, and Rome established hierarchies within their civilizations. To begin, I will describe how China developed their hierarchy. They first created an examination for the civilians to take so that they would be able to find a job. If one did not take the examination, they would be considered low class. Within this examination, hierarchies were already created. By providing jobs for the one’s who passed the exam, meant that they have the opportunity to be wealthy and own their own slave. The majority of China was not able to take the exam causing the lower class to be the majority of the society. Another hierarchy is represented in this civilization. It is the duty of the landlords. Landlords were able to sell land and profit of off it. They were the elite of China, known as “ scholar-gentry.” China was not the only civilization that created hierarchies, but it is one that I found most interesting.

AnnieRooMorgan: Comments!

Comments:

Ben’s Blog: In this article it made me think about my life and how busy I believe it is, but when comparing it to Ancient times it must seem like a joke to them. My worries are consisted of homework, work, and whether it is going to rain for me to cover up my bike. In no regards are we two alike, but I guess that is what makes history so interesting, seeing how the world transforms from one aspect to another. I know my statement does not have much to do with this blog but in a way it does. My world is radically changing from simple to stressful just like the change in Ancient ere to classical era.

Hannah’s Blog: I enjoyed how Hannah put a twist toward the end of her discussions. She suggest that Americans take for granted the Freedom of Speech we have in the country while comparing it to the power of the empires. I thought that was a neat comparison.

Renelle’s Blog: I thought it was neat how she went into detail on Confucianism because when I read Chapter 5 I wrote my blog on China's adopted beliefs too, so when I read Renelle's thoughts, it made me rethink my ideas that I wrote on. She taught me to compare and contrast with other works.

Dominic’s Blog: While reading his thoughts about Chapter 3 on the First Civilizations, it reminded me of how progressive humans are as a whole. We are always moving forward, whether it is physically or mentally. Also, he provided a summary of the Olmec’s civilization and how they went about themselves, He reminded me of how they made gigantic stone heads to represents their art. He brought up many significant points in his summary, which I thought taught me a lot about first civilizations.

Jordan’s Blog: In Jordan’s ideas about chapter 6 based on Eurasian Social Hierarchies, she brings up the topic of being China viewing hierarchies based upon your family. The book suggests that you would be placed in society based upon were you were born. I thought this method was a bit silly because it limits one’s life automatically. I am so grateful for being born in America were I can make myself be myself without being placed in the world based upon my family.

Comments!

Comments:

Ben’s Blog: In this article it made me think about my life and how busy I believe it is, but when comparing it to Ancient times it must seem like a joke to them. My worries are consisted of homework, work, and whether it is going to rain for me to cover up my bike. In no regards are we two alike, but I guess that is what makes history so interesting, seeing how the world transforms from one aspect to another. I know my statement does not have much to do with this blog but in a way it does. My world is radically changing from simple to stressful just like the change in Ancient ere to classical era.

Hannah’s Blog: I enjoyed how Hannah put a twist toward the end of her discussions. She suggest that Americans take for granted the Freedom of Speech we have in the country while comparing it to the power of the empires. I thought that was a neat comparison.

Renelle’s Blog: I thought it was neat how she went into detail on Confucianism because when I read Chapter 5 I wrote my blog on China's adopted beliefs too, so when I read Renelle's thoughts, it made me rethink my ideas that I wrote on. She taught me to compare and contrast with other works.

Dominic’s Blog: While reading his thoughts about Chapter 3 on the First Civilizations, it reminded me of how progressive humans are as a whole. We are always moving forward, whether it is physically or mentally. Also, he provided a summary of the Olmec’s civilization and how they went about themselves, He reminded me of how they made gigantic stone heads to represents their art. He brought up many significant points in his summary, which I thought taught me a lot about first civilizations.

Jordan’s Blog: In Jordan’s ideas about chapter 6 based on Eurasian Social Hierarchies, she brings up the topic of being China viewing hierarchies based upon your family. The book suggests that you would be placed in society based upon were you were born. I thought this method was a bit silly because it limits one’s life automatically. I am so grateful for being born in America were I can make myself be myself without being placed in the world based upon my family.

Comment 1

I enjoyed how in Hannah's blog, The Way I See It: The Beginning of Cultural Traditions, she put a twist toward the end of her discussions. She suggest that Americans take for granted the Freedom of Speech we have in the country while comparing it to the power of the empires. I thought that was a neat comparison.

AnnieRooMorgan: Chapter 5-Tradition

Ever wondered where we got out ideas from to form tour worldwide traditions? Or who or what thought of them? What about where they originated? Well in Chapter 5 in, Ways of the World, I learned a small seed of the history of our historical traditions. In 500 B.C.E.- 500 C.E., China, India, Middle East, and Greece were the major countries that practiced certain traditions that we still follow today. There is a vast difference from China and Greek. China wanted to understand reality and the philosophy; whereas, India, Persia, and the Jews focused more on the meaning of religion. Our traditions all began in a time called, “Age of Warring state,” when civilizations fell apart, and people desperately started searching for answers in the years 403-221 B.C.E. The two countries I will be discussing will be China and India because they are religions I have always been interested in how they were created.

            The first step to become organized was the development of Legalism. It is a set of rules and laws carried out in rewards and punishments. Confucius, a man/ culture in Korea and Japan formed throughout this system. He believed that the superior such as the government authorities had dominance over the inferior. If the people followed this example they created harmony, which they believed was the answer in the chaos that was present. It was a way of creating a “good” society. Daoism focused more on the natural and individualistic perspectives in the society. “Dao” means the way of nature. They believed in withdrawal from political and social engagement in order to be aligned in a self-sufficient community. Since they did not indulge themselves with improvement, they were very small communities and lacked education causing them to have no hope of improvement. In my opinion if I had to pick one these ways of living, I would follow Confucius because they were more efficient in responsibilities.

            In India, they practiced Hinduism that directed their attention on spirituality, religion, and sacrifices. They believed they came from nothing, that there was no proof of their coming together to create existence. Their belief caused them to believe in reincarnation or samsara, which they thought was the law of karma. Another practice that India followed was Buddhism. The historical founder of this religion was Siddhartha Gautama. He came from a family that he left to go t the wilderness to have solitary and live out in meditation. While he was out in the wilderness he attempted to achieve enlightenment, this was the focus on their lives. They believed in one taking care of one’s own life-responsible for yourself. The language they spoke,” Pali” was accessible for everyone because it consisted of characters and images rather than script. Men had the dominance over women; however, Buddhists respected them more than other faiths so most women joined in their cult. Eventually the women became nuns to the men who were monks. The growing population of the nuns and monks became so large that they formed a new religion in themselves called, Theravada. Also, another believe was created called, Mahayana, which meant “Great Vehicle.” They called it Mahayana because it was easier for people to join because it traveled often.

Chapter 5-Tradition

Ever wondered where we got out ideas from to form tour worldwide traditions? Or who or what thought of them? What about where they originated? Well in Chapter 5 in, Ways of the World, I learned a small seed of the history of our historical traditions. In 500 B.C.E.- 500 C.E., China, India, Middle East, and Greece were the major countries that practiced certain traditions that we still follow today. There is a vast difference from China and Greek. China wanted to understand reality and the philosophy; whereas, India, Persia, and the Jews focused more on the meaning of religion. Our traditions all began in a time called, “Age of Warring state,” when civilizations fell apart, and people desperately started searching for answers in the years 403-221 B.C.E. The two countries I will be discussing will be China and India because they are religions I have always been interested in how they were created.

            The first step to become organized was the development of Legalism. It is a set of rules and laws carried out in rewards and punishments. Confucius, a man/ culture in Korea and Japan formed throughout this system. He believed that the superior such as the government authorities had dominance over the inferior. If the people followed this example they created harmony, which they believed was the answer in the chaos that was present. It was a way of creating a “good” society. Daoism focused more on the natural and individualistic perspectives in the society. “Dao” means the way of nature. They believed in withdrawal from political and social engagement in order to be aligned in a self-sufficient community. Since they did not indulge themselves with improvement, they were very small communities and lacked education causing them to have no hope of improvement. In my opinion if I had to pick one these ways of living, I would follow Confucius because they were more efficient in responsibilities.

            In India, they practiced Hinduism that directed their attention on spirituality, religion, and sacrifices. They believed they came from nothing, that there was no proof of their coming together to create existence. Their belief caused them to believe in reincarnation or samsara, which they thought was the law of karma. Another practice that India followed was Buddhism. The historical founder of this religion was Siddhartha Gautama. He came from a family that he left to go t the wilderness to have solitary and live out in meditation. While he was out in the wilderness he attempted to achieve enlightenment, this was the focus on their lives. They believed in one taking care of one’s own life-responsible for yourself. The language they spoke,” Pali” was accessible for everyone because it consisted of characters and images rather than script. Men had the dominance over women; however, Buddhists respected them more than other faiths so most women joined in their cult. Eventually the women became nuns to the men who were monks. The growing population of the nuns and monks became so large that they formed a new religion in themselves called, Theravada. Also, another believe was created called, Mahayana, which meant “Great Vehicle.” They called it Mahayana because it was easier for people to join because it traveled often.

Chapter 4

In years 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., the first Eurasian empires were formed by the first civilizations. Before I begin to elaborate on chapter four called, Eurasian Empires, I would like to inform you on the meaning of B.C.E. and C.E. (B.C.E. stands for: Before Common Era, and C.E. stands for: Common Era). Now that we are all clear on meanings, I would like to begin on what an empire is really based on. Empires are states or political systems that force power within their land or people. The earliest empires were created by the Middle East, known as, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian.

Two of the most well known empires are the Persian Empires and the Greeks. The Persian Empire is an Indo-European, civilization right off of the Persian Gulf near Mesopotamia. They originated in 500 B.C.E. and consisted of an imperial system, which means the people could only speak to authorities through a trial. Cyrus and Darius were the rulers in this early empire, Cyrus, however, won the peoples appreciation due to the fact that he let the Babylonians back to their land. The empire had a structure that used imperial spies to force the authorities power on the people. They called it satraps. This helped the kinship keep everything in order over their lands. The Persian Empire created a coinage system, which included taxing the people, so that money will be able to keep the city going. Also, a canal running 1,700 miles down the Nile connecting to the Red Sea that provided communication and trade along the people. It served as a form of postal service for them, since it sent informal messages to different regions. The empire had palaces, halls, monuments, carvings that Darius, the emperor, built. The Persians established a firm empire that mostly consisted of having one ruler. The Greeks, on the other hand, were composed of several small city-states that established themselves in 750 B.C.E. The Greeks often called themselves Hellenes. Located on the southeastern part of Europe, near the Mediterranean and Black sea, caused the political shape of the empire to be based around their geographic landscape. The geography that the empire was on had numerous valleys and steep mountains that created small cities to scatter across the land; therefore, expanding their region power, yet still having one language shared throughout the empire. I almost seemed as if they had a democratic government because the people were all equal. The book states that the people governed each other. Another character that resembled a democratic government is that they had a tyrant, one who dictated for the people. They were transforming from an aristocratic family to a democratic system.

Being the most developed empires, the two began tension between each other when Ionia ruled by the Greeks was taken over by the Persians. Shortly after their power over the city, the Greeks defeated their rule and reclaimed it back as theirs. This occurrence enhanced the Greeks pride by thinking they are the most powerful empire to rule. With such power that the empire’s owned, created many controversies over land and people, just like how it is now in the world.