Part Six

1914-2008

This era is full of many accomplishments, but to me what sticks out the most is the how men have such evil intentions, and how they manipulate others to harm one another. I am talking about people like Hitler and Mussolini. Still today we see people who are capable of taking over peoples minds and corrupt them to do outstanding things. To have their mind so full of venom it's inexplicable in my mind. I cannot imagine the terror and fear that people went through during those times when those two men were in power. But not only were there evil men out to get the world, there were also good men who wanted peace and fought for the rights of those who couldn't. We also witnessed Nelson Mandela and Mohandas Gandhi. They too, were the opposite of evil, where they made history and change the many lives of those people in their countries, and around the world.

Ch. 17

Year 1750-1914 the world witnessed the North American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the Spanish American Revolution, the Abolition of Slavery, we saw Nations and the meaning of Nationalism, and the Feminist beginning. This was at time where people fought a lot and, from this era many reached independence from mother countries like Britain. Colonies became united and soon after they became self-governing and a full country. Slavery soon begun to appear immoral and changed the course of the world. And religion made it's way out of politics. And the feminist movement in those times was a loud and clear message that women were alive and that they had a voice- therefore they had a say so.

Ch.14,15, 16 Racism/mixing of people

As I read this three chapters what resigned with me the most was how from the very beginning of when Columbus set out for China, the world completely changed its tune. For many this meant New World and glory, but for others it meant destruction and the end of their Worlds. I cannot say that I don't have mixed feelings but I do. On one hand I can say that without the evasion of the Europeans there would be no mixing of people like me. I am also sad and angry to see what all these people went through on behalf of their conquerors, and I am glad that I was not born during this time. what caught my attention was that the idea of racism is really old and the discrimination that people suffered during this time was very drastic, but of course the same discrimination appears in our society as well. 

Greed and manipulation went hand and hand with both religion and those with wealth; certainly this is also true today, money can buy things such as in politics. But what doesn't make sense is how history from long time ago tells stories on how those people use to live, but yet we find that those same scenarios are happening in our Modern World today.  For instance the idea of the U.S. being involved in many of the world's problems and solutions- such as War in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and so on; this is what the traditional European approach did when they took over the world trade and commerce, and the discoveries of the Americas. Thus destroying the culture, the people and mixing new generations of people, but discriminating against them. So common today, the mixing of different cultures but yet we have seen that the U.S. has put the Japanese, Korean, and other racial groups in Intirnament camps to so call protect themselves from spies and so on. The amount of racism that was practiced before is being practiced today, the acceptance and tolerance for immigrants is the same, and the suffering of children who are mixed can be viewed in the same context as the children of Indians mixed with Spaniards, or the mixing of African Slaves and those Europeans. 

the way people were treated was unjust and un-human, animals get better treatment. this is true today still. I am just ill and sad for all that history has shown us and yet we still commit the same mistakes as our ancestors. But if we continue to act in those kinds of ways, through history we have seen that all empires and great political heads man one day will have a dooms day, and will bring down and break down what oppress those whom appear to be weak and unworthy.

classical era: 8,9,10

Leticia- Class discussion: which chapter is better than the other?

During the debates between the three groups in class, each chapter demonstrates that they are all important and you can not value one less than the other, because they all have the same value. You can't discuss one without discussing and reading the other.

My understanding of chapter 8, was that thanks to the humans from prior civilizations the exchange and trade over goods has been long established, economic globalization has been happening for many centuries. the importance of the commerce and culture during 500-1500 has shaped the way we do global exchange and commerce amongst each other in the world. the Silk Roads, Sea Roads, Sand Roads, and the networks that these humans built during their classical era gave rise to the many options to trade, move and encounter with different peoples and things. it facilitated trade, but it also helped to put a burden on exploitation of resources, slave trade and roads for enemies to fight each other. but it also gave direct connection to the various civilizations to interact with each other thus creating culture.

Ch.9: China and the World: 500-1300
China had so many things to offer the world, and they still do. Everything that we use almost all the time can be accounted to be from China. This was also the case in the Classical Era, China was so self-sufficient, that trade wasn't a priority, because they were able to take care of their population. they had so many things and had brilliant innovative technologies that enable them to prosper. they were able to produce salt, gunpowder, paper and movable printing,  without a doubt  impressed other civilizations. they the silk roads, sea roads to do commerce and trade goods.

Ch.10: the Worlds of the European: Christendom
Europe eventually became the global center of Christianity. Christianity became the faith of the majority and still to this day it remains as the highest of the religions. They also used the sea, silk, and sand roads routes to trade as well with China, West Africa, and Eastern and Western Hemisphere.Even when the Roman empire collapse, Christendom still was maintain by they many people it came into contact with.
Lords, bishops and religious orders organized  new villages in areas where their were forests and wastelands. 11th-13th century gave woman new opportunities due to the growth in the economy.
Overall they were trying to expand and conquer, which they did.

Ch.11, 12, &13

Leticia Arreola-Garcia

Islam

Malcolm X found and converted to Islam and believed that this religious faith could bring both whites and blacks together and overcome racial barriers to become one brotherhood. Islam emerged from the margins of the Mediterranean and Middle Easter Civilizations, in the remote cities and the Arabian Peninsula deserts. Although at the beginning it believed in various gods, after Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (570-632 C.E.), who is know to be the last prophet of Allah (God), the belief in many gods changed to a monotheistic faith. Full submission to Allah. Islam made its mark on various locations such as: India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain. Through wars and conquest of these civilizations the spread of Islam claimed profitable trading routes and agricultural regions. Islam also had conflicts within itself , with the division of the Sunni Muslims and the Shia branch of Islam. On one side the Shia invested their leaders in religious authority, and the Sunni advocated for established order, this conflict still till this century cannot be fixed, and continues to cause conflict.

Pastoral peoples: Mongols Moment

The Pastoral Nomads Societies shared many features and they also distinguished them from each other. They were nomads disdained farming while centering their economic live around their herd of animals. They domesticated plants and animals and combined farming and animal husbandry, which gave them a economic foundation and power over civilization and population. They emerged in the Afro-Eurasia, and their ability to domesticated animals was unique and impressive in their society. The organized in kinship-based groups or clans- through male line. Woman had fewer restrictions for they played a great big role in the public life as well as agriculture. Most characteristic feature that pastoral societies had was that they were very mobile. They followed seasonal changes in vegetation and source of water supply.

Chinggis Khan, was a charismatic leader who lead the Mongols to many wars and victories, which meant that they had more places to move and use up resources. Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam religions were practiced among the Mongol people, but they changed their religions to profit from political purposes. They also brought horseback ridding, horse harnesses, saddles, swords, and other complex innovations. The Mongol were able to take over many places such as: in China, Persia, Russian. They were very vicious when battling, thus killing and taking over anyone who got in their way. They also facilitated long-distance commerce, but they prompted diplomatic relationships in Eurasia. The Mongol encountered with the a Plague which was called he Black Death killing 50% to 90% of the population, this could have been the first recorded biological warfare. Although Mongol are know for being so barbarian, they also contributed to many innovations and inventions. But because they didn’t have a written language, much is hard to explain about them.

The worlds of the 15^th century

Although China sent out 300 ships and about 27,000 people they never felt that they had the need to explore other places, because they thought that China had all the resources that could self sustain them. But when Columbus set out in 3 ships, he changed the world. He brought the people of two different worlds and two hemispheres together. Bringing slave trade, decimation of natives in the Americas, massive population of people, Industrial Revolution and the growing prominence for Europeans. In the 15^th century not everything was agricultural, there were still some societies that practiced gathering hunting, and foraging still. Such as: those who lived in the northwest coast of North America, northwest Australia. There were also herding societies.

Also by the 15^th century China was one of the best-governed and prominent civilization. China did not explore to conquer out or look for trade because they thought that  it was a time and resources, for they were able to be self-sufficient and others would want to come and trade with them. Western European escaped the Mongols because the Mongols didn’t think that their land was of use, and the devastating plague gave the opportunity to re-grow the population. Europe learned to tax efficiently, create effective administrative structures and raise standing armies, which gave the rise to the Renaissance era. 1942 consequently when Columbus set our to arrive in the East he made history by finding the Americas.

The Aztecs and the Inca’s were two civilizations that flourished in Mesoamerica and in the Andes. Both came from absorbed older cultures, but decimated in the 16^th century by the Spanish conquers. Aztecs were semi nomadic group from Mexico who were loosely structured they had constant warfare amongst each other and practice human sacrifice. They developed canals, dikes, causeways and bridges, and had build temple pyramids. The Incas, expanded from the west coast of the South America to the Andes Mountains. They incorporated from the Chavin, Moche, Nazca, and Chimu civilizations. Both the Aztec and Inca rose from rags-to-richest stories.

The European Scientific Revolution and the Industrial  Revolution shaped the world, no one knew that by Columbus exploring America and finding all of the things he did, the world would’ve been a different place.

Questions: Ch 7

1. What were the advantages that the Bantu had over the other farmer that were there before them?
Hint: has three advantages.

2. What did the Mesoamerica civilizations have in common when they did rituals/ceremonies?

3. What did the Mayan invented?

4. What are kivas?

5.Who was Saint Augustine?

Ch. 7: Classical Era & What does it mean to be civilized?

Leticia Arreola-Garcia

Chapter 7

What does it mean to be civilized?

Everyone has their own opinion on what this actually means, and depending to were you are coming from then the acceptance of the meaning can be altered and changed. In accordance to my understanding and my own opinion I want to add that each era, or each civilization has their own way of thinking what this meaning means to them during their time. Don’t mind me, but to be civilized means to have understanding of culture, to establish values, promotes life, thus making ethical and moral decisions, also acting and composing oneself in a certain manner, following certain norms, educating oneself, being diverse, contributing to society- many ways to do that, establishing rules, developing and using technology, and being human.

As I read about the different civilizations during the Classical Era in chapter 7, I wanted to asked the question of what it meant to be civilized during their time. Like I briefly mentioned above, being civilized has changed for different civilizations. Civilizations that have past and died out give us an introduction to new ones because they had issues that brought them to an end. We learn from the old, and build from that and incorporate it into the now, to see how we can maintain the future in our civilization.

Africa and the Americas 500 B.C.E.- 1200 C.C.

African Northwest

This is referred as a geographical concept not an identity. The climate in Africa caused decapitation of certain foods, thus making insects and other parasites to bring disease causing health issues in this country.

The Meroe, lay in the Nubian civilization, from 300 B.C.E.-100 C.E.; and fought and traded with Egypt for numerous years. they were ruled by an all-power and sacred monarch, they also buried their rulers with human sacrificed victims. These people specialized in weaving, pottery, masons, they had servants, laborers, and slaves. The had farming and herding as well.

They paid taxes, and used the Nile and canals for trading, thus bringing economic growth. They declined due to deforestation that was caused by the need of wood to make charcoal that was used when burning iron. Although they were introduced to Christianity, they then started changing some of their regions to Islam, because of Arab immigration in the 1300.

Axum: the making of a Christina Kingdom

They rose after the decline of the Meroe, which was located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. They were an agricultural civilization that used a plow based farming system generating wheat, barley, millet and teff. They commerce in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, they used Geez as written form which derived from South Arabia. They were introduce to Christianity in the fourth century C.E. Their declined was due to the environmental  changes: the exhaustion of soil from farming, erosion and deforestation; and the rise of Islam trigger for others not to trade with them.

Niger Valley- Cities without Stares

Located in the Middle Niger, the urbanization of Niger Valley was from 300 B.C.E.- 900 C.E. They did not  have cities with states unlike the other two civilizations mentioned above. Unlike the other civilizations, the Niger Valley has no social inequalities and their economic groups shared authority.

South of the Equator: the world of Bantu Africa

Southeastern Nigeria and the Camoroons, they have close to 400 distinct languages. The Bantu had a few advantages over foragers that lived there before they did. In Kenya they didn’t have a formal political system, but they resolved conflict, took decisions, and order by kinship structures or lineages. Their religion, focused on the power from the dead ancestors and continual revelations. This meant they all also had rituals, prescribed remedies.

Civilizations of Mesoamerica

Inca from Mexico to northern Central America they had extremely diverse communities. They also had Microclimate conditions that distinguished their civilizations, which competed with each other for chiefdoms, and states. Many of these civilizations shared agricultural  technologies, beliefs in the cosmic order, human sacrifice and elaborate art. They also developed a 260-day calendar, and had hieroglyphic writings.

Maya: writing and warfare

They were traced back to 2000 B.C.E. in Guatemala and Yucatan Mexico, but their era is from 250 B.C.E.-900 C.E. Developed a mathematical system that includes zero and place notation, which was capable of difficult calculations. They were able to predict solar eclipse, and has an elaborate calendar that could calculated the length of a solar year. They used pictograph and phonetic or syllabic elements as their writing. They also constructed elaborate water systems that supported their agriculture. The Mayan had class status: nobles, priest, merchants, architects, sculptors. They had a high-fragmented p[political system, and had frequent warfare; captured prisoner were used as slaves, laborers, and as human sacrifices during rituals. They were passed into history by 909 C.E.; because the number of population outstripped their resources, which caused deforestation and erosion.

Teotihuacan-“City if the Gods”

Aztecs- Located in the southern region or Mesoamerica- North in the Valley of Mexico begun in 150 B.C.E.-600C.E. Had drainage systems and had colorful murals just like the Mayan from Guatemala and Yucatan Mexico. They also used humans a sacrifice victims, and experienced periodic droughts, earthquakes, and torrential rains.

Civilizations of the Andes

They had bleak deserts that had rivers flowing through the mountains allow irrigation and cultivation. They had marine environment: fish and seabirds were part of their diet. They carved staircases terrace system allowed them to move back and forward. The Incas was the first civilization in central Peru. Norte Chico from 1000 B.C.E.-1000 C.E.; and didn’t have writing therefore makes it hard for historian to know more details about them.

The Chavin: Pan-Andean Religion Movement

Collected human heads trophies; they also had a strong religion sense. Paid great deal to deities such as the jaguar, crocodile’s ad snakes; they lived in highlands in the village of Chavin de Huantar; they had trade routes to the west and east of the rainforest. They had a n elite class, and their Shamans or priests used San Pedro cactus to penetrate the supernatural. They were a religions cult,  they used llamas for transportation and trade.

Moche: A regional Andean civilization

Was another cult, they dominated 250 miles of Peru’s northern coast, they incorporated 13 river valleys. They flourished between 100-800 C.E. they also used complex irrigation system, and were governed by warrior-priests. Shaman-rulers used halluciogn drugs to mediate between humans and the supernatural; and also used human sacrifice victims in rituals.

North America in the Classical Era: from Chaco to Cahokia

 Chaco- were semi-sedimentary and were an agricultural societies but had less people in their groups unlike the other civilizations. They build pueblos, or pit houses. They were in the southwestern region of North America, lived in an arid  land and were cut by the mountains. They acquired maize from Mesoamerica and cultivated other crops. They were also gather-hunter foragers even thought they had established agriculture civilization. They also used Kivas- for ceremonial purposes, and had local trading. They build above ground structures know as Pueblos and they had 5 major pueblos by 860-1130 C.E. they had elite astronomers who build  observatory; they also hard warfare, internal conflict and speculation of cannibalism.

Mound Builders of the Easten Woodlands

Southwest, Easter woodland of North America- Mississippi River were an agricultural. They domesticated plants and gathered and hunted to supplement during harsh times.

Howell- Ohio

They had geometric burials aligned with the moon and lunar eclipse. Cahokia emerged same as the Chaco Canyon and moved building culture to stratified society with an elite and with rulers that moved laborers to build such structures, and they also used human sacrifice when burying the dead.

Natchez Peep were located southwestern Mississippi, they use deerskin covered homes, and used Knee-length fur coasts, they has elite status amongs theri people. The generated a modest agricultural revolution which allowed them to exchange/trade.

Despite the various regions that the Classical Era took place in, it was an extraordinary time where many cultures became fruitful and at the same time diminished. Farming, agriculture, herding, gathering and hunting , foraging, specialties defined each and every civilization. What impresses me the most was how they all developed without knowing each other and still manage to use the same kind of tools, class status, imagination and creation for building  things such as houses, water systems, also how they use religion, human sacrifice, art and written language to inform of what was going on in their time. The Classical Era was mystical and an intrigued time to exist. 

ancient civilization: ch#1,2,3

 How did humankind came about? I am very intrigued by the history of how humans developed and arrived at and where we are now? But more intrigued I am about the creation of the earth itself and how we then came about which is more important when talking about history. The creation of humans that evolved from the chimpanzee  and other primates that happened 5-6 million years ago emerging from Africa; cultivates my mind. I am not shocked but all this information fascinates me because sciences are the tools that allows us (homo sapiens) the ability to go back into time and try to make sense of what it once use to be.

At the beginning in the Paleolithic era we were gatherer's-hunterere's, and later as we developed so did our brains which made us more smart and allowed us to be domesticate and farm land. Nature takes its course by in earth by all means; for example the frozen glaciers- Ice Age allowed the many different homininds to travel and migrate out of Africa and onto various places such as Eurasia, Australia, Wester Hemisphere, and the Pacific Islands. Not were they looking for new food to survive on, but they also gave human kind to make history.

The development of civilizations and cultures came about the different regions and places that these early humans migrated to; this meant adapting to the various places that they lived in. Different plants, meats, and environments meant learning how to survive in those places. Gather-hunters later became agricultural civilization; thus making them a more civilized group. This meant they they were learning how to grown their own food instead of having to move around for it, and it also meant domesticating other animals which brought meat. 

The author gives great examples on how the early humans begun to create their culture, thus giving them ways of living, and surviving in their environment. The Neolithic or Agriculture Era, dates back to 12,000 years ago, this was the turn of new chapter for human kind. This Era to me, gave direction to the way of life- I will also assume that this is the reason why the dependence of tamed animal and farming are a huge priority in the survival of the life we have today; without it we would die of hunger.

Over time, these early humans developed ways to growing and manipulating the creation of certain foods, thus giving a surplus of it to feed more. To me this would make sense that this was a reason why the amount of humans increased, only because they had the opportunity to feed more but because they also needed more people to work the lands.

Not only now humans new how to farm, and cultivate the land, but they also had invented tools that helped them with all of these labors; which makes sense why they stayed in places instead of migrating to new lands. They begun trading goods and I honestly believe that this gave rise to class. 

By nature all animals have an instinct that allows us to compete and fight amongst each other; as we developed, I believe that we also had ideas on how should be on top and who should be on the bottom. The competition over who has control has marked the human kind since the beginning of time, we have always struggled with power and who will seize control. No wonder we have seen why there are wars and why there was evidence of such ordeal when Anthropologist and other scientist make these discoveries.

I really liked the way the author put together these first three chapters, they make sense and I finally feel confident enough  to understand why things flow in the timeline the way that they do. I have a greater understanding of how the various people are from different colors (races), and why everyone is so unique in there own shape or form.

without a doubt i enjoyed reading. 

testing