In chapter 6, Strayer talks about how several important second-wave civilizations developed outside of Eurasia. Many of them continued to influence the cultures of societies of today. The people that developed alternatives to civilizations have made contributions that deserve a place in the account of human history. On each of the different continents, there were agricultural revolutions, complex societies, and uneven distribution of humans and animals. Each continent also had their own variation of metallurgy and literacy. In Africa, Meroë was continuing to live in civilization in Nile Valley. Axum was the emergence of a new civilization that had a very productive economic foundation because they used a plow-based farming system. I thought that it was cool that people from the Sahara would move to the areas around the Niger River so that they can have more access to water. In Mesoamerica, the Mayans had writing and warfare. They had urban centers, mathematics, and astronomy. The Mayans faced a sudden collapse after 840 B.C.E. Teotihuacán was considered "The Americas' greatest city" because it had a large population and a wide influence. I found it really interesting that someone could plan a city and it become very successful. Chavin, a religious movement in the Andes, was a village that became a center for religion. Moche, on the other hand, became very popular for their rich rich fisheries and river-fed irrigation. They had elite warrior-priests and fine craftsmen. Wari and Tiwanaku were empires in the lowlands. They had many distinctions, but very few conflicts. The remains from their collapse was used for the creation of the Incas. In Central and East Africa, bantu was beginning to be spread. The strengths of Bantu were the numbers, disease, and iron. I really liked how Bantu Africa had a less patriarchal gender system because it gave women more freedom. They had localized faiths and rituals that consisted of believing in no creator God.
After reading the Prologue, Intro to Part One, and the beginning of Chapter 1, I really learned a lot about the planet and the life of people. In the Prologue, I really liked how Strayer gives a brief history of the universe and shows what months it would be in on the cosmic calendar. Strayer doing that really helped me understand what parts of the yer everything was formed. I really like how he talks about the evolution of communication and how we as people can pass on what we learn to different countries or generations and further the discovery of technology. In the beginning of Chapter 1, I liked how Strayer goes into detail about the Paleolithic Era because I have never personally heard or read about his era. Even though this was the first era of Homo sapiens, I was always taught that the first people in the world were the Egyptians. I like how Strayer goes into great detail about their journey of migration and talks about the different weapons and cave paintings they made. They m...
Comments
Post a Comment