Chapter 12: 15th Century

The illustration of the worlds of the fifteenth century begins with Strayer demonstrating the turnabout perspective of Christopher Columbus. According to Strayer, the voyage of Columbus was the most important event of the fifteenth century but not the only valuable event to have happened. For example, Russia overturned two centuries of Mongol Rule by starting a huge empire project that spread across Northern Asia. The fifteenth century was composed of several bands of gathered, villages, small states with several social and political forms which were newly created. The fifteenth century served as a bridge to unite the middle ages with that of the Early Renaissance. In Africa, Islam was widely spread and led the destruction of certain Christian kingdoms once implemented in Africa. In the Americas several empires like those of the Incas and Aztecs were at their highest point and in Asia, the Ming Dynasty was incredibly prominent as well. 

Mongols Debate

The Mongols are not given the same recognition as other civilizations. As noted in a previous blog post, people of color have historically been illustrated as beastly beings and I find it as no surprise that historians must have found the  Mongols along with people of the Americas and Africa as animalistic and unworthy of recognition. What I find so frustrating is that the Mongols are an example of a culture composed of people of color with a culture and history is so distinctive and valuable and it’s unfortunate it has not always been viewed as such.The Mongols, like the Conquistadores were ruthless and vicious to get what they wanted but unlike the European Conquistadors, the Mongols remain with a horrible, barbaric reputation when both achieved comparable atrocities. The Mongols deserve respect not for the horrendous actions they achieved but for the fact that they too were a well functioning civilization. The Mongols unlike the Conquistadors did not force any religion onto any vast group they encountered.Although the Mongols maintained a nomadic civilization, it was a civilization nonetheless as it preserved the values of any other civilizations. A civilization is defined as a place and OR society that reaches an advanced stage of societal development and organization and the Mongols should be deemed as such.  

Chapter 6: Commonalities and Variations

I found Strayers depiction and explanation of the Americas and Africa seemingly frustrating. Strayer implied that historians must have denied historical acknowledgment of the Americas and Africa but honestly, Eurocentric opinions denied such history to be acknowledged seeing as white men were determining what did and didn't matter. People of color have historically been illustrated as beastly beings and I find it as no surprise that historians must have found the people of the Americas and Africa as animalistic and unworthy of recognition. The reading emphasized the writing and warfare of the Maya that traces back to the beginnings of the Mayan people. During the first millennium, a good number of urban areas with concentrated populations and monumental architecture emerged within the region. For example, in the northern region of Guatemala, El Miriador housed thousands and thousands of people. It wasn't until later that the Mayan civilizations most well known cultural achievements came to light. Intellectuals, mostly composed of educated priests, developed a mathematical system and the Mayan culture is widely known for the creation of an extremely elaborate writing system. What I find so frustrating is that the Mayans are an example of a culture composed of people of color with a culture and history is so distinctive and valuable and it’s unfortunate it has not always been viewed as such. 

Chapter 5

China served as the first official bureaucracy. A bureaucracy by definition is a system of government in which some of the most important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives. The reading pointed out that education served as a privilege and not a guaranteed right. Education was a privilege of the elite and upper class. Within another part of Asia, India did not have an empire like that of China, instead India had a systematic caste system and slavery served as comparably small aspects of both civilizations. In Africa for example, slave trade was a common practice. With three distant slave routes, Africa traded with other civilizations. Forced labour was never an issue in places like India and China  because they had several laborers  in comparison to Africa. Within the reading, the famously praised Athenians and Spartans was criticized as deficient due to its clear limitations and prominent power given to the wealthy men. China, Japan and India did not view death the same way that the Athenians and Spartans did, they viewed it as honorable.  

Chapter 4

Confucianism and Daoism were very integral in ancient Chinese civilization. Woman were subordinate to men to to the then trendy Confucianism and after marriage women were forced to part with their families and everything she owned became more his than theirs. Foot binding was unfortunately incredibly popular and it caused their foot to look smaller and daintier. Foot binding was considered attractive but also made woman more of an object. Food binding made them immobile and was a indirect but simultaneously very direct way of  men managing the uterus of their wives. In the long run, this beauty process completely deformed and disabled woman who participated. Several places also practiced several Chinese traditions due to the inevitable invasion of China. Vietnam and Korea for example, women suddenly had restrained rights under Chinese rule and were barred of equal rights. In contrast, Japan was more than happy to introduce Chinese culture due to their then troublesome political system. Unlike Vietnam and Korea, Japan was given a say what aspects of Chinese culture they wanted to incorporate. China produced silk, gunpowder, paper and printing which was spread with the help of the Silk Road, reaching far beyond the country. Another important aspect of Chinese culture was that of Buddhism. Buddhism played a key role in the development of Chinese culture. Buddhism served as a religion originating from eastern and central Asia, taught by Guatama Buddha, who believed suffering was inevitable and a part of life and that eternal liberation of suffering wasn't a possibility. 

Chapter 3: Funeral Oration

One of the early known primary sources is Pericles famous speech, Funeral Oration. He have this speech pretty soon after the Peloponnesian War broke out in efforts to pay homage to fallen troops from battle. Recorded by Thucydides, Funeral Oration permits a broader understanding Athenian democracy. In the speech, Pericles chronicled the exceptional and distinctive qualities of Athens and this is especially true when he point out that Athenians have the ability to put aside trivial desires and make an effort towards the greater good of the city for the people. He makes it a point to indicate that Athenians yield to public officials because they want to and because as citizens, they are the “masters” of the government and have the members of the government as their public servants. Pericles maintained a very idealized perspective of Athens which disregarded the egotism and selfishness behind his thinking that the Athenians were the ideal Greek society. 

Olmec & Indus Comparison

Olmec:

The Olmecs were occupants of Mesoamerica where they had massive temples and established complex societies before any Spanish influence and were the first culture to spread and influence all of Mesoamerica. The Olmecs are one of the earliest civilizations and much of their culture has been lost over time. The Olmec are considered by historians to be the "mother" culture of Mesoamerica. The Olmec were religious and contact with the Gods was an important part of their daily life. After the decline of the major city at La Venta, around 400 B.C., the Olmec civilization was pretty much gone. 

Indus: 

Along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, the Indus valley civilization was one of earliest of the Old World. The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and bundles of large non-residential buildings. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban centers in the region. The quality of civil town planning implies the knowledge of civic planning, efficient municipal governments which implies a high priority on public health and access to the means of religious ritual.

Comparison:

The first human civilizations developed around rivers and were highly dependent on their surrounding environment. In Mesopotamia, where the Indus were located, water was a controlled resource due to the peoples dependency and irrigation played a crucial role as well. Similarly, in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs had a similarly fruitful environment which created a centralized society. Both the Olmecs and the Indus River societies were also unified due to their strong indistinguishable association with their cultures. Both were societies were people were united not by their government but culture itself. The Indus society like the Olmec’s didn’t have a strong central government but both had a single language, one established and established religion which produces two counties that embrace heir own respective culture. 

Chapter 2 Reflection

Chapter two introduces the Sumarians who had the earliest written language. Within the Indus Valley, very little is recorded in respect to their civilization. In Central Asia, there was not much of a literary culture needed in order for their civilization to function. All of these civilizations were founded near a source of water. All of these societies at one point or another, gave up their egalitarian lifestyle that at one point, was of important value. As technology developed, it produced economies that in turn contracted human greed leading to an unbalanced society. This new found greed created divisions in social class and gender. In regards to gender, the once valued sense of egalitarianism quickly faded away. Within these city-states, slavery, inequalities and warfare became widespread, leading to a new inequitable society. 

Chapter 1 Reflection

In chapter one we explored primary sources concerning a paleolithic woman in the twentieth century. Due to all history not being able to be recorded before writing, some anthropologists have studied the culture and societies of the small number of hunter gathers left. Although this method of recalling the past is not adopted by everyone, there is some usefulness to this move towards understanding the past due to writing not being available at the time. 

Nissa’s account of her life was very informative in regards to comprehending the way of life of Paleolithic people. Her reference to “stingy people”demonstrated her contact with a wider world. Nissa’s attitude towards sex and marriage seems to indicate her acceptance of tradition, especially when referencing her community coming together in efforts to construct her wedding hut. Her attitude towards sex were quite surprising in comparison to contemporary attitudes towards sex and relationships. Nissa claims that as a woman, “you dont just sit still and do nothing-you have lovers” in reference to having several affairs because “when you have lovers, one brings you something and another brings you something else” (page 49) providing a perspective that illustrates the use of her sexuality to survive and have a good life. Contemporary attitudes are similar to those of the Paleolithic era because we are slowly progressing towards a more liberal attitude when it comes to female sexuality. The one thing I would have to disagree on is that women now can be the bread winers and can rely on just themselves to survive if need be. 

Nissa’s understanding of God is very much determined with negative events in her life. 

In Nissa’s point of view “this God…his ways are foul” (page 49)  referencing the divine in a negative light due to her encounters with loss. She understands the purpose of the curing rituals as necessary and relevant to her womanhood. Nisa’s judgement of San life is critical and realistic in understand the life of those living in the Paleolithic era. For example, when she describes the loss of family and how “they are equal in the amount of pain you feel when you lose them”(page 49), she is really relating to a basic human feeling of sadness and loss which makes what she has to say a lot more relatable, realistic and not romanticized.  

First People, First Reflection

From what we know of early human history, 95% of human advancement came to be due to the Paleolithic era. Along with world wide human integration, homo sapiens had several agricultural breakthroughs during the Neolithic and Agriculture Revolution. With out the discovery of agriculture, I doubt human life and sustainability would have survived for as long as it has. Agriculture was the infrastructure behind rapidly increasing populations due to the access of food which lead to settled societies, cities, civilizations which then led to writing, reading, works of art. What I found most intriguing was the culture behind agriculture. The domestication of plants and animals was only the beginning of human dominance which I found really fascinating because it put into perspective that something as small as domesticating plants was the same technique used at the beginning of human domination over larger groups of people. In other words, agriculture was the back bone of human life and civilization.

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