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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