Comparing Africa and the Americas in the Second Wave - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Comparing Africa and the Americas in the Second Wave

Note: the classical period in Africa actually extends well into the Post-Classic in Eurasia. In the Americas all civilized eras, Pre-classical, Classical, and Post-Classical constitute one long era spanning roughly 200BCE to 1500 CE.Slide2

Similarities and Differences in Civilization in Africa and the Americas

Human cultural development is part of a long and great process of migration outward from AfricaAs you will recall, the Neolithic Revolution (development of agriculture) took place independently around the globe

This resulted in the development of unique civilizations and Africa and the Americas were no exception to thisSlide3

Population of World in 1CE: 250,000,000

80% in EurasiaDifferences between Classic African and American Civilizations

A. lack of domestic animals in the Americas-this inhibited trade, transport, and economic growth to some extent.B. Africa was able to import domesticated species from Eurasia and had some of its own species to tame as wellC. Use of metals, bronze and iron, was less well developed in the Americas (American civilizations used metal but only decoratively)Slide4

D. Symbolic Language (writing): In Africa writing was confined to the north and northeast-where Egypt and the Roman Empire happened to be. Literacy did not extend far into mid or southern Africa. In the Americas, writing was only found in Mesoamerica (particularly among the peoples of Mexico and upper Central America). Of these groups, the Maya seem to have developed the most advanced writing system

MAYA ALPHABETSlide5

Civilization in the Americas in this era were smaller and more limited than in Eurasia. In Africa this was also the case

However, while the Americas had no communication with anyone outside (or so it is believed) Africa was frequently in contact with the larger Eurasian land mass

North Africa was an integral part of the Mediterranean world.Arabia was an important point of contact for Africans with Asia across the Red SeaEast Africa was a necessary part of the vast Indian Ocean trading network.Slide6

Civilizations in Africa

Prior to modern times there was no “African” consciousness due to A. environmental variationsB. the vast size of the continent (11,000,000 square miles)

C. the tropical nature of much of Africa- tropical soils are much less fertile and more fragile than others. The heat and humidity also made Africa much more vulnerable to disease carrying insects and parasitesD. scattered nature of settlement and separationSo, this reduced the areas that could most likely develop civilizationsSlide7

Meroë

This civilization was located in the Nile River Valley south of Egypt. The area also known as Nubia was quite old, perhaps as old as that of Egypt. Despite constant contact between the two, Nubia remained distinctly its own.Ruled by an all powerful monarch of either gender

City of Meroë became the most important in Nubia due to specialization and the development of herding and farming around the city. It was a tribute state and less centrally controlled than Egypt.Slide8

The major source of its economic and military power was the control over long distance trade up and down the Nile as well as across Africa and into Arabia

Contacts with the Mediterranean world, camel caravans traded to the east and westAfter 100CE,

Meroë declined in importance as a kingdom located farther south and in the mountainous regions began to dominateDeforestation of environment By 350CE, it was conquered by that kingdom called Axum.Slide9

Axum was located in present day Ethiopia.

Economic foundation was agricultural and highly productive. Plow based agriculture was more efficient than digging stick used in most of Africa. Much wheat, millet, barley, and teff

(a local grain).By 50CE a large state focused on Axum (which had large monumental buildings) had developed. Trade on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean gave Axum commercial revenue in the form of taxes. Quite wealthy from this.A feature of Axum architecture was huge stone obelisks presumably marking grave of rulers or important persons (see above)Slide10

Around 325CE King

Ezana of Axum adopted Christianity as the state religion. This form of Christianity survives today in the area and is known as Coptic Christianity (also survives in Egypt).Expansion in the 4

th to 6th centuries carried Axum’s influence and territories into Arabia and along the African Indian Ocean coast.For reasons that remain unclear, a decline in the 6th century reduced Axum’s territory and power, although a revival of Axum a few centuries later presaged the rise of the Ethiopian kingdom.Slide11

JENNE-JENOSlide12

West African Civilization: Cities without States

For 1200 years ending around 900CE, major urban areas developed along the Niger River in West Africa.No evidence has been found to indicate any states or kingdoms of dominant power in the region at this time. Archeological remains seem to indicate a fairly peaceful type of rule, little indication of war, and little evidence of social inequality. However, with no written records it is impossible to determine these things exactly.

Inhabitants probably migrated into the river valley during a long dry period from the southern SaharaSlide13

Cities of the Niger Valley

It appears that the cities were actually more like clusters of economic specialization.Jenne-jeno (one of the best documented cities) shows evidence of specialization in iron working, artistic endeavors such as weaving cloth, potters, and a special class of praise-singers or

rememberers known as “griots”. All of these specialists located themselves around a central core. Occupational castes developed over time particularly within the artisan classes. The rural population also appears to have specialized within itself- some fished, some farmed specific crops.Slide14

The cities of the central Niger Valley were particularly well situated to benefit from inclusion in a West African trade network that we know extended across the Sahara and had links with the Mediterranean, Egypt, Axum, and Arabia

By the 1000’sCE, many of the cities had become centers for the formation of states that soon dominated the areaSlide15

Civilization in Mesoamerica

TEOTIHUCANSlide16

Compared to Eurasian civilizations American societies lacked extensive interactions with other major cultures

Developed without large domestic animals and without ironworkingAlthough everyone thinks of the Aztec and Inca as the ONLY American civilizations, a long line of earlier civilizations paved the way for them to flourish

Despite the diversity of American civilizations they did share similarities: all had intensive agricultural technology; all shared economics based on exchange; all had similar theologies/religionsSlide17

PALENQUESlide18

The Maya: Not the Kinder Gentler People

For many years, Maya were portrayed as a kind of counter-Aztec, a peaceful and quiet society and people. We now know this was a fantasy. Maya Ceremonial centers probably date back 3500 years in present day Guatemala and Yucatan.

However, Maya civilization attained its greatest flowering from 250-900 CE.Slide19

Maya Achievement

Developed an advanced mathematical system including the use of zero as a real numberDeveloped a set of elaborate calendars that incorporated the solar year and rituals through the use of a short, medium, and long range calendar

Created the most celebrated and elaborate writing system in the AmericasCreated large monumental architecture such as temples, pyramids, palaces, public plazasSlide20

Maya Economics

Agriculture needed large scale human engineering to drain swamps, terrace hillsides, and manage water resources for crops as well as the urban areasSupported a substantial elite and artisan class

Trade was mostly an affair of the elite, and could be seen as a means to grow and retain wealth.Most Maya were farmers with a substratum of slaves. Peasants were expected to contribute taxes and work to benefit the nobles.Slide21

Maya Government

Political structures: city states and regional kingdoms political system that was never unified. No one city state could ever dominate the areaFrequent wars, prisoners of war often being sacrificed to the gods

Urban and ceremonial centers were often densely populated, but the majority of Maya lived outside of urban areas and farmedTrade with surrounding areas was important to the power of the city states with each competing to gain from each otherSlide22

Maya ruler celebrates victory over foesSlide23

Collapse of Maya Civilization

Around the middle of the 9th century climate pattern change resulted in a long period of drought in the area. Over time, the great cities were abandoned and the population dropped severely.

Much of Maya culture survived but most of the great urban centers did not. What was left of the urban culture created an echo of Maya greatness in Yucatan (Chichen Itza) that slowly faded away.Why? Perhaps rapid population growth pushed the limits of the resource base. (Not enough food could be grown). Political disunity and rivalry may have been a factor. Warfare became more or less constant which could have also caused decline.Slide24

Teotihuacan: The Great Mystery City

While historians and archaeologists can understand some of the story of this city, much of what was Teotihuacan will never be known.Founded c.150CE. By 550CE a major city with a population estimated at 200,000

Central grid plan. Specialized areas of the city held artisans and other specialists.Not much evidence of how city was governed and few inscriptions that can be used to help determine thisSlide25

Teotihuacan: the City of the Gods(

Nahuatl)Teotihuacan had great influence over successor states in Central Mexico

City most likely ruled an area of 10,000 square miles in the northeastern section of the valley of MexicoIts armies spread it influence as far as the Maya lands in Central America-this is shown in frescos and stelae in the Maya areasDiplomatic and trade connections with other areas as wellTeotihuacan’s art and architecture was copied by the Toltec and AztecCity apparently collapsed around 650-700CE. Slide26

South American Pre-Inca Civilizations

The coast of Peru offers a rich marine environment suitable for the development of human cultures. Endless supplies of seafood and birds created the framework for a succession of Andean civilizations beginning at least 3000 years ago(1000BCE).

This area was home to one of the hearth civilizations (Norte Chico) and a wave of later cultures and civilizations.Slide27

Chavin

Culture: C.1000BCE to 200BCELocated in the desert and coastal mountain areas of present day PeruCeremonial centers from 2000BCE have been found in many places

By 900BCE Chavin de Huańar became center of a new religious movement that spread over the regionThe city was located on trade routes but did not become a political empire though its religious system became the basis for most cultures that followedElaborate temple was built in Chavin

de

HuańtarSlide28

Chavin

CultureReligious beliefs appear to have been a mixture of desert and rain forest cultures. Use hallucinogenic cactus in ceremonies and ritualsThe

Chavin culture was widely imitated across Peru and the regionAlthough Chavin itself diminished by 200BCE the influence of its culture on the area for the next 1500 years should not be underestimated.Slide29

Moche

: A Coastal Civilization (100-800CE)Unlike most Andean cultures, the Moche did not inhabit or take over mountainous areas, living instead along the coast of Peru in the desert areas.

Moche civilization was based on a complex system of irrigated agricultureAlso relied on fishing.Examination has revealed the cultivation of a species of cotton that was used for fishing nets as well as a trade goodSlide30

Moche

Government and ReligionCurrent knowledge reveals that Moche was ruled by a caste of warrior-priests who may have lived on top of huge pyramids

Rituals were used by these rulers to mediate between men and the gods including use of hallucinogenic drugs and human sacrifice.Aptly, the burial sites of the rulers appear to have been elaborate and expensiveSome time after 600CE, some type of ecological destabilization appears to have occurred which slowly brought this culture to an endSlide31

Mountain Empires:

Wari and TiwanakuWari

and Tiwanaku were neighboring states in the highland areas just off the coast of Peru from approximately 400-1000CE.Centered on large urban capitals with monumental architecture and populations estimated in the tens of thousands.Areas of control, the eastern and western slopes of the Andes as well as the altiplano between.Empires internally linked by trade routes and by the influence of the capital city as a religious and cultural center and the spread of this culture over a wider region.Slide32

TIWANAKUSlide33

Wari

and TiwanakuWari

cities seemed to have been built to a common plan and linked by highways while Tiwanaku cities are less homogenous. This suggests a tighter form of political control in Wari although there are no written recordsWari used terraced agriculture to grow its crops while Tiwanaku used a system of raised fields. Each of these will allow for crops to grow at higher altitudes and in more arid conditions than would normally be preferred.

Though they bordered each other does not seem to have been warfare between them or even much mingling. Inca are the heirs of these two kingdomsSlide34

TERRACE FARMINGSlide35

Cultures of Africa and America: alternatives to civilization

Bantu Culture In AfricaBantu (language) speaking peoples migrated across a vast swath of Africa beginning around 3000BCE and continuing through the modern era. This migration was unplanned and not “conquest”.

From Nigeria and the Cameroons, Bantu peoples spread eastward and then southward across Africa. By 100CE Bantu speakers/farmers had occupied much of the forest regions of equatorial Africa and perhaps reached the Indian Ocean.Slide36

Bantu Cultures

Over time at least 400 Bantu languages developed distinct from each other.Bantu migration did interact with established peoples. Significant encounters mainly with hunter gatherers whom the Bantu were able to outcompete for resources due to:

A. numbers of people-more food equals more peopleB. disease-Bantu brought disease that the people they met were not immune toC. iron-the use of iron tools and weapons was a great advantageD. the hunter gatherers were at best absorbed or displaced, at worst eliminatedSlide37
Slide38

Bantu Cultures

The Batwa (pygmy) peoples interacted with Bantu but became marginalized and became “specialists” in tropical forest living

Bantu culture adapted to new situations and environments over time as they encountered new peoples/Crops and animals new to the Bantu were adopted as they moved east and southBantu culture and skills were spread throughout eastern and southern Africa (ironworking, languages)Slide39

Society and Religion in Bantu Cultures

Bantu culture split into many distinct societies by 1500CE-including those of Kenya (decision making by age and kinship structures), Zimbabwe and Lake Victoria region: larger more structured kingdoms, East African Coast- developed rival city states

What type of society developed depended on several factors:Geography, opportunity, and necessityMany Bantu communities were less patriarchal than urban communitiesSlide40

Religion

Bantu religion was focused on ancestors and nature spirits rather than on a specific main god.A. sacrifice of cattle to access power of dead ancestorsB. charms were used to access power of spirits using proper rituals

C. widespread belief in witches (of either sex)D. Access to the supernatural could be obtained through diviners (people who can see or hear the spirits)E. Always alert for “new” messages from beyond. Not a missionary religionSlide41

Alternative Culture: North America

North of Mexico, no true “civilizations” were ever founded. However, highly developed sedentary and semi-sedentary cultures were.The Ancestral Pueblo (the forebears of the southwest desert Native Americans): Developed maize (corn) agricultural base around 2000BCE

Settled into agricultural villages around 700CE.Adapted maize to their desert environmentMost lived in “pit houses”, homes dug into the desert and covered. Later developed ceremonial structures known as “kivas”Slide42

KIVAS AND PUEBLOSlide43

Ancestral Pueblan

sTraded locally as well as long distance. Evidence exists (obsidian blades, jade trinkets) of trade with the Toltec and Aztec areas

As larger settlements grew up, started to build with adobe brick, large contiguous houses. These are known as “Pueblos”Chaco Canyon in NW New Mexico is the most spectacularLargest found is “Pueblo Bonito” which has over 600 rooms and stands 5 stories highChaco Canyon is in the center of a large radial network of roads, perhaps it served as a ceremonial center or gathering point.Slide44

CHACO CANYONSlide45

Ancestral Pueblans

Society was composed of an elite and a commonsMany of the elite specialized in certain duties, among the most unusual were the astronomers. Many indications of the use of astronomic information for ritual purposes. Chaco was a center for producing turquoise

As climate worsened in 12th century CE, warfare increased over failing resources. By 1200CE, all the “great houses”(large pueblos) were abandoned.Others later revived the same way of living, but not on as grand a scale. (Hopi, Zuni, Isleta to name some)Slide46

Eastern North America: Mound Builders and the Children of the Sun

In the eastern part of what is now the United States two active cultures developed between 2000BCE and 1500CE. Mound Builder culture developed along the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.

Characterized by large earthen mounds used for burial and other ceremonial rituals.Around 2000BCE first agriculture developed but it wasn’t until 200BCE that the first large scale mound towns developed, most likely because that was when maize was introduced on a widespread basisSlide47

Mound Builders and the Children of the Sun

The most elaborate of these cultures is known as the Hopewell from 200BCE to around 400 CE. Large geometric mounds for burial. Geometric earthworks whose significance is not known.

Many artefacts have been found in the mounds, indicated an extensive trading network between various mound towns as well as MesoamericaEvidence that the mounds were laid out on specific astronomical lines indicating a developed understanding of spatial orientationSlide48

Later Mound Builder Culture

Much later, around 900CE and lasting to 1200CE, a much more extensive mound building society rose in Illinois just across from where St. Louis, Missouri is now located.This center, Cahokia, is the largest mound complex found in North America.

Reasons for the development of this large mound culture:A. introduction of maize allowed for population growth and sedentary living.B. in a good location for trade and resourcesSlide49

Cahokia

Cahokia contained a central mound that was a terraced pyramid with four levels. This may indicate some contact with Mesoamerican civilizations.Consisted of around 10,000 people

Had widespread trade contacts across the continent.Apparently had a stratified social hierarchy and class systemCahokia was abandoned rather abruptly around 1200CE for reasons that are unknown although many archaeologists believe it ran out of resources and there was some change in climate as well.Slide50

HOPEWELL MOUNDS IN OHIOSlide51

CAHOKIA, ILLINOISSlide52

Children of the Sun: the Natchez

In present day southwestern Mississippi and presumably over a more extensive area, the Natchez culture flourished c. 1500CE.These chiefdoms (first encountered by Europeans in the mid 1500”s) were similar to Cahokia.

Earthen pyramids stood in the center of villages. The paramount chiefs (Great Suns) lived a life of luxury and a clear social elite was present.Maize based agriculture staple for populationUpper class had to marry into lower classSignificant development of warrior class and military capacitySlide53

NATCHEZ CULTURE VILLAGESlide54

Balance in World History

Teachers, writers, and students of world history often have to decide what to include in world history in order to balance the story of humanity.

Some possible standards:DurabilityChangePopulationInfluenceHistorian or learners location and audienceThere is no agreement on what is “proper” balance in examining world history.