Group Summary: Chapters 4, 5, 6, & 7

Group Summary: Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7
Group members: Gretchen Berg, Abdul, Laura Duato and Lisa Hennefarth

Overview: On Sunday, May 30th, the four of us met at NDNU in the writing center. The security personnel was very accommodating and unlocked the space so we could meet. We met from 4:00 - 9:00 to discuss and “teach” our group members about the material that we read about as well as have some great dialogue about the chapters. We decided as a group that one of us (me) would post a detailed summary of the material that we covered. Below is the recap of that material from each chapter that we covered during our meeting on Sunday.

Chapter Four: Eurasian Empires

Consisted of 4 main empires: Persian, Greek, China, and Rome
Empires are aggressive states that conquer, role, and extract resources from the other states and peoples. Empires generally encompass a considerable variety of peoples and cultures within a single political system.
Persian – Largest and most impressive state stretching from Egypt to India. Made up of different cultures and languages, which had 35 million people. Ruled by a king who kept people happy by allowing local religious cults in order to gain support of followers. For over 1000 years, the Persian Empire was a model for future civilizations.

Greece – Classical Greece emerged around 750 B.C.E. as a new civilization. Made up of hundreds of small city-states, not ruled by a king and had a population of 2 to 3 million people. These city-states were very independent however they came together every four years for the Olympic games.

There were many wars in this region. The Persian-Greco War took place and resulted in Greeks defeating Persia, which allowed Greeks to keep their land. There was an internal civil war called the Peloponnesian War, which weakened the internal political structure within Greece. This would then lead to the takeover by Macedonia. Macedonia then politically unified the fractious Greeks with force. The king of Macedonia, Phillip II took over Greece, and Phillip’s son, Alexander defeated the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great then became the first emperor of the region spreading from Egypt to Mesopotamia to India.

Rome: Rome began as a small city-state and became an enormous imperial state that encompassed a very large region – Europe, North Africa and Middle East. Rome became a republic that was ruled by a group of people with a Senate. People’s rights were heard and there was an established written code of law with a political system made up of values.

China: One great empire that collapsed into seven smaller kingdoms. Chinese people revolted and a King took to re-unifying China. It was an opportunity to restructure and learn from the past.

All of the empires collapsed because they got too big, too overextended and too expensive to be sustained by the available resources.

Chapter Five: Eurasian Cultural Traditions

This chapter gives an overview of each religion. Religion was important to civilizations in order to give spiritual guidance to people. Civilizations were seeking spiritual guidance after the chaos of war, and were looking to restore order to their empires.

Key points of each religion:
Confucianism: Founded in China by Confucius. Ideas: Social harmony through moral example; secular outlook; importance of education; family as model of the state.
Daoism: Founded in China. Idea of withdrawal from the world into contemplation, simple living, and aligns with nature.
Buddhism: Founded in India. Suffering is caused by desire/attachment; end of suffering through modest and moral living and meditation practice.
Hinduism: Founded in India. Upanishads were the texts of the religion. Brahma is the single divine. Teachings are of karma, rebirth, and goal of liberation
Zoroastrianism: Located in Persia. Belief of a single high God; cosmic conflict of good and evil.
Judaism: Writings are from the prophets and found in Eastern Mediterranean/Palestine and Israel. One god is called Yehwah.
Christianity: Foundations were not based on forming a religion but were based on reforming traditions of which they were originally based.

Greece went away from a classical religious model and instead gave way to the “critical” thinking model. Philosophers were founded in Greece as they questioned the ways of life and the foundations of thinking. Philosophers: Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Chapter Six: Eurasian Social Hierarchies

Classical civilizations within Eurasia lived within a political framework of states and empires. Within these civilizations, there were social hierarchies. This chapter deals with slavery, the women’s movement, caste systems and the series of revolutions.

Society and State in Classical China
State officials represented the cultural and social elite of Chinese civilization. These “rulers” were not determined by birth but rather by merit. There was a landlord class, peasant class and merchant class.
Class and Caste in India
India had a similar organization in their social structure where birth determined your social status; however, Indian society was very distinct because it developed a caste system, which leveled people into social classes. Birth determined which caste system you belonged to and where you would go in life. It was predetermined.

Slavery in Classical Era: The Case of Roman Empire
Slavery has been seen throughout time and was present in all civilizations. It was possibly modeled after the domestication of animals. Though present in India, China and Persian civilizations, slavery was the most prominent in the Mediterranean region, most notably in the Greek and Roman Empires. Both were slave societies and used slaves extensively. Slaves were prisoners, reproduced by slave mothers, had no rights and in some societies were not considered human.

Comparing Patriarchies of the Classical Era
First civilizations established patriarchal societies where men dominated over women. Restrictions over women were more prevalent in classical societies. Higher-class women had more restrictions than lower class. China had strong patriarchy ands women were subdued from the time of birth. There were different views in Sparta and Athens. In Athens, women were not part of visible social life. In Sparta, men were at war, allowing for greater freedom of women. They were also seen as a means of reproduction, which allowed for higher reverence.

Chapter Seven: Classical Era Variations

Growth was not only taking place in Eurasia but in two other areas as well: Africa and the Americas. Africa developed with some influence from Eurasia with trade and exchange but the Americas developed without any influence at all.

Within the Africa continent, there were distinct civilizations that developed; however, not one became an empire. All were single entities that though their materials were found over a large area, not one civilization dominated and became an empire.

African Northeast: Meroe (Considered to be an old African civilization) and Axum. Axum was considered to be the 3rd largest empire after the Roman and Persian Empires. Highly developed city with large trade and commerce, art, buildings, Christianity was brought to Axum. Both civilizations mirrored Eurasia civilizations.
Niger River: People migrated here due to drought in Sahara. Development of cities without state – largest city was Jenne-jeno. People ran these cities along Niger without any one authority over them. These cities were specialized units with trades such as ironworking etc.
South of the Equator: Bantu This was a slow movement of people into the area south of the equator. This movement was not a hostile takeover into an empire. The Bantu people migrated into a region and changed the cultures they came in contact with. At the same time, their culture assimilated into other cultures.
Civilizations of Mesoamerica: This area was a world apart from the other civilizations based on the geographical location. These regions grew up without the influence of Eurasia and Africa. Peoples of this region did not have domesticated animals or ironworking techniques. It was a complex geographical environment. Though the societies were different in this region, there were similarities: grew corn, beans and squash; economy based on trade; religion of many gods; ceremonial centers and human sacrifice.

Two important civilizations in this region: Mayan and Teotihuacan. The Mayan culture was intellectual and developed the mathematical concepts such a zero and place notation. They plotted cycles of sun, moon, and planets to establish calendars. They had an elaborate writing system. Teotihuacan was the greatest American city that was called the “city of the gods.” It was a huge city with streets, grand homes and temples. It contained the Pyramid of the Sun, which was considered to be the site of creation.
Civilization of the Andes: Great civilizations came out of this geographically challenged area. Norte Chico was one of the first civilizations. Chavin was the center of a religious movement where shamans used hallucinogenic drugs to communicate with the gods. Moche was a regional civilization whose economy came from a complex irrigation system. This Andean region was rich with resources however the landscape was a challenge.

All of the civilizations in Andes and Mesoamerica perished due to overtaxing of their environment, depleting the resources necessary for survival.

North America in the Classical Era: From Chaco to Cahokia: Two distinct societies were founded in North America: Pueblo (Anasazi) in the southwest and Mound Builders in the Eastern Woodland region. Ansazi built pit houses to live in which later became larger complexes called pueblos. It took a long time for corn to become a staple in this region due to the environment. In the eastern woodlands there was a rich agricultural area that allowed for some growing but these peoples depended also on gathering and hunting to survive. Hopewell Culture was founded where huge mounds were built that were burial and geometric and some aligned with the moon.

It All Began...

It all had to start somewhere – the sheer magnitude of our existence causes me to step back and take a deep breath. History is the study of our earth’s past events. Going to Catholic school, I was taught that God created the world; however, science tells us differently. Science gives us the argument of the “big bang” theory, of evolution, and the adaptation of nature to its environment. There are so many thoughts that came to my mind, and recollections that I had, as I read these three chapters. My thoughts and ideas will ramble over this first blog as I try to capture the true essence of that I want to convey to all of you.

When I was in college, the first time, I was not required to take any history courses, let alone a world history course. Now, in my education here at NDNU, I have had the opportunity to take World Religion, Indigenous Cultures of Latin America, and French History and Culture courses. All of these classes taught me history from a different perspective and broadened my knowledge base by allowing me now to look at events more critically. As I think about the readings for this first week, it strikes me as to how much similarity there is between events across time. Global Warming, that can’t be blamed on humans, followed the Ice Age. We are currently in the process of possibly a major change in the earth’s climate again. Is this a part of the “cycle” of history? Will historians look back at our culture thousands of years from now and observe our history as a repeat of the history we have observed and studied? What will they say about us?

The world has evolved, in part, based on human ingenuity; it is happening right now, though the pace today is so much faster. Looking back: first people, then farmers, which then led to civilizations – all as a result of progress. So much has happened in the past that we are still experiencing today. There is hunger, natural disasters, over-use of resources, chaos and conflict. This all seems so strikingly eerie. Where are we headed? Our society is so busy living in its glass house that we fail to see where we have come from or where we are headed; however, history tells us we are doomed to repeat it.

Last year as part of my job as a para-educator, I was assigned to a 6th grade social studies class. I, as well as all of the other sixth graders, learned all about the beginning of civilization: hominids, homo erectus, homo sapiens. How and why did all of human civilization start in Africa? What made that place so special? There is a great article on the start of man in the October 2008 issue of National Geographic. The pictorial account and details presented in the article are amazing. Visit the National Geographic website http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/10/neanderthals/hall-text to read the article. The photo I selected at the beginning of this blog was on the cover of the magazine. This subject of human beginnings and their migration on earth fascinates me. Recently I read an article from Science News (January 30,2010). The article says artifacts were found on the Island of Crete suggesting that the ancient Homo species used rafts or other type of water vessels to cross the water from northern Africa to Europe. We are still uncovering clues as to our beginnings. The mystery continues to unfold; what will we find next?

First Night

Creating the blog was fun. I have never done this before but it was easy. Students at the school where I work use blogging all of the time.