Maya (250-700)
Social
- very stratified society
- noble class included priests and leading warriors
- middle class was merchants and specialists such as
- lower class was peasants
Political
- king was divine, descended from gods
- the king was often male but sometimes female
- kingdom was hereditary - eldest son
- royal dynasties were supported by priests and warrior nobles
- had important, independantcity-states like Tikal (northern Guatemala), Copán, Palenque, Uxmal, and Chichén Itzá (a total of about 25)
- the largest city-states were Tikal and Copan with about 30,000 residents each
- each city had a number of towns and villages attached to it
- city-states warred with each other, but these were often ritualistic and intended to catch the other's ruler instead of destroy their city
- decline in 800s possibly due to horrid weather, lack of an effective government, increased war disrupting trade and causing economic problems, and population growth and overfarming damaging the environment and causing food shortages, famine, and disease such as plague
Interaction
- southern mexico into northern central america
- highland region and lowland region
- lowlands to the north include the dry scrub forest of the Yucatán Peninsula and the dense, steamy jungles of southeastern Mexico and northern Guatemala
- highlands further south are a range of cool, cloudy mountains from southern Mexico to el Salvador
- limestone, a material used for building, was in great supply
Culture
- blend of Olmec and local customs
- their king was divine and performed ceremonies that kept the visible and invisible order of the universe
- he bound together the nine levels of the underworld, the earth, and the three levels of heaven that made it possible for humans to talk to the gods and their ancestors
- when he died, there were big ceremonies to prepare him for his journey to the underworld as well as to mark the ascension of the new lord; the people of the city-state were in great danger until a new lord could maintain order
- a bit of ancestral veneration, polytheistic - around 160 gods
- gods represented things (like corn, death, rain, and war) and were associated with a cardinal direction and a color (white = north, black = west, yellow = south, red = east, green = center)
- gods could be good, evil, or both
- one god was the two-headed jaguar god of the underworld
- prayed to gods, offered food, flowers, and incense
- also pierced and cut their bodies and offered their blood as nourishment for the gods; the frequent shedding of royal blood was necessary to connect the people to the gods, and this was often painful
- the bloodletting enabled the bleeding guy to hallucinate, seeing a Vision Serpent which showed Venus warriors and ancestors, who in turn answered questions about the future; the hallucinations were another way to contact one's ancestors
- human sacrifices! usually of captured enemies
- at Chichén Itzá captives were thrown into a sinkhole lake called a cenote with gold, jade, and other offerings
- human sacrifice pleased the gods and kept the world in balance
- Venus warrior cult secured captives for sacrifice - their blood was an addition to their rituals. Some were tortured for years to give blood at many ceremonies; a captive of high standing was killed at the coronation of Maya rulers
- king's other sons (not eldest who became the next king) often joined the priesthood
- playing of the ball game kept the sun and moon on their normal cycles and brought rain; players tried to move a solid rubber ball without using their hands or feet; members of the losing team might be sacrificed
- the ball game was more complicated and dangerous than that of the Olmecs: rulers played against captive rulers while wearing protective paddings, in a t-shaped court. When the captive leader lost he was tied to a rubber ball and dropped from the high temple walls or bounced down the stone steps
- pyramids were built as religious structures and could be used as tombs
- tombs contained murals, pottery, and jewelry; individual Maya rulers were shown realistically
- the afterlife was dangerous but survivable. Souls of living humans were transported in large dugout canoes across the water of life, paddled by the gods. As death approached, the boat sank, dropping the souls in to Xibalba, an underground place that stank of rotting corpses and disease and was home to demi-gods with nasty breath and horrid fart who wanted to kill human souls. If you made it through, you became an ancestor.
- time was a burden carried on the back of a god; at the end of a day, month, or year, one god would put it down and another would pick it up; a day could be lucky or unlucky depending on the nature of the god
- an accurate calendar was developed to know when the god would change, and what god needed to be honored that day
- each day had two gods, one from the solar calendar and one from the ritual calendar
- to get safely through a day, a person had to know the names of the two gods controlling that day, their relations, and what had to be done to keep them happy; therefore the Maya were obsessed with good and bad days
- a 260-day religious calendar had 13 20-day months
- a 365-day solar calendar had 18 20-day months with a separate period of 5 days at the end
- these calendars were linked together so that you could find your day in both cycles and determine when to plant crops, attack enemies, and crown new rulers
- calendars were based on observation of planets, sun, and moon
- there was also the Long Count, a linear calendar; after several creations and destructions, a new creation occurred (August 13, 3,114 BCE). This could be destroyed after 4,772 CE or maybe 142,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (nonillion) years later
- astronomy and mathematics were so advanced that they were only .0002 off
- math system included zero and was base-20
- shell = zero, dots = 1 through 4, bar = five
- artwork included giant pyramids, temples, palaces, and elaborate stone carvings dedicated to the gods and important rulers
- pyramids were up to 212 feet high (and possibly more)
- steles were markers used to mark special dates or buildings
- architecture had ornamental detailing both on the interior and exterior
- Maya cities had ball courts, where a religious and political game was played
- huge tomb-pyramids were topped with tombs and palaces and surrounded by smaller mounds that were private dwellings; the tops were often connected by wide causeways used by royal and religious processions
- developed a paper from bark
- developed a writing system with about 800 glyphs, some of which were whole words and some of which were syllables
- recorded important historical events by carving in stone or writing in a bark-paper codex; only three survived
- we have deciphered Maya, in part thanks to Maya books after the Spanish conquest, including the Popol Vuh.
- 4,000,000 people speak Maya today
Economics
- trade linked the independent Maya city-states
- cities traded local products like salt, flint, feathers, shells, and honey
- manufactured good were also traded including cotton textiles and jade ornaments
- they didn't have a uniform currency but cacao beans sometimes acted as one
- agriculture-based
- growing of maize, beans, and squash
- utilized slash-and-burn agriculture as well as raised beds above swamps and on hillside terraces
- maize and vegetables grown in swamps were fertilized with swamp lilies
- the city-states traded with each other through a complex river system and roads built be forced labor
Monday, April 30, 2012
Notes in-class 4/30
Taotihuacán (100 BCE - 750 CE)
- may have mined obsidian - the reason for their location in a place without much rain
- the elite had a great deal of power
- they probably didn't have kings; if they did, he was weak, and controlled by the elite
- elite probably got their wealth through trade
- there were apartment-type buildings and separate housing for the normal and the elites; the elites had fancier clothes and food
- about 2% were artisans and craftsmen - over 400 workshops in certain areas of the city
- the rest of the population were probably farmers or peasants who lived in the apartments in the city
- cities are not just ceremonial centers like the Olmecs, but an urban center also
- huge population plummet when they fell - 150,000-200,000 down to 40,000
- pyramids of the moon and sun, and the avenue of the dead also
- sacrificial victims were buried around the temple of Quetzalcoatl, around 60 graves
- the avenue of the dead is about a mile long and leads from the temple of Quetzalcoatl to the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun in between them. It's almost going north to south, but not quite. Basically the Avenue of the Dead is a bit like Main Street, or Peachtree.
- all around this setup, you have workshops, in certain concentrations
- houses were usually built on platforms
- the temple/pyramid of the sun takes up as much space at the base as the largest Egyptian pyramid, but it isn't as tall
- there was a crazy chicken associated with the underworld
- power wasn't really concentrated in one guy
- Teotihuacán was in the classical period
- lots of different ethnic groups were brought to the city for labor
- Chinampas were a big, big deal - you could make it watertight or you could drain it by taking away a couple of rocks
- engineering, geometry, and a bit of physics to build the pyramids
- possibly a theocratic government
- priest class very respected
- usually temples were painted
- a tourist attraction for both trade and religion
- trade went pretty much everywhere
- loads of people lived in the city and went to the outskirts to farm
- dominated obsidian market
- chopal, a tree resin from the coast, was used to manufacture items
- trading outposts reached 700 miles south
- upper class used labor forces to transform land
- so this is indicating forced labor instead of slaves, they didn't have slaves. Slightly like the Old Kingdom Egyptian labor, except without the benefits (that we know of)
- 400+ workshops found throughout the city in distinct locations: they manufactured!
- may have mined obsidian - the reason for their location in a place without much rain
- the elite had a great deal of power
- they probably didn't have kings; if they did, he was weak, and controlled by the elite
- elite probably got their wealth through trade
- there were apartment-type buildings and separate housing for the normal and the elites; the elites had fancier clothes and food
- about 2% were artisans and craftsmen - over 400 workshops in certain areas of the city
- the rest of the population were probably farmers or peasants who lived in the apartments in the city
- cities are not just ceremonial centers like the Olmecs, but an urban center also
- huge population plummet when they fell - 150,000-200,000 down to 40,000
- pyramids of the moon and sun, and the avenue of the dead also
- sacrificial victims were buried around the temple of Quetzalcoatl, around 60 graves
- the avenue of the dead is about a mile long and leads from the temple of Quetzalcoatl to the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun in between them. It's almost going north to south, but not quite. Basically the Avenue of the Dead is a bit like Main Street, or Peachtree.
- all around this setup, you have workshops, in certain concentrations
- houses were usually built on platforms
- the temple/pyramid of the sun takes up as much space at the base as the largest Egyptian pyramid, but it isn't as tall
- there was a crazy chicken associated with the underworld
- power wasn't really concentrated in one guy
- Teotihuacán was in the classical period
- lots of different ethnic groups were brought to the city for labor
- Chinampas were a big, big deal - you could make it watertight or you could drain it by taking away a couple of rocks
- engineering, geometry, and a bit of physics to build the pyramids
- possibly a theocratic government
- priest class very respected
- usually temples were painted
- a tourist attraction for both trade and religion
- trade went pretty much everywhere
- loads of people lived in the city and went to the outskirts to farm
- dominated obsidian market
- chopal, a tree resin from the coast, was used to manufacture items
- trading outposts reached 700 miles south
- upper class used labor forces to transform land
- so this is indicating forced labor instead of slaves, they didn't have slaves. Slightly like the Old Kingdom Egyptian labor, except without the benefits (that we know of)
- 400+ workshops found throughout the city in distinct locations: they manufactured!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Teotihuacan SPICE
Teotihuacan (100 BCE - 750 CE)
Social
- stratified with an elite class which controlled the state bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce; dressed and ate differently than the others. Possibly a priestly class.
- craftsmen, over 2% of the population, produced pottery and obsidian tools
- over 66% of the population worked in agriculture
Political
- the elite class used the city's labor resources to bring lands on the outside into production, draining swamps, building irrigation, building terraces into hills, and using chinampas, artificial islands
- elite, priestly class controlled bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce
- they did not have one single ruler; the individual rulers or ruling dynasty did not have absolute power
- possibly ruled instead by alliances of elite families or their weak king puppets
- relatively peaceful; they had no defensive structures before 500 CE. However they had a military for long-distance trade protection and to collect peasants' agricultural surpluses. They may have also expanded trade relations
- in 500 CE the walls were built and population declined to 40,000, marking weakness. They finally collapsed in 650 CE
- people used to think that they were overwhelmed by a nearby city rival or nomadic warrior peoples from the north
- now, people thing that there was conflict among the elite families and mismanagement of resources, leading to class conflict and loss of public order, pulling down important temples, defacing religious images, burning elite palaces and killing their inhabitants.
Interaction
- they were about 30 miles northeast of Mexico City
- pilgrims came to the city for its religious significance, often becoming permanent residents
Culture
- they were polytheistic and animist, worshipping many gods (including the sun, the moon, a storm-god, and Quetzalcoatl) and lesser spirits
- Quetzalcoatl was a feathered serpent, believed to the the originator of agriculture and the arts
- human sacrifice was practiced as a sacred duty to the gods and an act essential to the well-being of human society
- priestly class shown in temple murals as well as palace murals
- a great religious center that attracted pilgrims, some of which became permanent residents
- around 200,000 inhabitants at the height
- religious architecture included large pyramids dedicated to the sun and moon, and smaller temples devoted to other gods (over 20 total). These pyramids were arranged along a central avenues
- housing changed as population grew, into apartment-like stone buildings
Economics
- more than two-thirds of the city's occupants worked in agriculture
- used chinampas, artificial islands anchored by trees and made by heaping lake muck and waste on top of reed beds.
These permitted year-round agriculture because they were sub-surface irrigated and resistant to frost
- traded pottery and obsidian tools throughout central mexico and into Maya Guatemala
Social
- stratified with an elite class which controlled the state bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce; dressed and ate differently than the others. Possibly a priestly class.
- craftsmen, over 2% of the population, produced pottery and obsidian tools
- over 66% of the population worked in agriculture
Political
- the elite class used the city's labor resources to bring lands on the outside into production, draining swamps, building irrigation, building terraces into hills, and using chinampas, artificial islands
- elite, priestly class controlled bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce
- they did not have one single ruler; the individual rulers or ruling dynasty did not have absolute power
- possibly ruled instead by alliances of elite families or their weak king puppets
- relatively peaceful; they had no defensive structures before 500 CE. However they had a military for long-distance trade protection and to collect peasants' agricultural surpluses. They may have also expanded trade relations
- in 500 CE the walls were built and population declined to 40,000, marking weakness. They finally collapsed in 650 CE
- people used to think that they were overwhelmed by a nearby city rival or nomadic warrior peoples from the north
- now, people thing that there was conflict among the elite families and mismanagement of resources, leading to class conflict and loss of public order, pulling down important temples, defacing religious images, burning elite palaces and killing their inhabitants.
Interaction
- they were about 30 miles northeast of Mexico City
- pilgrims came to the city for its religious significance, often becoming permanent residents
Culture
- they were polytheistic and animist, worshipping many gods (including the sun, the moon, a storm-god, and Quetzalcoatl) and lesser spirits
- Quetzalcoatl was a feathered serpent, believed to the the originator of agriculture and the arts
- human sacrifice was practiced as a sacred duty to the gods and an act essential to the well-being of human society
- priestly class shown in temple murals as well as palace murals
- a great religious center that attracted pilgrims, some of which became permanent residents
- around 200,000 inhabitants at the height
- religious architecture included large pyramids dedicated to the sun and moon, and smaller temples devoted to other gods (over 20 total). These pyramids were arranged along a central avenues
- housing changed as population grew, into apartment-like stone buildings
Economics
- more than two-thirds of the city's occupants worked in agriculture
- used chinampas, artificial islands anchored by trees and made by heaping lake muck and waste on top of reed beds.
These permitted year-round agriculture because they were sub-surface irrigated and resistant to frost
- traded pottery and obsidian tools throughout central mexico and into Maya Guatemala
Class Notes 4/27
Migration
- the americas were the last continents to be peopled
- we're not sure when it was
- since they were peopled later, they developed agriculture later
Olmecs
- most made a living from farming maize, corn, squash, and beans
- rotation of crops allowed for farming in the same area
- mesoamerica: mexico to panama - middle america.
- mesoamerica has two major climate regions. on the central mexican plateau, it's comfortably cool. further down, it's very rainy and tropical, warm and wet.
- olmecs were the first mesoamerican culture to develop
- obsidian was what they wanted - a hard black stone used to make weapons and decorative objects
- they did not have metallurgy: they used metal for decorative items (gold), but their weapons were made of obsidian. it can be extremely sharp.
- obsidian had to be traded for though, because they didn't have it naturally, so they developed extensive trading networks
- jade was more valuable than gold
- again, culture is spread through trade, like with sumer - these guys are the mother culture, they did everything first. everyone else copied.
- they worshiped a google-eyed god, and the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl
- developed first calendar, writing system, ceremonial centers, ball games. the only thing people didn't copy was the giant heads
- mexican plateau provided obsidian, and honduras had jade
- since they were along the shore, they also had access to shells and feathers
- obsidian, jade, and quarts were used to make necklaces, carvings, ceremonial knives and axes
- the olmec were also the first to practice human sacrifice
- because they did not fight using metal, their wars had lower death toll, so human sacrifices were probably a form of population control
- the only domesticated animals they had were dogs and guinea pigs, and that didn't go everywhere
- the ball game may have been a way to determine who was sacrificed - the losers (or possibly the winners) got killed
- they built mosaics in the pavement, and then buried - they weren't for everyone to see. it was somehow related to religion.
- they painted practically everything
- all the giant heads are unique, and probably heads of rulers
- in order to have built all of these religious buildings, the government must have been closely related
- olmec heads had blemishes and uneven teeth, but all of them were wearing headdress-type things which may have been helmets for the ball game (the ball was made of hard rubber and could have caused concussions), they all had slightly baby-ish faces
- there is a lot of artwork about baby/jaguar creatures; this goes back to the myth that the a jaguar and a woman mated and had a child, and the child ate the mother while it was nursing, and then became the first olmec ruler
- then there is quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, and it goes throughout the other civilizations, including the maya
- the americas were the last continents to be peopled
- we're not sure when it was
- since they were peopled later, they developed agriculture later
Olmecs
- most made a living from farming maize, corn, squash, and beans
- rotation of crops allowed for farming in the same area
- mesoamerica: mexico to panama - middle america.
- mesoamerica has two major climate regions. on the central mexican plateau, it's comfortably cool. further down, it's very rainy and tropical, warm and wet.
- olmecs were the first mesoamerican culture to develop
- obsidian was what they wanted - a hard black stone used to make weapons and decorative objects
- they did not have metallurgy: they used metal for decorative items (gold), but their weapons were made of obsidian. it can be extremely sharp.
- obsidian had to be traded for though, because they didn't have it naturally, so they developed extensive trading networks
- jade was more valuable than gold
- again, culture is spread through trade, like with sumer - these guys are the mother culture, they did everything first. everyone else copied.
- they worshiped a google-eyed god, and the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl
- developed first calendar, writing system, ceremonial centers, ball games. the only thing people didn't copy was the giant heads
- mexican plateau provided obsidian, and honduras had jade
- since they were along the shore, they also had access to shells and feathers
- obsidian, jade, and quarts were used to make necklaces, carvings, ceremonial knives and axes
- the olmec were also the first to practice human sacrifice
- because they did not fight using metal, their wars had lower death toll, so human sacrifices were probably a form of population control
- the only domesticated animals they had were dogs and guinea pigs, and that didn't go everywhere
- the ball game may have been a way to determine who was sacrificed - the losers (or possibly the winners) got killed
- they built mosaics in the pavement, and then buried - they weren't for everyone to see. it was somehow related to religion.
- they painted practically everything
- all the giant heads are unique, and probably heads of rulers
- in order to have built all of these religious buildings, the government must have been closely related
- olmec heads had blemishes and uneven teeth, but all of them were wearing headdress-type things which may have been helmets for the ball game (the ball was made of hard rubber and could have caused concussions), they all had slightly baby-ish faces
- there is a lot of artwork about baby/jaguar creatures; this goes back to the myth that the a jaguar and a woman mated and had a child, and the child ate the mother while it was nursing, and then became the first olmec ruler
- then there is quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, and it goes throughout the other civilizations, including the maya
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Reading Notes on the Olmec
The Olmec
1200 BCE - 400 BCE
Social
Political
- had an elite ruling class
- declined for unknown reasons; possibly invaders, or the death of an important ruler
Interaction
- located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico
- hot and humid region covered with swamps and jungle, with little sunlight and much rainfall, which caused floods often
- lots of salt, tar, wood, rubber, hard stone, river transportation, fine clay, and most importantly flood plains of the rivers with fertile land
Cultural
- built tombs for their rulers in the vague shape of a pyramid
- animist - prayed to a variety of nature gods
- most important god was the jaguar spirit, half-human and half-jaguar, which may have been a rain god. There may have also been three jaguars, representing the earth, fertility, and maize
- had planned ceremonial centers
- had ritual ball games
- no clear evidence of writing, but possible
- art included realistic sculptures of giant heads with thick lips, flat noses, and large, oval eyes
- architecture included earthen mounds, courtyards, and pyramids with columns, altars, and more giant heads
- may have moved the giant heads by taking them over land using rolling logs, then rafting them along waterways
- art such as jaguar motifs is seen in later people's pottery and sculpture; urban design patterns were also copied
Economic
- large trading network throughout Mesoamerica
- north to Mexico City and south to Honduras
- imported raw goods from far away such as iron ore and various stones
1200 BCE - 400 BCE
Social
Political
- had an elite ruling class
- declined for unknown reasons; possibly invaders, or the death of an important ruler
Interaction
- located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico
- hot and humid region covered with swamps and jungle, with little sunlight and much rainfall, which caused floods often
- lots of salt, tar, wood, rubber, hard stone, river transportation, fine clay, and most importantly flood plains of the rivers with fertile land
Cultural
- built tombs for their rulers in the vague shape of a pyramid
- animist - prayed to a variety of nature gods
- most important god was the jaguar spirit, half-human and half-jaguar, which may have been a rain god. There may have also been three jaguars, representing the earth, fertility, and maize
- had planned ceremonial centers
- had ritual ball games
- no clear evidence of writing, but possible
- art included realistic sculptures of giant heads with thick lips, flat noses, and large, oval eyes
- architecture included earthen mounds, courtyards, and pyramids with columns, altars, and more giant heads
- may have moved the giant heads by taking them over land using rolling logs, then rafting them along waterways
- art such as jaguar motifs is seen in later people's pottery and sculpture; urban design patterns were also copied
Economic
- large trading network throughout Mesoamerica
- north to Mexico City and south to Honduras
- imported raw goods from far away such as iron ore and various stones
Monday, April 23, 2012
All Notes on Classical Trade Networks (about April 10-23)
Networks of Communication and Exchange
300 BCE - 600 CE
Bantu Migrations - impact:
- native sub-saharans hunting and gathering intermarried with the bantu and learned how to farm
- brought iron smelting to sub-saharans as well as iron weapons to replace wood, stone, and bone (since the bantu had iron, they had the advantage, and were the teaching group)
- brought their language to the click-speaking sub-saharans
Four Networks of Trade - interconnecting
Sub-Saharan Africa, Rome and the Mediterranean, China, and India.
What developments reduced the risks of long-distance trade and stimulated trade in classical times?
- Small empires had much ungoverned space between them, and brigands and such caused traveling issues. When empires grew larger, the areas of protection expanded until they bordered each other.
- Roads and bridges were built for mainly military purposes but stimulated trade as well. Rome, Han's corridor to Bactria, Persia's roads with rest stops, etcetera.
- Technology such as boats developed apace.
Alexander the Great's conquests brought Greek civilization into contact with eastern ideas. He conquered all the way to India, spreading the Hellenistic culture, and since he'd conquered everything that was anything except China, their ideas merged with the Hellenistic ones.
The Selucid empire, from the Mediterranean to Bactria, controlled the lands, linking from Bactria to the sea, and they are connected to India through Bactria. Also they are connected to Phonecian ports.
Ptolemaic empire, in Egypt watched over land trade and sea trade, in the Mediterranean and in the Red sea. They built a port on the Red Sea called Burnese, which was very important and connected Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, and India, and they observed the monsoons in order to know the right time to sail.
Major trade routes of the classical period: maritime silk road through the Indian ocean, silk road through Arabia, Persia, India, and China, down around the horn of Africa, throughout the mediterranean, and throughout sub-saharan africa.
Two major types of trade contacts:
Land routes (trans-saharan, silk road)
Sea routes (indian ocean, mediterranean sea)
Tran-Saharan Trade Contacts:
Weaving web of trade throughout the Sahara.
This is made possible through the domestication of the camel and development of a saddle.
Items from Sub-Saharan Africa first went to Eastern Africa, to Meroe and Axsum, where it then expanded.
Silent trade, as described earlier, was often utilized.
Desert salt was an important trading commodity.
They exported forest products, kola nuts, palm oil, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells, ivory, emeralds, and gold. And salt.
They imported cloth, glass, olive oil, wine, brass, iron, and copper.
Sailing - Mediterranean versus Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean:
- strong seasonal winds made navigation difficult, so a triangular sail called a lateen sail was used
- this sail was more maneuverable
- boats were smaller than those used in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea:
- very calm waters (normally)
- sails large and flat to pick up wind
- ships had rowers and stayed close to the shore
- ships were larger to house the numerous oarsmen
Mediterranean Sea Trade:
- sea lanes linked the port of Rome (Ostia) to Syria, Palestine, Spain, and north Africa
- Roman military and naval power kept the sea lanes largely free from pirates
- dominated by Roman mariners
Ideas, People, and Diseases:
- Buddhism to China and Southeast Asia by both land and sea
- Hinduism spreads to Southeast Asia through sea trade routes, across the bay of bengal
- Christianity becomes dominant and Rome and goes to Mesopotamia, Iran, Persia, Ethiopia (324 - early), Gaul, and India (Armenia, kings convert and Christianity shoots east)
- Zoroastrianism to India, influence on Christianity and Judaism
- Indian influence on Christianity, asceticism, return to West
- King's religion and conversions affect the entire populace
- Kings in southeast asia called themselves rajah, built indian-style temples and walls, and used sanskrit as an official language
- Southeast asia - cults of Shiva and Vishnu
Buddhism:
- by post-classical times it became the most popular religion in east Asia (Japan, Korea, China) though it was spreading in classical times
- brought its artistic styles and literature to these countries (especially China)
- Fuxian: Chinese official who traveled along the silk road, visited Buddhist monasteries, and was so interested he went to Sri Lanka for two years and studied it. Then he went home and spread it. He was gone for 15 years (he got stranded on Java for six months on the way back, he was taking the Indian Ocean system).
- Merchants from India with following monks also spread it. Rich merchants convert, give monks lots of money, and the begging bowls become just symbols.
- Evolution - Mahayana Buddhists now don't have to be monks. This is good for China because monks can't carry on the family name! The main goal becomes to be a bodhisattva. Confucius and Laodzi became bodhisattvas. Gods became bodhisattvas - similar to Hinduism, incorporating local gods. Buddhist beliefs about celibacy and monks changed to work with Confucian values. Buddhism and Hellenistic art styles.
- Buddhism doesn't become very popular in China until the Han fall.
Christianity:
- Asceticism in India influences monks and hermits - Europe, North Africa, Greek islands - hermits and monks who withdraw from everything. Meditation to praying. Vows of celibacy.
- Buddhism and Christianity: performance of miracles, virgin birth, heaven, three aspects of buddha (heaven, earth, spirit)
Disease:
Reading.
Smallpox, measles, bubonic plague
1/3 Roman population dies. Including Marcus Aurelius.
1/5 Chinese population dies.
Persia and India and Arabia were probably impacted also.
Brought fall of Roman empire and instability in others.
Trade declines worldwide, greater self-sufficiency.
Migration:
Bantus migrate gradually and over a long time.
Huns migrations to Persia, India, Rome
Germanic tribes migrate
Polynesians migrate from southeast asia outwards, gradually and over a long time. They used two hollowed-out canoes with a raft in-between and sails on the front and back of the raft.
300 BCE - 600 CE
Bantu Migrations - impact:
- native sub-saharans hunting and gathering intermarried with the bantu and learned how to farm
- brought iron smelting to sub-saharans as well as iron weapons to replace wood, stone, and bone (since the bantu had iron, they had the advantage, and were the teaching group)
- brought their language to the click-speaking sub-saharans
Four Networks of Trade - interconnecting
Sub-Saharan Africa, Rome and the Mediterranean, China, and India.
What developments reduced the risks of long-distance trade and stimulated trade in classical times?
- Small empires had much ungoverned space between them, and brigands and such caused traveling issues. When empires grew larger, the areas of protection expanded until they bordered each other.
- Roads and bridges were built for mainly military purposes but stimulated trade as well. Rome, Han's corridor to Bactria, Persia's roads with rest stops, etcetera.
- Technology such as boats developed apace.
Alexander the Great's conquests brought Greek civilization into contact with eastern ideas. He conquered all the way to India, spreading the Hellenistic culture, and since he'd conquered everything that was anything except China, their ideas merged with the Hellenistic ones.
The Selucid empire, from the Mediterranean to Bactria, controlled the lands, linking from Bactria to the sea, and they are connected to India through Bactria. Also they are connected to Phonecian ports.
Ptolemaic empire, in Egypt watched over land trade and sea trade, in the Mediterranean and in the Red sea. They built a port on the Red Sea called Burnese, which was very important and connected Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, and India, and they observed the monsoons in order to know the right time to sail.
Major trade routes of the classical period: maritime silk road through the Indian ocean, silk road through Arabia, Persia, India, and China, down around the horn of Africa, throughout the mediterranean, and throughout sub-saharan africa.
Two major types of trade contacts:
Land routes (trans-saharan, silk road)
Sea routes (indian ocean, mediterranean sea)
Tran-Saharan Trade Contacts:
Weaving web of trade throughout the Sahara.
This is made possible through the domestication of the camel and development of a saddle.
Items from Sub-Saharan Africa first went to Eastern Africa, to Meroe and Axsum, where it then expanded.
Silent trade, as described earlier, was often utilized.
Desert salt was an important trading commodity.
They exported forest products, kola nuts, palm oil, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells, ivory, emeralds, and gold. And salt.
They imported cloth, glass, olive oil, wine, brass, iron, and copper.
Sailing - Mediterranean versus Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean:
- strong seasonal winds made navigation difficult, so a triangular sail called a lateen sail was used
- this sail was more maneuverable
- boats were smaller than those used in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea:
- very calm waters (normally)
- sails large and flat to pick up wind
- ships had rowers and stayed close to the shore
- ships were larger to house the numerous oarsmen
Mediterranean Sea Trade:
- sea lanes linked the port of Rome (Ostia) to Syria, Palestine, Spain, and north Africa
- Roman military and naval power kept the sea lanes largely free from pirates
- dominated by Roman mariners
Ideas, People, and Diseases:
- Buddhism to China and Southeast Asia by both land and sea
- Hinduism spreads to Southeast Asia through sea trade routes, across the bay of bengal
- Christianity becomes dominant and Rome and goes to Mesopotamia, Iran, Persia, Ethiopia (324 - early), Gaul, and India (Armenia, kings convert and Christianity shoots east)
- Zoroastrianism to India, influence on Christianity and Judaism
- Indian influence on Christianity, asceticism, return to West
- King's religion and conversions affect the entire populace
- Kings in southeast asia called themselves rajah, built indian-style temples and walls, and used sanskrit as an official language
- Southeast asia - cults of Shiva and Vishnu
Buddhism:
- by post-classical times it became the most popular religion in east Asia (Japan, Korea, China) though it was spreading in classical times
- brought its artistic styles and literature to these countries (especially China)
- Fuxian: Chinese official who traveled along the silk road, visited Buddhist monasteries, and was so interested he went to Sri Lanka for two years and studied it. Then he went home and spread it. He was gone for 15 years (he got stranded on Java for six months on the way back, he was taking the Indian Ocean system).
- Merchants from India with following monks also spread it. Rich merchants convert, give monks lots of money, and the begging bowls become just symbols.
- Evolution - Mahayana Buddhists now don't have to be monks. This is good for China because monks can't carry on the family name! The main goal becomes to be a bodhisattva. Confucius and Laodzi became bodhisattvas. Gods became bodhisattvas - similar to Hinduism, incorporating local gods. Buddhist beliefs about celibacy and monks changed to work with Confucian values. Buddhism and Hellenistic art styles.
- Buddhism doesn't become very popular in China until the Han fall.
Christianity:
- Asceticism in India influences monks and hermits - Europe, North Africa, Greek islands - hermits and monks who withdraw from everything. Meditation to praying. Vows of celibacy.
- Buddhism and Christianity: performance of miracles, virgin birth, heaven, three aspects of buddha (heaven, earth, spirit)
Disease:
Reading.
Smallpox, measles, bubonic plague
1/3 Roman population dies. Including Marcus Aurelius.
1/5 Chinese population dies.
Persia and India and Arabia were probably impacted also.
Brought fall of Roman empire and instability in others.
Trade declines worldwide, greater self-sufficiency.
Migration:
Bantus migrate gradually and over a long time.
Huns migrations to Persia, India, Rome
Germanic tribes migrate
Polynesians migrate from southeast asia outwards, gradually and over a long time. They used two hollowed-out canoes with a raft in-between and sails on the front and back of the raft.
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