Ch 6
Chapter 6 of the book discusses the similarities and differences between many different civilizations. Some of these civilizations include the Niger River Cities, the Teotihuacan people, the Bantu migrations, and the Pacific Islands. These are very interesting to read about because they are not what you typically think of when you think of a Classical Era civilization. It's important to realize the whole world didn't consist of only giant empires.
Niger River Cities: Resembled the Indus Valley. Many cities with no set state structure. Each city has a specialized economy, and they traded with one another. Men and Woman appeared to be equals. There is no archeological proof of any sort of social hierarchy at this time (similar to Indus Valley).
Teotihuacan: Largest urban complex in the Americas at this time, and the 6th largest in the world. They had a Street of the Dead, which contained the large homes of all the elite people, many temples, as well as two pyramids. There was a massive cosmopolitan center where all the Teotihuacan people traded amongst themselves. They had little to no interaction with outside people.
Bantu Migration: The Bantu Migration referred to the migration of people who spoke the Bantu dialect in Africa. This was a particularly important migration because it was a part of the long-term global phenomenon where farmers replaced foragers.
Pacific Islands: The Pacific Islands were important to study because of the drastic distance between peoples. This created lots of variations. Over 100 dialects are spoken throughout the Pacific Islands. There were no large cities, just small collections of people in villages. The islands also came with fragile Island ecosystems. People relied on the ocean for food, but they did farm as well. Social Hierarchy varied between islands, but many had prominent hierarchical structures.
Continental Comparison: At this time the population distribution was incredibly uneven. Eurasia contained 85% of the world population.
Niger River Cities: Resembled the Indus Valley. Many cities with no set state structure. Each city has a specialized economy, and they traded with one another. Men and Woman appeared to be equals. There is no archeological proof of any sort of social hierarchy at this time (similar to Indus Valley).
Teotihuacan: Largest urban complex in the Americas at this time, and the 6th largest in the world. They had a Street of the Dead, which contained the large homes of all the elite people, many temples, as well as two pyramids. There was a massive cosmopolitan center where all the Teotihuacan people traded amongst themselves. They had little to no interaction with outside people.
Bantu Migration: The Bantu Migration referred to the migration of people who spoke the Bantu dialect in Africa. This was a particularly important migration because it was a part of the long-term global phenomenon where farmers replaced foragers.
Pacific Islands: The Pacific Islands were important to study because of the drastic distance between peoples. This created lots of variations. Over 100 dialects are spoken throughout the Pacific Islands. There were no large cities, just small collections of people in villages. The islands also came with fragile Island ecosystems. People relied on the ocean for food, but they did farm as well. Social Hierarchy varied between islands, but many had prominent hierarchical structures.
Continental Comparison: At this time the population distribution was incredibly uneven. Eurasia contained 85% of the world population.
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