CH 6 COMMONALITIES AND VARIATIONS

CHAPTER 6: Commonalities and Variations: Africa, the Americas, and Pacific Oceania

Africa

• had no common cultural identity in the premodern era
• Meroe
• almost as old as the Egyptian civilization
• enormous
• most distinctive 
• pulled by monarch 
• sometimes a woman
• had craft specialization
• rural had herding and farming 
• long distance trade

Mesoamerica

• lack of interaction
• very diverse
• development without domesticated animals/ironworking
• Maya
• Present-day Guatemala and Yucatan
• cultural achievements 
• math system
• calendars
• writing system
• architecture
• Economy
• supported elite and artisan class
• politics
• city states 
• regional kingdoms
• densely populated urban /ceremonial centers
• frequent warfare 
• collapse
• Teotihuacan
• considered Americas greatest city
• much is unknown 
• gridlike pattern
• specialized artisans
• little evidence of rulers/traditions
• had deep influence to mesoamerica
• had diplomatic connections with other areas
• mysterious collapse 

Andes

• Chavin
• good location for trade
• did not become empire
• Moche
• agriculture based on complex irrigation system
• relied on fishing
• Wari and Tiwanaku
• centered on large urban capitals 
• Wars used traced agriculture and Tiw raised field systems

Bantu Africa

• most significant interaction: agricultural Bantu and gathering and hunting peoples
• creation of many distinct societies 
• less patriarchal 

North America

• pit houses and great houses
• est permanent villages 
• 2000BCE agricultural revolution
• not enough to be an agricultural society till later

(My thoughts...) What I enjoyed about this chapter is being able to see the similarities and differences of each place. Each place had different stages in development. For example, the agriculture movement in the Americas was much different than elsewhere because the Americas didn't have animals to domesticate and this affected their agricultural development. Same thing with how different places interacted. Other places were well versed in other parts of the world while others were not. For example, the Americas.