Classical Era Variations Africa and The Americas Differences

Classical Era Variations Africa and The Americas

Differences in Classical Civilizations �Important differences -the Americas lacked animals suitable for domestication -Africa imported previously domesticated sheep, goats, chickens, horses, camels -metallurgy was less developed in the Americas Writing -limited in the Americas to Mesoamerica; most highly developed among the Maya – used hieroglyphs -in Africa, was confined to north and northeast �Fewer and smaller classical civilizations in the Americas and Africa

Mayan Hieroglyphics

The African Northeast �Africa had no common cultural identity in the classical era. - great environmental variation within the continent - enormous size of the continent �Africa is the most tropical of world’s supercontinents -climate means poorer soils and less productive agriculture -more disease-carrying insects and parasites �Africa also shaped by interaction with nearby Eurasia and Arabia -North Africa as part of the Roman Empire -Arabia as source of the domesticated camel

Meroe – A continuation of the Nile Valley civilization �Nubian civilization was almost as old as Egyptian civilization -constant interaction -remained a distinct civilization �With decline of Egypt, Nubian civilization came to focus on Meroë -civilization there flourished 300 b. c. e. – 100 c. e. �Ruled by an all-powerful sacred monarch (usually female) -buried with human sacrifices �City of Meroë had craft specialization -ironworking was especially important

Meroe continued. . �Rural areas had combination of herding and farming -paid tribute to the ruler -farming was based on rainfall, not irrigation -so population was less concentrated on the Nile, less directly controlled by the capital �Major long-distance trade was the source of much of wealth and military power -had contact with the Mediterranean -also traded to east and west by means of camel caravans -less Egyptian influence than earlier times

Meroe Architecture

Decline of Meroe �Decline of Meroë after 100 c. e. -deforestation (too much wood used in iron industry) -conquest in 340 s c. e. by Axum -penetration of Christianity; Christian dominance for 1, 000 years -penetration of Islam after about 1300

Axum �Modern day Ethiopia �Productive agriculture, plow based farming �Center of trade, lots of state revenue from taxing merchants �King Ezana adopted Christianity around 300 c. e. �Expanded into the middle east, by modern day yemen �Both Meroe and Axum rivaled European civilizations and had direct contact with the Mediterranean

King Ezana

Stateless Societies �Along the Niger River– No evidence of states or citystates. �Little evidence of social inequality �Iron-smithing was the most popular profession �villages of cotton weavers, potters, praise-singers (griots) grew up around central towns �The middle Niger cities were stimulated by a network of West African commerce. �Large-scale states emerged in West Africa in the second millennium c. e.

South of the Equator: The World of Bantu Africa �over time, 400 distinct Bantu languages developed �Bantu-speaking peoples interacted with established societies �disease: Bantu brought new diseases to people with little immunity �gathering and hunting peoples were largely displaced, absorbed, eliminated

Bantu People

Bantu - Religion �religion placed less emphasis on a remote High God and more on ancestral or nature spirits -sacrifices (especially cattle) to access power of dead ancestors -power of charms was activated by proper rituals -widespread belief in witches -”diviners” could access world of the supernatural -no missionary work

Civilizations of Mesoamerica �There was a lack of interaction with other major cultures, including with other cultures in the Americas �Important civilizations developed in Mesoamerica and the Andes long before Aztec and Inca empires �Without large domesticated animals or ironworking

Maya �Development of advanced mathematical system �Elaborate calendars �Creation of most elaborate writing system in the Americas �Large amount of monumental architecture (temples, pyramids, palaces, public plazas)

Mayan Pyramid (ziggurat)

Mayan Politics �Large engineering projects. Aqueducts, terracing �City-states very fragmented (like Greece) �Rapid collapse in the century after a long-term drought began in 840 -extremely rapid population growth after 600 c. e. outstripped resources -political disunity and rivalry prevented a coordinated response to climatic catastrophe -warfare became more frequent

Teotihuacán: America’s Greatest City �city was begun ca. 150 b. c. e. �by 550 c. e. , population was 100, 000– 200, 000 �much about Teotihuacán is unknown �city was centrally planned on a gridlike pattern �specialized artisans �Aztecs named the place Teotihuacán: “city of the gods”

Moche: A Regional Andean Civilization �Agriculture based on complex irrigation system �Rule by warrior-priests �Rituals mediated between humans and gods �Use of hallucinogenic drugs �Human sacrifice

North America in the Classical Era Hopewell “Mound Builders” �Gathering and hunting peoples still populated much of Americas �Agriculture began to supplement hunting and gathering �Large burial mounds

North America - Iroquois � 5 Iroquois tribes from New York �Lived in “longhouses” �Formed Iroquois Confederacy (democracy)