Chapter 7 Q & A

Chapter 7 Q & A

Q1.What were the 2 civilizations that occupied Mesoamerica and list some distinctions among each civilization and how did they decline?

A1.        

Maya:

-          Around 2000 B.C.E. to 900 C.E.

-          Intellectuals developed a mathematical system that included the concept of zero and place notation and was capable of complex calculations

-          They plotted the cycles of the planets to predict eclipses of the sun and moon

-          Constructed elaborate calendars

-          Accurately calculated the length of the solar year

-          Created an elaborate writing system which included pictographs and phonetic or syllabic elements

-          Recorded historical events, masses of astronomical data and religious or mythological texts

-          Created temples, pyramids, palaces and public plazas

-          Lived in an “almost totally engineered landscape”

-          Decline was due to prolonged droughts, political disunity and endemic rivalries and increased warfare

Teotihuacan:

-          Around 150 B.C.E to 650 C.E.

-          The city was built to plan rather than evolving haphazardly

-          Population was about 100,000 to 200,000 in 550 C.E.

-          One of the six largest urban complex in the world during the time

-          Dubbed as “City of the Gods”

-          Decline is still mysterious

Q2. What’s important to you in what to include in World History?

A2.  The answer to this would really vary from person to person and their ethnic background and fairness.

Personally, I think fairness and equality should be exercised in what to include in World History. After all, you really can’t or shouldn’t call it World History if one were to exclude certain civilizations or continents or era/time. Not one group, ethnicity or civilization should get special consideration in the inclusion of a World History book/class.

According to Robert Strayer, scholars do not have a consensus or a formula to ensure proper balance in what to include in World History.  He mentions that duration may be a factor or change is more important than continuity or great population in a region such as Eurasia which comprises 80% of the world’s population or religious influence and finally the location/ethnicity of the historian.

Q3. Outside of Eurasia, name other civilizations that thrived during the classical era.

A3. The other civilizations during the classical era outside of Eurasia were:

- Meroe

- Axum

- Cities without States

- Bantu

- Maya

- Teotihuacan

- Chavin

- Moche

- Ancestral Pueblo

- Mound Builders

Q4. List the achievements of the Mayan civilization.

A4. The achievements of the Mayan civilization were:

- Developed a mathematical system that included the concept of zero and place notation and was capable of complex calculations

- Plot the cycles of the planets, predict eclipses of the sun and the moon

-          Constructed elaborate calendars

-          Accurately calculated the length of the solar year

-          Created an elaborate writing system which included pictographs and phonetic or syllabic elements

-          Recorded historical events, masses of astronomical data and religious or mythological texts

-          Created temples, pyramids, palaces and public plazas

-          Lived in an “almost totally engineered landscape”