Transcript The Americas and Africa before Columbus

 1520, 150,000 people
 5 square miles
 Diaz del Castillo “Gazing on such we did not know
what to say, or whether what appeared before us was
real, for on one side, on the land, there great cities, and
in the lake ever many more, and the lake was crowded
with canoes, and in the causeway were many bridges at
intervals, and in front of us stood the great city of
Mexico.”
 Neil A. Maxwell Center: "to date neither the record
itself nor the Lord through his prophets has revealed
its New World setting in terms that permit conclusive
linkages to modern-day locales."
 http://farms.byu.edu/display/topical.php?cat_id=62
 Connected? Is it World History?
 Early Civilizations are found in Mesoamerica and the
Andes of South America
 Postclassical-Mayan Civ. And later Mayan-Toltec Civ.
 C14th Aztec Empire takes power
 Immigrated from the north and other parts of Mexico
 Remained powerful through the C15th
 C14th the Inca Empire takes power
Emphasis on corn and potatoes—created large
population and impressive cities by the 14th and 15th
centuries
2. Extensive Trade Networks—
3. Art and Science
4. Territorial expansion along with cultural and
economic development
1.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Charles Mann recently charged world historians of
leaving pre-1492 America out of World History
No effective contacts w/the rest of the world, which
created vulnerabilities once contact was made
Lacked certain technology: horse, metal weapons,
the wheel
Domesticated animals, such as cows
Lack of contact caused disease vulnerability
Easily superseded by European and African contact
Did anyone contact America before 1492? Why didn’t
it help?
Divine Rulers: Inca Empire and Ancient Egypt
2. After 1492, American culture was not obliterated
1.
1.
2.
3.
3.
Traces of earlier artistic impulses
Polytheistic religion
Aspects of local village organization and agriculture
Limited legacy-most American culture was changed
to a point of no recognition or replaced
 Fits well into World History patterns
Agriculture and Ironworking
1.
1.
2.
Great Bantu Migrations, movement westward
Development of the African language groups
Early Civ. Focused on the Nile region
2.
1.
2.
Kush and Aksum, following Ethiopian state
Connected to patterns in the Middle East
Two centers
1.
1.
2.
Swahili belt, Indian Ocean coast, mix of Arab-African
Sub-Saharan West Africa (Sudanic)
Polytheistic and relationship to nature
2. Divinity of major rulers
3. Extended family relationships, connections with
deceased family
4. African identity does exist
1.
Islam and Christianity manipulated their long
lasting traditions
2. Both major kingdoms (Sudanic and Swahili) highly
affected by Islam
3. Outside of Sudanic and Swahili belt Islam had little
affect
1.
Active contact with World power centers
2. Still maintained a separate sphere of existence
3. Western Europe is comparable
1.
1.
2.
3.
200 years later
4.
1.
2.
5.
Significant kingdom(s)
Commercial centers linked to Mediterranean and
Middle East
Both simulated other economies
Europe was exploring the world by ship
African kingdoms did not exhibit similar outreach
1450 Changes Europe and Africa