Unit 1 AP World - Culture and Traditions

- Early Civs - Cultures - Religions - Trade exchanges

Pastoral Society

A tribe or community most often in early civilization that herded domesticated animals.

Patriarchy

A society or government in which men possess primary power, obtaining jobs such as leadership, authority, and control over everything in the community.

Hinduism

No single founder or god, diverse beliefs of philosophies and social systems.

Siddhartha Gautama

The philosophical teacher and founder of Buddhism, has the title of Buddha and is seen as either god or teacher of the peaceful religion.

Theravada Buddhism

The older branch of Buddhism, focuses on original teachings and personal discipline; Buddha is NOT god.

Mahayana Buddhism

1. Larger branch of Buddhism, belief in helping all reach awakening (more available to people); belief Buddha IS god.

Bhakti movement

1. Devotional decision in Hinduism that emphasizes the prayer and attention to one god or chosen deity.

Confucianism

Ancient Chinese philosophical religion, founded by Confucius who centered on human peace.

Han Dynasty

Chinese second greatest imperial dynasty, lasting around late BC and referred to as the Chinese “golden age”.

Daoism

Ancient Chinese philosophical religion revolving around harmony with the Dao (the way).

Judaism

The most ancient Abrahamic religion, monotheistic religion that emphasizes the spiritual belief of the single God of the Jewish people.

Jesus of Nazareth

The historical Jewish preacher and worshipper in first century Jerusalem that is the symbol for Christianity.

Muhammad Ibn Abdullah

 The Arabian religious and political leader of Mecca, founder of Islam, prophet of Allah.

Quran

The recitation in Arabic, core belief book of Islam.

Umma

The people of Islam, global communities in the faith of Islam.

Ulama

Respected scholars of Islam, huge knowledge on theology.

Sufism

The inner, personal belief of Islam where faith seekers emphasize relationship with Allah.

Silk Roads

Ancient network of land and sea fundamental for trade in East Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. 

Sea Roads

Regularly used sea route for trading and communication in the Indian Ocean. 

Sand Roads

Trans-Saharan trade route in Africa which expanded culture.

Brideprice/bridewealth

Money or any substantial good gifted by the groom’s family as a result of marriage.

Courtesan

A well off sex worker who serves noble men.

Dowry

Money and wealth that a bride and her family receives during a wedding.  

Matriarchal

A society controlled by women, a group of which women hold power.

Matrilineal

The process of a family tree, tracing back to a mother’s last name.

Patriarchal

Society ruled by men, social system built on male lineage.

Patrilineal

Tracing family descent strictly by father’s last name.

Polygyny/polygamy

The practice of having more than one partner at a time, consensual agreement.

Concubine

 A woman who is committed to a man, has sexual relations with him without having a marriage agreement.

Eunuch

A male who has had his testicles removed.

Harem

A private space in a Muslim household reserved for females. 

Purdah

A social and religious construct justifying women exclusion in Muslim and Hindu households.

Sati

Referring to ‘virtuous wife’, the practice of widows burning their bodies at their husbands funeral. 

Confucius

very impactful philosopher that the Chinese worship despite the ongoing Communist Party

When did modern world history start

• around 1200-1450

earliest humans?

Homo sapiens were the earliest humans (60,000-100,000 years ago)

Paleolithic

The first generation of humans, not evolved, Old Stone age (95% percent), hunting and gathering

Neolothic

New stone age, has more inventions, growing population, diseases, technological innovation…

Agricultural Revolution

• Farming was invented instead of hunting and gathering

Pastoral Societies:

Started domesticating animals and herding them as a community/society, emerged in Central Asia, nomads (sought out grazing), made way for more civilization

Mesopotamia

• Existed in Egypt and Iraq (Middle East), 3500 and 300 BCE, first civilizations, way of living spread to different continents, started cities that reached hundreds of thousands

Culture grew in Mesopotamia:

art, architecture, literature, ritual, trade, and poems such as Epic of Gilgamesh, economy grew…

Religion in Mesopotamia/ziggurat

religion grew a lot (made temples, pyramids, and religious centers to worship, ziggurat)

Occupations in Mesopotamia

Scholars, merchants, priests, officials, scribes, soldiers, servants, entertainers, artisans, majority farmers and herders

Social Systems in Mesopotamia

• First leaders were religious leaders, started anointing kings and their sons would become kings (dynasties), showed off wealth with monuments

Technological Advancements in Mesopotamia

• China made silk, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder, the Islamic civilization made mathematics, medicine, astronomy, metallurgy, water management, etc. 

Early Way of Life

• Things such as literature, poems, writing, record keeping, stories, texts, and philosophies help historians gather more information about early way of life 

Environment in Mesopotamia

• River valleys impacted Mesopotamia, Egypt, Peru, India, and China, mountains affected Greece and split up civilizations, rain forests impacted Panama, oceans separated masses of land, etc.

Did what to the terrain?

• Humanity damaged these terrains, Chinese immigrated and trampled forests, Europeans cut down trees, Mexicans broke down landscape

Maya Civilization

Rapid population growth, reached 5 million due to environment change (deforestation and erosion), causing climate change and forced prolonged droughts that wiped out most of the population

Empire

One leader, broader statuses, rank usually through birth

City States

Main city, more diverse jobs, more social systems, some flexibility to move up ranks

Similar civ features

Some early civs shared language and literature, but eventually all civs shared class division

China Structure

 Bureaucracy of gov officials, drawn from landlord class, supported by mass farmers, China respected peasants as the backbone but they were still treated poorly (rebelled), broader social categories (scholar, land-lord, peasant merchants), offered routes to social promotion among few commoner

India Structure

Birth determined social status, little social mobility, huge inequality, blamed on cultural tradition, Brahmin’s were highest on caste system (had to be ritually pure), vast numbers of distinct social group, defined groups more rigidly, forbid groups to eat or touch each other

Every civ had…?

Slaves, different extents

Greek and Roman civ

• During Plato, Socrates, and and Aristotle; 60,000 enslaved people (⅓ of people), slavery was heart of Roman Empire (2-3 million enslaved)

Patriarchy

• Common in social life, less restrictive for early women in civs, China’s patriarchy was loose (especially elite women), northern China had nomads (less restricted), Athens was more sexist than Sparta (had women compete with men), elite women enjoyed privilege but faced more restrictions than lower class women

Romans…

• dominated Mediterranean (500 BC - 500 CE)

China..?

shaped eastern China culture and economic life in Eurasia

What was the Islamic Civ

• Islamic Civ was the most expansive and influential in the Afro-Eurasian World (650-1450) 

When empires rose

• Western African empires rose overtime (Mali and Songhay)

• Axum (100-700 CE) now Ethiopia and Eritrea

• Swahili civ (800-1500 CE) embodied coastal region of eastern Africa

• Maya Civ flourished between 250 and 90

After 1450…?

• After 1450 Western Europe became more expansive and achieved world domination by 1900 

Cultural and Religious Traditions

• Religion provides identity to billions of people

• Created deep social conflicts 

• Moral justification for elites and oppression

• Double-edged sword, challenged those in power

• Endure suffering for moral guidance

Hinduism

• Oldest, largest, most prominent religion in IndiaNo founder

• Indian culture, vast gods, spirits, beliefs, practices, rituals, philosophies

• Polytheistic, diverse gods and goddesses

• Highest class: Brahmins 

• Upanishads: Collection of sacred texts composed of anonymous thinkers

• Idea of Brahman, the World Soul, the final reality

• Human reality is an illusion and can only achieve Moksha (liberation) when completed tasks 

• Atman: Human soul

• Moksha is compared to a bubble popping into the world

• Karma: Reap what you sow

• Believe in reincarnation

• Pure actions result in higher caste in rebirth

• Passion devotion to deity is honored

• Increase of Hinduism 

Bhakti Movement (Hinduism):

Devotion to one or more Hindu gods

• Began in 600-1300 CE

• Popular deities were Vishnu (Protector) and Shiva (Divine destructor)

• Rigid caste system

• Gender hierarchies

• Kirshna is generous and lets women, vaishyas (merchants), and shudras (workers) attain supreme destination

• Bhakti is more accessible to common people unlike fulfilling rituals and sacrifices in huge temples

• Rich poetic traditions after 120

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, prince of small kingdom who saw sickness, death, and aging, started teachings; became Buddha (man who had awakened)

• Found reasoning for suffering

• Quest for enlightenment

• Suffering is from natural fulfillment

• Being selfless is necessary

• “Disease” “Eightfold path” 

• Modest and moral lifestyle

• Surenity once accepted into afterlife as a god 

• Buddhists reject Hindu teachings, Brahmins and sacrifices are irrelevant and wrong to speculate the existence of God

• Nirvana (peace)

• Had to take responsibility for one's own spiritual development

Theravada Buddhism

• Buddha is a wise teacher but not divine

• Gods assist believers in development

• Monks and nuns withdraw from normal life

Mahayana Buddhism

• Enlightenment was available to everyone

• Nirvana can happen in single lifetime

• Faith emphasized compassion

• Bodhistattvas: Fully enlightened beings who postpone their afterlife to help others

• Buddha became a god despite opposition

• Took root in Central Asia, China, Japan, and Korea

Tibetan Buddhism

• Gave special authority to learned teachers, Lamas, emphasized awareness of death

• Spiritual practices include prostrations (laying on ground)

• Extreme meditation

• Visualize multiple gods and devote time to them

• Formed variety of texts

• Buddhism largely left India

• Islam played a role in decrease of the religion

Chinese Cultural Traditions

• Two major cultural traditions

• Less overly religious

• More philosophical and based on life experiences

• Chinese thinkers formed ideas for peace

Confucianism

• Wrote The Analects

• Formed by Confucius (551-479 BCE)

• Aristocrat who believed they had the solution for social and political harmony

• Han Dynasty, ideology for Chinese state

• The power of moral behavior

Confucius

• believed in uneven power dynamics (husband and wife, father and son, older and younger brother, ruler and subject)

• If superior party leads with sincerity, inferior party will be obedient (harmony prevails)

• Family became a model for political lif

Filial Piety

the honoring of one's ancestors or parents

More on Confucianism

• Education was deeply important

• Ritual ceremonies were also important, conveyed rules of appropriate behavior

• Confucianism became the central element of the educational system, prepared students for exams

• China’s male elites believe in Confucianism

• Believed leaders needed to have outstanding character and intellect, not aristocratic background

• Allowed poor men to climb the ranks, towns can give money to boys of honor

• Established unrealistic expectations; emperors should keep taxes low, provide access materials for people, those who failed to govern this way would face upheaval and a new dynasty would form (Mandate of Heaven)

• Any power dynamic that did not listen to Confucianism would not have social harmony

• Chinese elites did not believe they needed to worship gods because of their status

• Confucianism is still around in East Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan)

Daoism

• Laozi; sixth century archivist, penned short poetic volume before vanishing into wilderness

• Daoist thinking can counter Confucius who valued education, moral improvement, and good gov

• Daoist ridiculed efforts and prioritized the world of nature and encouraged spontaneous and natural behavior

Dao

•  Elusive notion that refers to way of nature

• Mysterious unfolding patterns, “ten thousand things” appeared and vanished

• “Laozi wonders beyond”

• Despite conflicts in beliefs, Chinese believe the religions are complimenting

• Concept of yin and yang (opposites attract - male and female)

• The Chinese may pursue Confucian project of “government by goodness” during the day, but in the evening of retirement, may pursue reading Daoist and practice philosophy, mountains, and painting 

• Daoism shaped into a popular religion

• Came to include magic, fortune-telling, and search of immortality

• Ideology for peasant uprisings 

• Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-204 CE), utopian society without oppression of gov

Middle Eastern Cultural Traditions

• Now Israel and Palestine: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam formed 

• Abrahamic religions (biblical character Abraham)

• Middle East

• Distinctly monotheistic 

• First was Judaism, after came Christianity and Islam

Judaism

• Less numerous than other religions

• Unlike ancient Mesopotamia; one powerful god who demanded exclusive loyalty 

• Loyalty to God was one of the ten commandments

• God was made of utter holiness and purity

• He is not remote or far away, he is in people

• Transformed from “god of war” who gave people the Promised Land 

• Was a voice for the poor and marginalized 

• Demanding social justice and righteousness

• Was the base for Christianity and Islam

• Known as Hebrews

Christianity

• Began in distinctly Jewish setting

• Formed in Judaea

• A young Jewish craftsmen called Jesus of Nazareth (4BC-29CE) began a brief career of teaching and healing

• Got in trouble with local authorities and was executed

• Barely noted in the record of time, the story of miracles is the basis of the most practiced religion

Jesus

• was a “wisdom teacher”

• Emphasizing the importance of compassion and love as a moral

• Jesus inherited the Jewish teaching of intense devotion to the single god who he called Abba (father)

• Reputation as miracle and healer worker

• Social and political edge, spoke on behalf of poor and oppressed people

• Was friends with lepers, adulterers, and tax collectors (people who seemed impure)

• Was criticized by Jewish and Roman authorities, crucified as a political rebel

• Jesus did intend to establish a new religion, wanted to rejuvenate Judaism

• Christianity emerged as a new religion; Saint Paul (6-67 CE) who was an early convert began missionary journeys which led to small Christian communities that was for Jews and non-Jews alike

• Grew several centuries after Jesus’ death

• Christians denial of other gods led to being called "atheists" and persecuted by authorities during the Common Era

• Ended with Emperor Constantine’s conversion in early fourth century and proclamation of state religion in 380 CE

How Christianity Grew

• Faith gained status in Armenia, Turkey, Axum, and African states (small communities in India and China)

• Formed hierarchical organization (patriarchs, bishops, and priests), replaced house churches where women played more prominent roles

• Anything but strictly geological, reached multiple countries of different language, cultures, and politics 

• Immersed in Roman Empire and other Middle Eastern countries

• Bishop of Rome emerged as prominent leader

• Later split into Latin or Roman Catholic, and the Greek or Eastern Orthodox, branches of Christendom, becoming diverse in its own religion

Islam

• Third religion in the Abrahamic religions

• Puts Arabs in a central role in history

• Newest growing religion born in seventh century CE

• Rapid increase in huge empires in both East and West Africa, India, Central and SE Asia

Dar al-Islam

• Abode of Islam

Arabian Peninsula

• was full of pastoral people, herders of sheep and camels

• Regions of settled agricultural communities and cities such as Mecca that were linked to gods

• Arabia was on the peripheral of rival civs (the Byzantine/Romans and Sassanid/Persians)

Muhammed Ibn Abdullah

• (570-632 CE), trader in Mecca

• Troubled by inequalities of Mecca, withdrew and meditated in the mountains

• Had religious experience that convinced him he was Allah’s messenger to the Arabs

• Revelations began in 610 and continued for 22 years

Quran

Sacred scripture of Islam, core of faith

Allah

Solo divine being, changed polytheistic ways of Arabs

More on Muhammed

• He presented himself as a prophet such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus

• Believed he was the last word of God

• Denounced early beliefs such as hoarding wealth, exploiting the poor, charging of high interest rates, abuse of women, corrupt business deals, and neglect of widows

• Challenged Arab ideologies such as war and violence

• Moral society of Islam was the umma, or community of believers

• Believers of Islam are meant to protect one another, declared the Quran

• Umma was to be bounded by belief

• Muhammed was threatening to establish authorities in Mecca, forced to leave

• Unlike Jesus, was in a position to resist, gathered an army in 630 CE under the banner of Islam

Muslim Influence

• 80% of Persian culture had converted to Islam by 900, highly influential

• Persians ruled for a thousand years and didn’t need Arabs

• Political conflict led to civil wars

Sunni vs Shia

• Divided into Sunni and Shia, branches of Islam

• Shia Muslims were the minority, felt that history had taken a wrong turn

• Sunni’s were advocated of established order

• Transcontinental civ, Quran became sacred texts

Ulama

• learned scholars served as judges, interpreters, administrators, prayer leaders, and reciters

Sharia

• is Islamic law, core teaching of faiths

Madrassas

• colleges for advanced instruction on Quran and the memorization of teachings of Muhammed, largely conservative

• Ulama were “international elite” and the education created diverse civs

• Common texts were shared widely across Islam

Sufis

• Belief that the worldly success of Islam is a distraction from the purer spirituality of Muhammed’s time

• By 1000, Sufis represented Islam’s mystical dimension, sought out personal experience of the divine

• Renunciation of the material world, changing of the names of God, use of music and dance, and the veneration of Muhammed and various saints adherents od Sufism pursued an interior life, seeking to tame ego and spiritual union

• Was more scholarly and legalistic practitioners of the Sharia

• Establish teachings of the law and correct behavior, gave little to the believer in the presence of God

• Many Sufis believed ulama had been compromised by their association with worldly and corrupt gov

• Charted own course to Allah, challenging religious authority of ulama

• 1110-1800 Sufism was central to mainstream Islam 

• Debates create tension in the Muslim world

• Sufis began to organize in a variety of larger associations, some limited to regions

• Devotional teachings, modest way of living, and reputation for supernatural powers gained a hearing for new faith

• Emphasis of personal belief rather than the law allowed Sufis to accommodate elements of local belief in a more populated, blended Islam

• Saint tombs created sacred places that became roots of Islam

• Flexibility often earned Sufi practitioners the enmity of the ulama, who were sharply critical of any deviations of the sharia 

Interactions and Encounters

• Interactions between boundaries shaped civs

• Less about culture and more about the encounters among them

• Cross-cultural connections shape the way of thinking

• Network of neighboring relationships

• Became more dense overtime

• Encounters before 1200 shaped the generations to come

• Empires and large states covered large groups of people

• Areas of exchange for products, foods, ideas, religions, and disease

• non-Roman traditions such as the Persian god Mithra, Egyptian goddess Isis, and Christianity changed Roman culture despite not originating there

• Russia found Christianity as well, creating Eastern Orthodox

Commercial Exchange

• Premodern commerce moved along a chain of separate transactions in which goods traveled farther than single merchants

• Extended all across Afro-Eurasian world and Oceania, powerful motor for exchange

• Altered consumption, jobs, class distinctions, creation of states, religions, technology, and diseases 

Silk Roads

• Most famous commercial network is the Silk Roads (200 CE-1700+CE)

• Linked China and Mediterranean world and in between

Sea Roads

• Traversed through Indian Ocean and SE China Sea, linking diverse people together 

Sand Roads

• Network across the Sahara, linking North Africa, Mediterranean and West Africa

• The Americas were less diversely woven than Afro-Eurasia, yet scholars found variety of cultures and commercial linkages

• All of these interactions began before 1200 CE and can still exist now