Chapter 12: Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage

This chapter mainly focuses on the Mongols whole played a big role in Eurasia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.  The Mongols were also known as Pastoral Nomads, who were people that lived by animals and their migration depended on where the heard of animals moved during the seasons.  The Mongol societies had a less productive economy than other societies.  They had a ranking of nobility which was determined by wealth and who owned the biggest flock of herd.  The Mongols made their own empire, which was known as the Mongol Empire.  What was different about this empire was that when they conquered another society, they didn't influence them with their religion and culture.  Instead the Mongols had them work and they made sure who were the ones that defeated and conquered them.  1209 was the beginning of the Mongol conquest.  They conquered many regions like: China, Baghdad, Russia, etc.  Most people would look at Nomads as uncivilized  people since they did not have written languages.   

CHapter 9: China and the World

The following chapter revolves around China and their achievements and the culture.  With the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E. came the rise of powerful aristocratic families.  During this time, the Chinese migration happened which gave southern China an increase of population by 60%.  With the end of Han Dynasty, a new dynasty came up known as the Sui dynasty which was around 589-618.  With the new dynasty came literature, paintings, ceramics, etc.  The Chinese depended on their Canal system which linked both northern and southern China.  The canal stretched about 1,200 miles.  It was a way to provide the Chinese with food and supplies, so the canal made it easier for trading and providing food for the people.  Plus it was a better way of transportation.  Because of the large population in China, came the growth of agriculture.  The chapter also talked about the role of women, how during the Song dynasty the elite woman lived a free live and did whatever they wanted while during the classical times women had very little freedom.  When it came to religion China followed the ideas of Buddhism, which was introduced by India thorough the use of the Silk roads.  China is a country that has evolved a lot during the centuries.

DGP Chapter 6 Vikings and The Polynesians: Exploring New Worlds

When it comes to history, we learn form the past from writings that have been written.  When it comes to the Vikings and the Polynesians however, finding history about these two cultures was difficult since there was hardly any written evidence.  There was only a limited amount of information about both cultures.  Both cultures developed ways to travel across the sea which would help them colonize and allow them to trade.  The Vikings traveled the sea through Europe, parts of Asia, and North America.  While the Polynesians traveled around the "Polynesian triangle" going from island to island, places like: Hawaii, Samoa, New Zealand, etc.  Plus even to Indonesia and even the Philippines.  The problem when it came to the Polynesians was that they did not have a writing system.  It wasn't until the 16th century when the Europeans came to Pacific and helped them write their history. 

Chapter 7: Classical Era Variations

The Classical era does not mostly revolve around the Greeks, Romans, and Eurasia, it also revolves around the Persians, Chinese, Indian, and South Asia.  Around this era there was migrations, people were leaving form one place and going to another.  The populations of theses societies were different.  For instance in Africa they had a population that grew about 4% while in Eurasia the population decreased by 6%.  While places like Australia and North America stayed the same.  It is evident that the populations that decreased were not developing anytime soon since most of the population had migrated to another.  While populations that increased were developing very well.  The migrations came new ideas, religions, and traditions.  For example the Bantu tribes from Africa that traveled South to spread their language and traditions across Africa.  As cultures grew the need for power began to come into play.  For instance the natives of Mesoamerica that lived in Teotihuacan had a big influence on regions around them since they were such a big civilization.  All societies developed the same, they just all took different approaches. 

Chapter 8: Commerence And Culture

In this chapter there were three main roads that were discussed: silk, sea, and sand roads.  The Silk road went all across Europe and Asia; mainly through Saudi Arabia, Persia, India, Turkestan, and China.  These countries went in a complete frenzy when it came to trading silk.  They traded: cotton, spices, gold, animals, oil oil, paper, wool, etc.  In Central Asia, silk was used to make currency and to determine a person's wealth.  Yet, despite that there was a new road to cross, new diseases came from other regions that destroyed many populations.  The Sea road, which was located in the Indian Ocean, between Africa and India.  People traded many things like: wine, gold, olive oil, ceramics, glassware, ivory, iron goods, slaves, quartz, rankincense, myrrh, perfumes, grain, cotton textile, etc.  Trading through sea roads has been dated all the way back to the first civilizations.  Then there are the sand roads which went through Africa, mainly the Sahara desert.  By far this is the most dangerous road because there is nothing, but sand and the hot blazing sun, not to mention poisonous creatures wandering around.  There was no roads, just sand that goes for miles.  Plus people had to be careful around bandits.  The one way to avoid the heat was by traveling at night when it got cold.  The major tool for travel through the desert was the camel, which could go for miles without water and made traveling through the Sahara a lot easier.   

Chapter 11: The Worlds Of Islam

The more that cultures began to advance, the more that religion began to come into play.  In Arabia for instance people began to focus on their religion more.  At the time the most well known religious shrine was called the Kaaba, which is located in the holy city of Mecca.  It is a very well known place where many things have happened.  The origins of Islam was created by Muhammed and quickly took over the and that the Jewish once had control of.  The Islamic community grew and Muhammed eventually became a symbol of authority, not just in religion, but in politics as well.  Then the muslim beliefs came into play.  People did not know which religion to follow and became divided.  It just shows how powerful religion is and how it can influence a society.