Download WINDOWS ON THE WORLD BACKGROUND

WINDOWS ON THE WORLD BACKGROUND
History
AFRICA
East Africa Madagascar Madagascar is an island of paradox. Its inhabitants, the
Malagasy people, do not consider themselves African, despite some physical
resemblance to Africans and their geographic proximity to the African continent.
Instead, they claim kinship with peoples of Indonesia who first settled
Madagascar in about 700. The island’s flora and fauna are equally anomalous,
differing from that of Africa and being rather unique. Evidence for contact with
Bantu peoples is reflected in Bantu words and phonetic influences in Malagasy
language.
North Africa Berber culture The Maghreb (from Arabic, “West”) was inhabited by
Berbers, a pastorialist people living mainly in mountainous and desert areas.
Over time their land was occupied—by Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, and
Byzantines—but these invaders isolated themselves in coastal settlements and
erected a frontier against the Berbers. Hence, Berber life remained relatively
unchanged until the seventh and eighth centuries when the Maghreb was
conquered by the Arabs. Unlike earlier invaders, the Arabs imposed their
religion (Islam) and their language (Arabic), bringing the region into the Muslim
orbit. Beginning in the late ninth century the Maghreb was united for the first
time and freed from outside control by the Fatimids (909–1171)—a Shi’ite
Muslim dynasty who set up a new capital in Cairo (969–973).
Northeast Africa Axum culture A Christian state; dominated trade in the Red Sea
until the coming of the Arabs in the seventh and eighth centuries. Controlled
western Arabia briefly in the sixth century. Rulers minted coins bearing their
likenesses. Its culture included the Ge’ez language written in a modified South
Arabian alphabet and sculpture and architecture based on South Arabian
models.
West Africa Ghana (West Sahara) The greatest state in West Africa, eighth to
thirteenth century. A network of markets, linked to its control of gold trade; gold
from Senegal and Niger valley exchanged for salt from the Sahara. Towns
supported by farming; rule by kings; kings levied tribute on villages and taxed
trade; urban areas had a king’s town and a Muslim Merchants’ town. In about
990, Ghana made contact with Muslims in the Sahara—the first recorded meeting
between black Africa and the Muslim Mediterranean, a portent of future events.
AMERICAS
Andes Moche culture End of culture in about 600 may be due to prolonged
drought. Tiwanaku culture (Lake Titicaca) and Wari culture (Peru’s southern
highlands), 500–800 Tiwanaku and Wari may represent the southern and northern
spheres of two empires, sharing a rich iconographic system in their art.
Tiwanaku was the more dynamic, with Wari being the influenced culture.
Tiwanaku (zenith: 200–600; also spelled Tiahuanaco) was the capital of a vast
empire, supported by raised-field farming. Wari (zenith: 600–1000; also spelled
Huari) was capital of a militaristic empire.
Mesoamerica Mayan culture Major cities included Tikal, Uaxactún, Copan,
Bonampak, and Palenque. At its height the Mayan population was perhaps two
million, most of whom lived in what is now Guatemala. After about 900, cultural
decline accelerated in the southern lowlands, leading to abandonment of the
urban centers—perhaps the result of warfare or agricultural exhaustion.
However, in the northern lowlands, Mayan culture still flourished in cities such
as Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, and Mayapán. Teotihuacán culture Teotihuacán power
waned after 600; local states jockeyed for supremacy among themselves. In about
750 central Teotihuacán burned, perhaps during a rebellion or a civil war. Much
of the city fell into ruin, but later the Aztecs visited it as a pilgrimage site.
Native North America Hohokam culture, Colonial period, 500–900 Hohokam is
Pima for “those who have vanished.” Centered in present-day southern Arizona;
villages continued; ball-court imported from Mesoamerica. Canal building
intensified using improved construction methods; cotton farming began. In the
Sedentary period, 900–1100, Hohokam culture contracted; villages were given
walls. Mastery of the casting of copper bells in wax molds. Anasazi culture In the
Modified Basket Maker Period, 500–700, farming became the major occupation of
the Anasazi, with bean crops added and turkeys domesticated. Villages were
either underground in caves or on the surface with some rooms, such as storage
rooms, belowground. Sun-dried pottery began. In the Developmental period, 700–
1050, dwellings grew larger, and stone masonry replaced mud-and-pole
construction. Aboveground rooms were used exclusively as domiciles. Basketry
gave way to varieties of pottery.
ASIA
China Sui Dynasty, 581–618 After having been fragmented for 400 years with
North and South China going separate ways, the country was united briefly
under the Sui rulers. The Sui also planted the seed of an artistic and cultural
renaissance that flowered under the succeeding T’ang Dynasty. Confucian rituals
were reestablished in government, and Buddhism was fostered. Capitals at
Ch’ang-an and Lo-yang. T’ang Dynasty, 618–906 A golden age built on the Sui
foundation. Efficient imperial bureaucracy; expansion of civil service
examinations based on Confucian classics. A varied and cosmopolitan society.
Revival of imperial ceremonies, using orchestras and dancers. Western music
and dance (brought by Arab and Persian sailors) were introduced at both the
imperial court and the taverns. Empress Kao-tsung (649–683), a remarkable
woman and a strong ruler. A great age of poetry; about 50,000 works by 2,000
poets survive. Five Dynasties, 907–960 Despite political chaos, China’s cultural
renaissance continued. Printing using wooden blocks was fully developed; first
printing of Confucian classics (953) completed; flower painting, formerly done
only by Buddhists, became a subject of nonreligious art; and tz’u, a T’ang poetic
form set to music, grew in popularity.
India Northern: Pala Dynasty In this chaotic period, the Palas controlled lands in
Bihar and Bengal, from the eighth to the twelfth century (zenith: eighth–tenth
century). Their capital was Mudgagiri in Bihar. The Palas supported Buddhism.
Southern: Pallava Dynasty The Pallavas, rulers of the Dravidian region, adopted
Tamil ways and supported Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism; they were great
patrons of music, painting, and literature. Conquered by the Cholas in about 880.
P-andya (or P-anya) Dynasty, before fourth century B.C.–A.D. sixteenth century A
dynasty of great antiquity, the P-andyas sent an embassy to Rome in A.D. 361.
Rulers converted to Jainism to worshipers of Shiva. Through family ties, they
ruled extensive lands. The
P-andyas are celebrated in early Tamil poetry.
Japan Asuka to Nara periods, 552–794 Two main influences: Chinese culture and
Buddhism. Chinese language and literature studied; Chinese characters adapted
to Japanese writing; Chinese manuscripts, especially Buddhist writings, copied;
the Kaifuso, a group of Chinese poems by Japanese poets, composed. Centralized
government based on Chinese model; Japan’s rulers take title tenno, translated
from the Chinese “heavenly emperor.” Buddhist art in temples. Heian Period,
794–1185 Capital moved from Nara to Heian-kyo (Kyoto) in 794; Chinese-style
centralized rule by emperors abandoned. Zenith of court aristocracy, devoted to
aesthetic refinement. New Buddhist cults introduced: Tendai and Pure Land.
Culture
AFRICA
West Africa Igbo-Ukwu (in modern Anambra State, Nigeria) Altar Stand Created in
the tenth century, this stand was part of a collection of bronzes that were buried
probably for religious reasons or to prevent them from being stolen. Little is
known about the people who cast the bronze. This artwork attests to the vibrant
artistic tradition that continued in this region after the demise of Nok culture in
about 500.
AMERICAS
Andes The Friar Tiwanaku sculpture is characterized by square eyes, columnar
shapes, and rich details. The blocklike form is softened by rounded edges and
limbs depicted close to the body. The figures typically hold ritual objects, such as
a qero (cup), shell, or baton. The monoliths probably represent priests, engaged
in some ceremonial function.
Mesoamerica Mayan culture: Temple of the Inscriptions Palenque has been
described as “the most beautiful of Mayan sites.” Of all its buildings the most
impressive and best preserved is the Temple of the Inscriptions, named for its
hieroglyphic inscriptions. Built on nine levels, the temple is set directly into the
hill behind, which frames it against the landscape. At the base of the pyramid is
the tomb, discovered in 1952, of king Pacal, who apparently ordered the
structure built.
ASIA
India Pallava Dynasty: Shore Temple This temple reflects the Pallavas’ reputation
as ocean traders. In the 700s it was built at Mamallapuram, then a thriving port
city. The city’s name derives from Mamalla, “Great Wrestler,” the nickname of
the king who founded it. Constructed of granite blocks, the temple originally was
covered with carvings, but little remains because of centuries of weathering by
the sea.