Alejandra's Blog

The revolution of domestication was very interesting to me. It is something very interesting because it also involved both plants and animals. It amazes me how early people were able to domesticate animals at such an early time and also combine it with farming as well. Many of these societies preferred being in small groups of people rather than in larger as well.

I found the Tang and Song Dynasties very interesting because they were the known as the Golden Age eras of literature. They were known for their works of poetry, painting and ceramics. This is something that has always inspired me-- China's works of art. They also talked about the Golden Age itself and how they re-emerged as a whole. They also compared China to Korea, which is really interesting because though they are so close, they are also so very different.

There were different types of Christianity throughout the world. In Asia it started in 635 with a Persian monk. People were allowed to practice different religions now making some of their own leaders to convert into other religions with the approval of the Tang Dynasty. In Africa many people were forced to change from Christianity to Islam due to the persecution. Europe had the majority of the Christians.They had church and state go together. 

Mecca was one of the biggest cities in Arabia and is now the capital for Islam. Muhammad was the creator of the Quaran which is similar to the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible. God or “Allah” spoke out throw him, he was the messenger. The Quaran speaks on Islam’s faith. People have to follow five important Pillars and live by them. Christianity and Islam were compared because Islam became the other biggest religion compared to Christianity. 

Trade became an important part between countries. Silk Roads, Sand, Ocean were the main ways to transport goods. Silk was traded in Eurasia and one of the main things that was traded. it was used to make items that were out of the ordinary. Trade brought people together because now there was a variety in different types of clothes, animals, foods, etc. Traveling through the ocean let people be able to go around different parts o the world, they were able to carry much more than before. Going through the desert people were able  to obtain slaves, camels, fruits, salts, and more. 

Chapter six speaks about how different parts of the world were basically living. For example in the Americas, they did not have animals to work for them whereas in other parts of the world such as Eurasia, they did. Something that really caught my attention, though it had to do with the African Cultural Encounters and Social Variation would be the picture on page 254 of a woman holding her breasts. It's really cool to me that women were seen with power that men didn't have. For instance, women were sculpted holding their breasts because it signified devotion, respect, and the holding of secret knowledge, that to me is extremely amazing because it's something that's not really talked about nowadays.