Civilisation and culture Flashcards
Civilisation
The earliest humans existed by fishing, hunting and collecting wild plants.
With the Neolithic Revolution the cultivation of plants, herding of animals and crafting of pottery emerged
More development of civilisation
There was a transformation from simple food gatherers into proficient producers which enabled early peoples to increase their numbers and to set up villages
With established villages they mastered irrigation and further created larger settlement centres that could support larger groups
Specialised occupations emerged as well as political and social systems
Characteristics and birth of civilisation
social divisions and past times emerged and taken collectively marked the birth of civilisation
these past time characteristics are general in nature and include religion, politics, recreation, food and economic activity
Culture
a body of beliefs and practices in term of which a group of people understand themselves and the world and organize their individual and collective lives
Difference from culture from civilisation
can be understood as a subset of civilisation
Culture and civilisation of a group
the culture of a group would be a particular way in which the group expresses the various tenets of civilisation
Example, a civilisation would have a political system. A cultural group within that civilisation would have a way of expressing that political system for e.g Democracy, totalitirianism, socialism
More of an understanding on culture
we must understand that though culture can unit groups of people but at the same time they can divide us as those not within the cultural group (outsiders)
proceed cautiously in analysis of cultures remember cultures are different and this does not necessarily make them greater or lesser
Mayan civilisations
Classic-250-900 AD (Formative era)
Post-Classic-900 AD (Yucatan Era)
Classic Mayan period
Establishment of cities such as Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Uxmal
Settled areas that are now present day- Guatemala, South Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Yucatan
During this period this civilisation originated from the higher plateaus on the mountains and conquered many tribes on their way down
Mayan era
Mayans were ingenious and were able to overcome problems of topography to create cities
They overcame problems of infertile and inaccessible soils to establish these cities
Drainage systems were set up in marshy areas and removal of forests
Classic Mayan Era
Cities such as Tikal had a population of approximately 50,00 people
Food was required to feed them, therefore placing the Mayans as one of the most outstanding agriculturists in history
Mayan civilization
Mayan civilisation was not an united one in the sense that it was not in all one geographical location
City states therefore relied on social organisation by groupings
Each group was allocated rights and responsibilities
More Mayan era facts
politically the city states existed with a large degree of political independence of each other and a powerful central authority was not created
this means there was no one capital for the entire empire
each state possessed its own level of political autonomy
Social organization
no equality
persons were treated according to status
therefore standard of living were varied
Triangle diagram of social status
Hereditary lords
nobles, admin, military
skilled artisans, priest/scribes
farmers, foot soldiers, slaves
Economic organisation
one of the most highly developed agriculturalists of the Americas
They depended to a large extent on the productivity of the field to expand their culture
The practices-Slash and Burn/Swidden agriculture
They developed cocoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and squash
They grew maize, aromath, beans and sweet potatoes
They domesticated turkeys and dogs
Achievements
Architecture
Astronomy/calendrical system
Mathematical/ numerical systems
Arts and sculptures
Literacy level-recording of writing on paper(early), ark of distinction
Mayan language-tangible and intangible could be voiced from text
Decline of Classic Era
Reasons for destruction varied
result of internal conflict
destruction of the important religious centre of Teotihuacan around 750AD
Failure of commercial links
Failure of infrastructure leading to improper housing and feeding of peoples
Post Classic Era/ Yucatan Phase
During this latter period a new Mayan center was established at Chichen Itza
It was among the last and most powerful Mayan states
Unlike previous states it was not ruled by one king but a more democratic system-governing ruling council
Their was a restoration of the Mayan artwork and culture in all its glory
historians have also traced the inclusion of outside cultural influences on artwork Toltec and Putan Maya
Around 1000 AD there was also the first appearance of metal
More Post Classic Era
By 1100 AD Chichen Itza was limited and went into demographic decline
Their council was also overthrown in 1221 AD
Other Mayan centres emerged such as the large city of Mayan built by the Itza Maya
Such states demanded tribute from peripheral centres and this became the norm for production instead of the peasantry
Even more Post Classic Era facts
Forced tribute and labour systems caused the economic foundation to crumple by app 1450 AD
This was the last of the Mayan strongholds
By the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mayans were scattered into small centres
