Chapter 12 The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century A Paleolithic Persistence Australia and North America I The Shapes of Human Communities 1 Gatherers and hunters have a history too Australia s 250 groups still practiced gathering hunting in 15th century this continued well after Europeans arrived in late 18th century Had assimilated various material items or cultural practices from outsiders outrigger canoes fish hooks complex netting techniques artistic styles rituals mythological ideas Despite farmers in nearby New Guinea no agricultural practices penetrated the Australian mainland 2 Manipulation of the environment and trade Australians practiced firestick farming a pattern of deliberately set of fires cleaning up the country Controlled burns cleared underbrush which made hunting easier and encouraged growth of certain plant animal species Also exchanged goods among themselves over hundreds of miles created elaborate mythologies ritual practices developed traditions of sculpture rock painting Accomplished all this on the basis of an economy technology rooted in distant Paleolithic past 3 Complex or affluent gatherers and hunters Different kind of gathering hunting flourished in 15th century along northwest coast of North America among the Chinookan Tulalip Skagit other peoples 300 edible animal species an abundance of salmon other fish provided the foundation for the complex or affluent gathering hunting cultures Permanent village settlements w large sturdy houses considerable economic specialization ranked societies that sometimes included slavery chiefdoms dominated by powerful clan leaders big men extensive storage of food distinguished them from Australia B Agricultural Village Societies The Igbo and the Iroquois 1 Egalitarian kinship societies without state systems Living usually in small village based communities organized in terms of kinship relations predominated in much of North America parts of the Amazon River basin Southeast Asia Africa south of the equator Had created societies largely w o oppressive political authority class inequalities seclusion of women that were so common in civilizations These societies were at the center of things each with its own history of migration cultural transformation social conflict incorporation of new people political rise fall interaction with strangers 2 The Igbo have no king but they did trade East of the Niger River in heavily forested region of West Africa Deliberate preference was to reject the kingship state building efforts of their neighbors Relied on other institutions to maintain social cohesion beyond the level of the village title societies in which wealthy men received a series of prestigious ranks women s associations hereditary ritual experts serving as mediators a balance of power among kinship groups A stateless society 3 Great Law of Peace of the Five Nations warfare replaced successful food getting as the avenue to male prestige Increased level of conflict among Iroquois peoples triggered a remarkable political innovation around 15th century a loose alliance or confederation among 5 Iroquois speaking peoples Mohawk Oneida Onondaga Cayuga Seneca Agreed to settle their differences peacefully through a confederation council of clan leaders 50 altogether who had authority to adjudicate disputes set reparation payments Effectively suppressed the blood feuds tribal conflicts that had only recently been so widespread Also coordinated their peoples relationship w outsiders including the Europeans who arrived in growing numbers in centuries after 1500 Gave expression to values of limited government social equality personal freedom concepts that some European colonists highly attractive C Pastoral Peoples Central Asia and West Africa 1 Timur Tamerlame d 1405 Turkic warrior named Timur attempted to restore the Mongol Empire Timur s army of nomads brought immense devastation to Russia Persia India Descendants retained control of the area b t Persia Afghanistan for the rest of the 15th century His conquest proved to be the last great military success of nomadic peoples from Central Asia Capital of the state that combined Turkic Persian elements Its rulers patronized artists poets traders craftsmen 2 Samarkand 3 Fulbe West Africa s largest pastoral society Homeland in the Western fringe of the Sahara along the upper Senegal River migrated gradually eastward after 1000 Lived in small communities among agricultural peoples paid various grazing fees taxes for the privilege of pasturing their cattle Relations with farming hosts were tense b c Fulbe resented their subordination to agricultural peoples whose way of life they despised Sense of cultural superiority became even more pronounced as they slowly adopted Islam Some dropped out of a pastoral life settled in towns where they became highly respected religious leaders In 18th 19th centuries Fulbe were at the center of a wave of religiously based uprisings jihads which greatly expanded the practice of Islam gave rise to a series of new states ruled by the Fulbe themselves II Civilizations of the Fifteenth Century Comparing China and Europe A Ming Dynasty China 1 Emperor Yongle r 1402 1422 Sponsored an enormous Encyclopedia of 11 000 volumes a Sought to summarize or compile all previous writing on history geography philosophy ethics government more Also relocated the capital to Beijing ordered the building of a magnificent imperial residence Forbidden City constructed the Temple of Heaven 2 Confucianism and anti Mongol policies Early decades of Ming Dynasty witnessed an effort to eliminate all signs of foreign rule discouraging the use of Mongol names dress while promoting Confucian learning orthodox gender roles based on earlier models from Han Tang Song dynasties 3 Economic boom Acted vigorously to repair damage of Mongol years by restoring millions of acres to cultivation rebuilding canals reservoirs irrigation works planting billions trees to reforest China Economy rebounded international domestic trade flourished population grew China had recovered was best governed most prosperous of world s major civilizations 4 Zheng He s voyages 1405 1433 Sought to enroll distant peoples states in the Chinese tribute system Visited ports in Southeast Asia Indonesia India Arabia East Africa Dozens of rulers presented tribute performed required rituals of submission received in return abundant gifts titles trading opportunities Expeditions served to established Chinese power prestige in