Trading Peoples AP World History

Trading Peoples Civilizations of Egypt & Mesopotamia greatly influenced neighboring people in the Fertile Crescent = the Aramaeans and the Phoenicians Trading peoples Traveled by sailing ships & by caravan Spread languages, customs, and ideas as they traded around the Fertile Crescent

The Aramaeans Settled in central Assyria around 1200 BCE Capital = Damascus Gained control over the trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia

The Aramaeans Because their caravans crisscrossed the Fertile Crescent nonstop, people learned their language called Aramaic Main language of the region until the 800s Closely related to Hebrew and Arabic Many parts of the Bible were written in this language

The Phoenicians Canaan = land between ancient Egypt and Syria Canaan = modern day Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan Phoenicians settled in northern Canaan

The Phoenicians Sailed the seas for trade Made strong, fast ships using timber in cedar forests Built a string of towns & cities along their coast Grew to become city-states Built confederation (loose union) of city-states

The Phoenicians Expert navigators Plotted voyages using the sun & stars Took charge of Mediterranean shipping and trade

The Phoenicians Created an alphabet = series of written symbols that represent sounds Only 22 characters Each character represented different consonant sound Basis for our alphabet we use today

The Phoenicians To protect & re-supply their ships, the Phoenicians set up a network of trading posts and colonies along the coasts of the Mediterranean Colony = settlement of emigrants

The Lydians Lived in Asia Minor This area famous for its gold deposits First group to develop a monetary system with set prices using coins Everybody else still bartering = exchanging goods Soon the concept of money traveled to other societies

The Olmec Civilization AP World History

Mesoamerica Meso = means middle Refers to any cultures that lived in present-day Mexico & Central America

Olmec Civilization One of the earliest Mesoamerican civilizations Located near Gulf of Mexico Knowledge of them comes from excavations of 2 main sites = San Lorenzo and La Venta  both discovered in the 1930s

Olmec Civilization Olmec = known for gigantic stone heads carved from basalt (volcanic rock) Some more than 9 feet tall Some weighed as much as 40 tons Heads of rulers Built without wheels or “beasts of burden”  Olmec moved these heads about 60 miles from the mountains to the sites where they were found Think about the giant head from Legends of the Hidden Temple! His name was Olmec!

Olmec Civilization Religion played an important role in the lives of the Olmec Many carvings found of the main Olmec god = a being with a human body and the catlike face of a jaguar Olmec believed the jaguar god controlled the harvests

Olmec Civilization Early Olmec farmers used slash-and-burn farming = farmers cut down trees to clear land & burned whatever was left Planted maize and other crops among fertile ashes Problem = soil became exhausted after about 2 years Farmers then shifted fields & repeated the cycle

Olmec Olmec often traded with other Mesoamerican civilizations Olmec artifacts found in other regions Olmec ideas show up with later civilizations, such as: Religious ceremonies Sacrificial rituals Bloodletting Game of pok-a-tok

Olmec Civilization as the “Mother Civilization” in Mesoamerica Because of the influence that the Olmec civilization had on future civilizations within Mesoamerica, it is often referred to as the “Mother Civilization” in Mesoamerica

Pok-a-tok A ritual ball game = rubber balls were batted back and forth across a walled court Symbolized the back & forth struggle between this world and the next

Olmec Religion Olmec rulers = BOTH political leaders AND spiritual leaders Performed rituals and ceremonies to satisfy the gods Temples and pyramids built where thousands could gather for special religious ceremonies and festivals

Religious Rituals of the Olmec Bloodletting Sacrifice of humans, animals, and valuable objects

Bloodletting Tools used: Blades Stingray spines Sharks’ teeth Obsidian flakes Rope with thorns Jade “spears”

Sacrifice