AP World

The Hopewell tradition was not a single cultural society, but a widely dispersed set of people. They worshiped a goddess by the name of spider-woman or moon goddess. Mounds were built as a ceremonial object. Which is where they buried members and worshiped. These mounds were actually made as lunar alignments and were an integral part of their highly developed social

The Olmec’s lived along muddy riverbanks and the Gulf of Mexico around 1500 B.C. Rigorous agricultural practices characterized the Olmec civilization, enabling them to provide food and resources for their families and generate income by selling their food to others around them. They also used the land to their advantage, using the mud to create elaborate earthen pyramids. Along with the cultivation of land, trade contributed to the success of the Olmec’s. They had many widespread trade routes extending into the surrounding areas. Their trade routes further helped to expand agriculture and grow the economy within this society due to the selling of agricultural products along these routes. To grow spiritually, the Olmec’s created religious rituals and a system of hieroglyphics that allowed the peoples to communicate effectively while also uniting the Olmec people as a whole. The Olmec’s’ use of their surrounding geography, combined with the economic growth brought about from extended trade routes and the societal unity brought about from the implementation of religious rituals allowed the Olmec’s to thrive during their time.

There has recently been discoveries regarding the fates of ancient societies. These discoveries reveal that great cultures like the Mayans, ancient Mesopotamians, and the Anasazi of the American Southwest

As Indian groups started to settle in the Mississippi floodplain, their cultures and political systems began to intertwine, creating a complex sociopolitical structure (Page, 70). The largest polity to arise out of this area, known as the American Bottom, was Cahokia. At its height, it resembled a city, extending over five square miles, mounds and structures that towered over smaller dwellings, and a population, that some believe to have been the largest, north of Mexico, for its time (Page, 70). Estimates predict several thousand lived at the site of Cahokia, many of them elites, whose particular talents or skills, earned them the privileged title (Pauketat). Beyond its boundaries were smaller groups and

The Mediterranean served as a basin for the early civilizations. The rich history of the

The development of West Africa illustrates the advancements made in several different ways. Based on document #6, the city of Timbuktu acquired an advanced commercial center. Merchants sold a large quantity of corn, cattle, milk, and other dairy products. The city also consisted of knowledgeable artisans, including doctors, judges, and priests. It was a great Muslim educational center with more than 180 schools. The largest school taught more than 25,000 students! Timbuktu was a significant cultural and economic center with a wealthy population. The advancements made by this city show that the people of West Africa were educated, resourceful, and skilled in specific fields. Another accomplishment attained by West Africa was the development of griots. Based on document #2, a griot recounted history and “harbored secrets many

The motivations behind the civilization of Africa are viewed in documents 1, 4, 7 and 11. Economic motivations and political global power such as the advantages of

Regarding the Great Serpent mound in Ohio, this evidence suggests that a very complex and highly organized society was in place. The mounds themselves had to be created by following a complex method. It is the largest of its kind and likely required many people to construct. That would also require great organization. Inside these mounds, goods have been found that suggest a trade market. These are all traits of a complex society.

The first time I heard about the Mound Builders, which was in this class, these people seemed like a very primitive group. What was so exciting about having the skill of piling up a bunch of dirt. Then I was able to see some of these mounds and the scale was nothing I had imagined. These mounds were huge and also contained distinct structural shapes. Tombs, houses, and religious structures were constructed in or on top of the mounds. What made the edifices even more amazing was the time period they were built. Constructed all the way back to 3000 B.C., the mounds rivaled the most advanced engineering techniques in the world.

From three thousand BC to one thousand two hundred BC, this mighty nation lived. In Peru, near the city of Lima, scientists discovered a city. A sunken plaza, a big amphitheater, a city in ruins. Sadly, they disappeared. One of the skeletons they found, was a woman. By what the scientists could tell, she had a high status, and, based on what they found in the grave, this civilization practiced equality between men and women. I welcome you, to the oldest civilization, Norte Chico.

o Known for mound building; largest mound is the Great Serpent Mound: 1300 ft long, built by the Mississippian.

The Myth of the Moundbuilders is a myth accepted by American settlers from Europe, in North America into the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. America was being populated and the new colonizers began to notice many artificial earthworks all around the continent. Circular, straight and mound statues were built and uncovered when the new farmers started to clean around the trees in the forest.

Representatives of all the peoples of the empire—recognizable by their distinctive hair, beards, dress, hats, and footwear— are depicted bringing gifts to the king. In this exercise in what today we would call public relations or propaganda. Zoroastrianism- religion originating in ancient Iran that became the official religion of the Achaemenids. It centered on a single benevolent deity, Ahuramazda, who engaged in a struggle with demonic forces before prevailing and restoring a pristine world.

In the sixth century B.C.E., the civilization of Aksum, which was located in what in now Ethiopia, was flourishing. One traveler wrote his thoughts about the trading processes that the Aksumites did. This piece of writing that he wrote can show a lot about how the Aksumites lived.

Mounds made by the early North American societies are by far the most impressive and eye catching structures of the woodlands in which they lived in. The mounds were enormous and could be up to 100 feet tall from the base of the ground and 1,000 feet long. These mounds were used for multifarious events, but ultimately, they were used as stages for ceremony and ritual sites. Occasionally they were used as platforms for dwellings and even as burial sites. Typically, the only societies that made these structural mounds were from the woodlands. The woodlands were about the only places at the time that you could find the resources available to make such structure. When it comes to building the mounds, you also have to consider what regions would