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 Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:45 am
"I will also show how societies interacted, especially in the early eras of world history. Cross-cultural interaction can take place in a number of ways, all of which bring civilizations into closer contact with each other, with both positive and negative consequences. By 600 c.e. many civilizations had begun to interact with other groups, in some cases over considerable distances. Sometimes encounters were peaceful, often they were not." Lavi said pulling the information he had learned in a book he had read again and again at his home.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:49 am
"Many things about individual societies- what they knew, how they kives, the material possessions they had available to them, whether or not the survived at all- werw deeply affected by how they met and dealt with other civilization. One of the most common forms of social, cultural, technological, and economic change is diffusion: the spread of inventions, foods, trade goods, concepts, and practices from one people to another. Determining to what degree a given society's basic features are shaped by cultural diffusion or independent innovation is one of the most challenging and interesting questions in the study of ancient cultures. Both have played important roles in the evolution of civilizations. Got that?" Raine stared up and nodded blankly.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:55 am
Lavi was really getting into this, he loved teaching more than anything. "Okay now let's go into the class structures. Almost all societies have come form of class distinction, according to which people are defined by such things as wealth, ancestry, or occupational function. Differentiation by class is quite limited in preagricultural societies. Typically, among hunters, gatherers, and herders, all members of the group preform similar function (Although, labor is, in most cases, divided by gender) and have similar skills. Most possessions are shared or owned commonly. Thus, members of these societies remain more or less equal. Exceptions include cheiftains and elders (who provide leadership) and priests or shamans (who provide religious guidance and, often, medical care.)"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:01 am
"True class distinction generally coincides with a society's adoption of agriculture. Agriculture encourages permanent settlement and technological advancement. Because land and the tools and livestock needed to work it are so important, agriculture makes the concept of private property meaningful. Agriculture also leads to the creation of food surpluses, meaning that, unlike in pre-agriculutreal societies, substantial numbers of people not directly involved in food production can be fed. These people are free to develop other skills for the benefit of their society and themselves. This gives rise to the specialization of labor. That's really important Raine" Lavi went on as the walked, still deep in the field of otogakure.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:05 am
"Up to 600 c.e. the vast majority of people in most societies were peasants and farmers. STill, an increasing percentage of those societies' members preformed other functions. Ruling classes, generally in the form of royal families, emerged to run governments that became more complicated as time passed. Other examples of more specialized occupations in early societies include soldiers, priests, craftspeople, artisans, scribes, and accountants. " Raine tried to focus. It actually helped him more to listen than to actually read which was a very hard thing to do.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:14 am
Time went on and on as they walked, the day was getting warmer and the sun higher in the sky. "Certain social roles- such as political or military leadership- are inherently more powerful than others. Also, some occupations come to be more valued than others. This situation gives rise to the phenomenon of social stratification, in which upped and lower classes emerge. A culture's system of ranking social classes is known as a hierarchy. Each society judges for itself which classes are more important and which are less so. Each society also has its own way of determining how classes interact with each other, how difficult it is for an individual to more from one class to another (the concept of social mobility) and what benefits or disadvantages each class possesses." Lavi was gettng excited about his lesson and began to move his hands. Raine was actually quite interested even though he couldn't understand half the words that were coming out of Lavi's pie whole
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:16 am
"Religion often plays a role in justifying social hierarchies. In most societies up to 600 c.e. (and even late) the privileged or elite classes were quite small. Social stratification tended to be rigid, meaning that upward social mobility was difficult. Certain civilizations, such as India, had extremely strict arrangements called caste systems, in which movement from one class to another was impossible. In most early civilizations, lines between classes were very sharply drawn. Upped classes typically enjoyed many legal and financial advantages, such as more lenient treatment before the law and immunity from taxation. " Lavi scowled at this. and so did Raine even he understood this.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:20 am
"Lavi can we take a break? I've got rocks in my shoes." Raine cut into Lavi lesson. Who gladly stopped and pulled out his water bottom. It was getting hotter in the summer day. But the sky was still dim. They had come a long way. Raine looked back towards home. "I think I've been here before but I can't remember when." the little boy cut in between a granola bar.
"Huh, that's weird. Well We are heading out that way." he pointed out toward a road that took them far into the flat region.
"K let's go."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:24 am
"No back to the lesson, we left on caste systems write? Oh no it was the upper class superiority thing. Ok so... At most times and in most parts of the world, political power, religions leadership, and important social functions have been in the hands of males, especially since the rise of settled agricultural and urban cultures. Societies in which male domination prevails are called patriarchies. A small minority of early societies gave more political, religious, and social power to women. These matriarchies, however were rare."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:29 am
"There are a few archaeologists and anthropologists who have tried to prove that most preagricultural societies were originally matriarchal, but their theories are not accepted by most scholars. In either case, from the development of agriculture onward, the gender division of labor has remained an important (and unfortunate) way, along with class, that societies differentiate certain members from others. Raine learn from the mistakes okay. You aren't any better than a girl and those people were wrong to use genders as different classes." Lavi said looking down at the small boy, and ruffling his hair.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:32 am
"Okay now let's talk about the forms of government. Few communities, no matter how primitive, fail to provide themselves with a form of leadership. Even the least advanced group will have some kind of chief or war leader. As societies grow into civilizations, they develop more complex forms of government. Although details vary, most political systems fall into one of a few basic categories." The passed into a more grassy areas as the morning grew on. There were more trees here, but the land was still flat for miles to come.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:35 am
"Perhaps most common before the modern era was monarchy, r government led by a single ruler- typically a king, queen, emperor, or empress. In premodern eras, the monarch's power was often justified in religious terms: Egyptian pharaoh were said to be the sun god's incarnation, Chinese emperors ruled with the so-called mandate of Heaven, and many European kings claimed to govern according to the principle of "divine right."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:44 am
Now the day was hot and they moved father and farther into the desert like country. Sagebrush grew common around them like an ocean. Often Lavi had to stop to take a drink "Most monarchs govern with the assistance of a small upper class, known as the nobility (or aristocracy). This political elite assist the monarch with political administration, economic development, military defense, and other matters that he or she cannot take care of directly or alone. In case where the monarch's powers are relatively weak, he or she often rules in tandem with a parliament (or some sort of lawmaking body) or according to the rules of a constitution or both."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:45 am
"Before around 1000 c.e. however, such arrangements were extremely rare. In most instances, monarchical rule is hereditary (as in noble or aristocratic status). Monarchies in which the monarch possesses an unusual amount of power-- or all of it-- are referred to as autocratic or despotic. In highly decentralized conditions (as in medieval Europe or preunification of Japan), monarchies often degenerated into feudal systems, in which the local authority of individual nobles outweighs the central authority of the monarch."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:48 am
"Also prominent was Oligarchy, or rule by the few. In oligarchic systems, political power rests in the hands of a small elite group, generally chosen from the wealthy or the aristocracy." Lavi went on, looking down every few minutes to make sure that Raine was paying attention. He pulled out his water bottle again and took a long jug. The bottle was almost half empty and they had been walking for a little more than two hours.
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