As a white man educated in the 1970s and 80s, I am aware of the limitations of the western-view of world history I was taught. I knew pretty much nothing about the Incas, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and all the other societies that actually were possibly BIGGER than Europe in 1492, and dwarfed it in centuries before. Profit-not piety-was their primary motive. The agricultural development of maize from essentially inedible precursors like teosinte was significant for the rise in crop surpluses, populations and complex cultures, and pivotal in the rise of civilizations such as the Olmec. This pattern would repeat, and as it did the native population would gradually shrink due to the spread of disease. Indians in North America would burn off the underbrush in forests every year, creating forests that were more akin to parks than wilderness. studying today in the hope of regaining this lost knowledge. Mann combines first hand reportage with a survey of the current evidence to reveal a Lost World. As Mann “suggests” in his preface many of us have been taught that prior to Christopher Columbus showing up, North and South America were pristine lands, sparsely populated by primitive Indians with unsophisticated cultures, who lived at the mercy of Mother Nature. Author Charles Mann's purpose is to debunk three commonly held ideas about the Americas before Columbus: that the continents were sparsely populated, that the social and technical development was limited and that the locals left the environment untouched. I stopped reading it somewhere around page 100, where the author makes the comparison between ritual human sacrifice by the Aztecs and executions in European countries. This is an excellent book that describes the civilizations in North, Central, and South America before (and shortly after) the arrival of Columbus. If you continued south and arrived in the Inca empire you would realize it was the largest nation-state in existence at the time. Mann combines first hand reportage with a survey of the current evidence to reveal a Lost World. And it’s a legit history, in ways I didn’t realize were even lacking in my previous acquaintance with early American history before reading the book. I knew pretty much nothing about the Incas, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and all the other societies that actually were possibly BIGGER than Europe in 1492, and dwarfed it in centuries before. For example, the agricultural method of inter-planting different species of crops in a plot of land was a wonderful approach for keeping farms fertile over long periods of time, even millennia. - People, Society & Culture, Quiz & Worksheet - Middle Age Knights & Code of Chivalry, Quiz & Worksheet - European Battles for North America, Quiz & Worksheet - Effect of Mughal India's Decline on European Traders, Quiz & Worksheet - Land & People of Southeast Asian Civilizations, Quiz & Worksheet - Southeast Asia During the Spice Trade, The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment, Global Transformations in the Early 20th Century, CPA Subtest II - Business Environment & Concepts (BEC): Study Guide & Practice, AACN Acute Care Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (ACNPC-AG): Study Guide & Practice, Biology 107L: Clinical Microbiology w/ Lab, CPA Subtest I - Auditing & Attestation (AUD): Study Guide & Practice, Analytical Procedures in Audit & Non-Audit Engagements, Physical Geography & Current Environmental Patterns, Historical Overview of Culture & Diversity, Tips for Parents: Supporting Kids Struggling with Online Learning, Motivation & Engagement Strategies for Teachers in the Virtual Classroom. But even that information was hard to find. Certain citiessuch as Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams.
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