The Rise of Universal Religions, 300–600 ce

Global Storylines

1. Universalizing religions—notably Christ ian ity and Buddhism—appeal to diverse, widespread populations and challenge the power of secular rulers and thinkers.

2. Ac ross Afro-Eu rasia, these universalizing religions offer continuity even as power fu l empires, specifically, the Roman Empire in the west and the Han dynasty in China, fall away.

3. Along the Silk Road, the merchants and rulers of Sasanian Persia, Sogdiana, and South Asia profoundly influence the exchange of goods, people, and ideas between east and west.

4. In t he “worlds apart,” common cultural beliefs help unify newly orga ni zed polities in Mesoamerica and new communities of Bantu-speakers in sub-Sa haran Africa.

Focus Questions

1. What characteristics made Christian it y and Buddhism universal religions, and why did they have such wide appeal in Afro-Eu rasia?

2. What was the nature of the relationship between empires and universal religions across Afro-Eu rasia during this period?

3. To w hat extent did connections between politica l unity and religious development influence subSa haran Africa and Mesoamerica in the fourth to sixth centuries ce?

4. How did unifying politica l and cultural developments in sub- Sa haran Africa and Mesoamerica compare with those occurring in Afro-Eu rasia during this period?

Multiple Choice

1. Which two faiths in particular aspired to universality in the period between 300 and 600 CE?

a.Buddhism and Hinduism b.Hinduism and Confucianism c.Islam and Hinduism d.Christianity and Buddhism

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: p. 278 OBJ: 1

TOP: 1 MSC: Understanding a.They had too few followers. b.They were tied to a specific locality or ethnic group. c.They did not have a specific creed. d.They did not create sacred texts.

2. Which of the following factors inhibited religions from becoming universalizing religions?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 278 OBJ: 1

TOP: 1 MSC: Understanding a.prophets b.priests c.martyrs d.disciples

3. The growth of early Christianity coincided with the appearance of what central figures in matters of faith?

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: p. 279 OBJ: 1

TOP: 1 MSC: Remembering a.the nature of God b.the idea of salvation and eternal life c.obedience to God rather than to human rulers d.the source of evil in the world

4. What issue brought Christians into a Mediterranean-wide debate on the nature of religion?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 282 OBJ: 1

TOP: 1 MSC: Understanding a.Only male Christian converts were permitted inside. b.The spaces for the bishop and clergy were separate from the congregation. c.The buildings were small and intimate. d.The buildings were elaborately decorated.

5. Which of the following statements concerning Christian churches built after the conversion of Constantine indicates the structure of the religion?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 284 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Applying a.to establish the primacy of the pope over matters of doctrine and faith b.to finalize the selection of books making up the Christian Bible c.to bring unity to diversity of belief in disparate Christian communities d.to establish the celibacy of Christian priests

6. For what purpose did Constantine summon bishops to the Council of Nicaea?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 284 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Remembering a.a consolidation of power among non-Roman tribes under kings who could coordinate widespread attacks against Roman troops b.an armed insurrection against Christian missionaries who tried to force the conversion of pagan peoples to Christianity c.a more violent and chaotic form of immigration pouring into the empire d.a massive slave revolt in the provinces that destroyed the empire

7. The so-called barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire in the late fourth and fifth centuries CE were, in actuality, what?

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: p. 286 OBJ: 2

TOP: 1 MSC: Understanding a.Byzantine invasions of the Italian Peninsula b.mismanagement and corruption among the Roman elite c.overextension of the empire, leading to high taxes and constant demands for more manpower d.slave uprisings occurring after Christian missionaries taught slaves the ideal of brotherhood among all believers

8. Which of the following was a major cause of the Roman Empire’s fall in the west?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 286 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Analyzing a.They imported slave labor from Spain. b.They allied themselves with Christian Goths to provide stability. c.They abandoned their lands and returned to the Italian Peninsula. d.They embraced a version of Christianity that called for them to abandon riches and enter monasteries.

9. How did Roman landowners in Gaul respond to the threat of peasant revolts and barbarian invasions?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: pp. 286–87 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.Daoist ideas about proper government b.successful Confucian-trained bureaucracy c.propitious omens and auguries d.divine right to rule all the tribes of the north

10. What notion, perhaps derived from China, spurred Attila to attempt to conquer much of Eurasia?

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 287 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.The Christian church brought cultural unity centered on the authority of regional bishops under the bishop of Rome. b.Gothic kingship united all of western Europe under Germanic rule. c.A common spoken language, Latin, provided communication between small Germanic chiefdoms. d.Opposition to the Huns united disparate Germanic and Latin chiefdoms.

11. What replaced the political unity provided by imperial Rome after its collapse in western Europe?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 287 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.selecting Byzantium as the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire b.instituting a major reform and codification of Roman law c.conquering the Sasanian Empire d.establishing fiscal responsibility by frugally controlling his personal expenses

12. Which of the following was Emperor Justinian’s most enduring legacy?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 288 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Evaluating a.It showed the dominance of church over state. b.It showed the role of public games and spectacle in Byzantine life. c.It represented the flowing of Christian and imperial culture. d.It represented the role of martyrs in Byzantine culture.

13. What was the Hagia Sophia’s symbolic importance?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 288 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.an outbreak of bubonic plague during Justinian’s reign b.higher prices for grain in Constantinople c.displacement of skilled silk workers from Constantinople d.the arrival of numerous competing religions in the empire

14. For the Byzantine Empire, which of the following was a negative impact of trade connections to the east?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 289 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Analyzing a.Colder, wetter weather made crops rot in the fields in Southwest Asia. b.Earthquakes caused avalanches that closed key waterways, limiting trade. c.Flooding led rivers to change course, damaging important agricultural areas. d.Drier weather proved fatal to the prosperity of agricultural villages in Southwest Asia.

15. Which effect of climate change weakened the Byzantine Empire?

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 290 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Remembering a.losing campaigns with nomads from central Asia b.prolonged warfare between the Sasanians and the Byzantines c.failure to incorporate new military technology d.persecution of religious minorities

16. Which of the following events weakened both Persia and Rome, making them easier prey for Arab armies in the seventh century?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: pp. 292–94 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Analyzing a.the Sasanian Empire’s persecution of non-Zoroastrians b.universalizing religious communities spreading across Asia along trade routes c.the lack of political unity in the Sasanian Empire d.merging Christian and Zoroastrian beliefs

17. The status of Nestorian Christians in the Sasanian Empire exemplified which of the following?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 294 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Understanding a.blending Christian and Jewish beliefs to create a new religion b.adopting the techniques of siege warfare from Alexander’s heirs c.linking the two ends of the Silk Road through its oasis cities d.organizing the caravan trade across the Sahara Desert

18. The Sogdians were responsible for which of the following achievements?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 294 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Understanding a.Hinduism was intertwined with the varna system, which was specific to South Asia. b.Hinduism was less accessible to a wider audience than Brahmanism. c.Hinduism was supplanted in South Asia by Jainism. d.Hinduism rejected written sacred texts in favor of oral tradition.

19. Which of the following slowed Hinduism from becoming a universalizing religion?

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: p. 299 OBJ: 2

TOP: 1 MSC: Analyzing a.The Hinayana school became a major universalizing religion, while the Mahayana school remained centered in South Asia. b.The Hinayana school was accepted by Hinduism, while the Mahayana school was not. c.The Mahayana school encouraged bhakti devotion, but the Hinayana school rejected it. d.The Mahayana school accepted the divinity of both the Buddha and the bodhisattvas, while the Hinayana school accepted only the divinity of the Buddha.

20. Which of the following was a major difference between Mahayana and Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhism?

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 299 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Analyzing

The Rise of Universal Religions, 300–600 a.Sanskrit emerged as a common language of the elites. b.The Gupta Empire conquered Southeast Asia. c.The Vedas were translated into the vernacular languages of Southeast Asia. d.Brahmans abandoned the strict rules of caste in order to appeal to more people.

21. Which of the following facilitated the spread of Brahmanism in South and Southeast Asia?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 299 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Remembering a.It established government control and coercion over social behavior. b.It only applied to individual actions, so Hindu religious expansion was unaffected. c.It provided mechanisms for absorbing new groups into the system of varnas and jatis , propelling Hinduism into every aspect of life. d.It represented social relations and could easily be transported to new societies.

22. What was the impact of the Code of Manu on South Asia?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 300 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Understanding a.It maintained many Chinese traditions of statecraft. b.It refashioned the Chinese military traditions to emphasize the military practices of the nomadic tribes. c.It abolished the practice of forced labor for large, public projects. d.It worked to systematically destroy all evidence of previous dynasties, especially the Han.

23. Which of the following did the Northern Wei dynasty pursue after it took control of part of the old Han territory?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 301 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.The Han were insulted that the Tuoba wanted to redistribute their land. b.The Han nobility had all fled south, and Han peasants refused to work for the Tuoba. c.The Tuoba had little interest in farming, so were not interested in working with the Han. d.Empress Fang had overreached her powers as regent, raising strong opposition to the Northern Wei dynasty.

24. Why did the progressive land reform policies of the Northern Wei dynasty fail to bridge the cultural divide between the Han and the Tuoba?

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: p. 302 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.Daoism provided the Wei rulers with legitimacy, while Buddhism remained the official practice of the southern Han. b.Daoism sought ways to prolong life, while Buddhism sought enlightenment through transcendental experiences. c.Daoism taught a notion of karmic retribution, while Buddhists sought salvation through penance and ceremony. d.Daoism attempted focus on reason, while Buddhism focused on the occult and magical.

25. What was an important difference between Daoism and Buddhism in China during the Six Dynasties period?

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: p. 303 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Analyzing a.Buddhist travelers had become frequent visitors in the streets and temples of the competing capitals. b.Buddhism had already been widely adopted and would now develop its Chinese forms without continued influence from South Asia. c.Buddhism had been outlawed as an example of negative foreign influence. d.Buddhist thought found little support due to the violence and chaos of constant war.

26. Which of the following statements concerning Buddhism in the third and fourth centuries CE is accurate?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 303 OBJ: 2 TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.Both were refuges from worldly affairs that were supported by royal courts and pious warriors. b.Both consisted of thousands of monasteries. c.Both reflected universalizing faiths that tried to be the same in all places and at all times. d.Both absorbed the wisdom and even the deities of other peoples they touched.

27. Which of the following is an accurate comparison of Buddhist monasteries in China and Christian monasteries in the west?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 305 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding a.They moved rapidly, absorbing most of the local hunting and gathering populations. b.They were forced farther and farther west as local populations prevented them from settling in their lands. c.They swept all before them, eliminating most of the local populations. d.They conquered all of sub-Saharan Africa, establishing a single empire that eventually rivaled that of ancient Egypt.

28. What did Bantu peoples do as they began migrating out of West Africa?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: p. 306 OBJ: 3 TOP: 4 MSC: Remembering a.The tropical rain forest was so rich in edible plants that humans did not need intensive agriculture. b.The region was infested with tsetse flies carrying sleeping sickness that wiped out the Bantus’s cattle. c.The Bantus lacked the iron technology needed to farm in that region. d.The local populations prevented the Bantus from obtaining the best farm land.

29. For what reason did the second wave of Bantu-speaking migrants entering central Africa revert to subsistence farming?

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: p. 306 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.the yam b.manioc c.the banana d.date palms

30. What new crop introduced by the Bantu into the rain forests of central Africa radically changed regional agriculture and slowed deforestation?

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: p. 306 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Remembering a.They created priestly rule under the control of healers and spirit guides. b.They established centralized political systems whose kings ruled by divine right. c.They established independent city-states governed by rich merchants. d.They organized themselves into small-scale societies that relied on family and clan connections.

31. What did the western Bantu-speaking people do?

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 307 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.small-scale societies, which used the age-grade system b.the caste system, which supported a warrior elite c.central polities ruled by divine-right kings d.an oligarchy supported by large numbers of plantation slaves

32. Which of the following was the most prominent political and social organization among western Bantu-speaking communities?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 307 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.digging sticks b.iron smelting c.crop rotation d.ox-drawn plow

33. Which technological innovation allowed the Bantu to become successful agriculturalists in different ecological zones?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: p. 306 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Remembering a.Eurasian elites achieved status through education, while “big men” relied on the support of their age groups. b.Eurasian nobles were usually military leaders, while “big men” opposed territorial expansion. c.“Big men” attracted followers based on courage, valor, and wisdom, while Eurasian nobility was based on inheritance. d.Bantu ruling elders included women beyond childbearing age, while Eurasian elites rarely included women.

34. Which of the following is an accurate comparison between the way Bantu “big men” and Eurasian elites achieved status and wealth?

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: p. 307 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.It influenced its neighbors beyond the Valley of Mexico mostly through cultural and economic diffusion. b.It lacked monumental architecture and large urban areas. c.It forced its political culture on neighboring peoples as it established sovereignty over them. d.It became an empire as it expanded its influence throughout Mesoamerica.

35. Which of the following is an accurate statement concerning the city-state of Teotihuacán?

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: pp. 309–10 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Remembering a.The Mayans settled in a region that was hot, infertile, lacked navigable river systems, and that was vulnerable to hurricanes. b.The Mayans were unable to develop long-distance trade because they lacked large domesticated pack animals. c.The Mayans’ religious beliefs were centered on worship of the natural world, so they did not need to build large cities or monumental architecture. d.The Mayans’ low population growth rates over several centuries failed to produce the manpower needed to build a large urban center.

36. Which of the following inhibited the Mayans from developing a great metropolis?

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: p. 310 OBJ: 4

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.Both claimed divine approval for their rule and traced their lineage directly back to the gods. b.Both obtained the financial support of powerful merchants. c.Both centralized authority to undermine the authority of the priestly class. d.Both isolated themselves from the public in order to create a sense of mystery about kingship.

37. In what way did both Mayan kings and many rulers of Afro-Eurasian empires legitimate their authority?

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: p. 310 OBJ: 4

TOP: 4 MSC: Analyzing a.Mayan rulers did not construct monumental architecture because there was no universalizing religion. b.Mayan priests were skilled mathematicians who integrated mathematics with astronomy and worked out an accurate calendar. c.Mayan spiritual centers were abandoned after the Aztecs conquered them. d.Mayan funerary tradition emphasized that the soul would return to nature following the body’s decomposition while being exposed to the elements.

38. Which of the following accurately describes Mayan culture?

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: pp. 310–11 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Understanding a.to provide a way to release population pressure b.to support the role of the Mayan king as he centralized authority in all of Mayan society c.to provide victims for the bloodletting rituals of rival dynasties d.to unite the Mayan communities against a common enemy, the Aztecs

39. What was the main purpose of warfare in Mayan lands?

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: p. 312 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Remembering a.The people of Teotihuacán defeated the Maya. b.A catastrophic earthquake caused many of the Mayan cities to collapse. c.The Maya lacked a common faith to unite disparate communities. d.After years of warfare, the ruling households collapsed and people abandoned the cities.

40. What led to the collapse of Mayan urban centers?

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: p. 312 OBJ: 3

TOP: 4 MSC: Analyzing

TRUE/FALSE

1. The remembered heroism of women martyrs helped balance the increasingly all-male hierarchy of the Christian church.

ANS: T DIF: Moderate REF: p. 279 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Applying

2. Barbarian invasions caused the collapse of the ancient world.

ANS: F DIF: Moderate REF: p. 290 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding

3. Sogdian merchants were known to the Chinese for their commercial skills.

ANS: T DIF: Moderate REF: p. 294 OBJ: 2

TOP: 3 MSC: Understanding

4. The civil wars marking the end of the Han Empire hindered the flow of ideas and religious beliefs from the west.

ANS: F DIF: Moderate REF: p. 296 OBJ: 2

TOP: 2 MSC: Understanding

5. The Mayans, unlike the Han or the people of Teotihuacán, did not build a great central metropolis.

ANS: T DIF: Moderate REF: p. 310 OBJ: 4

TOP: 4 MSC: Applying

Short Answer

1. What are the characteristics of a universal religion? Why did universalizing religions develop in regions of Afro-Eurasia and North Africa, but not in the Americas or sub-Saharan Africa in this time period?

ANS:

Religions with universal aspirations are not tied to a specific region or ethnic group. Christianity and Buddhism appealed to diverse, widespread populations and adapted as they moved from one cultural or geographical area to another. Both religions provided a deep sense of community to their converts, promoted universal rules and principles, and were spread by charismatic missionaries. Both received support from powerful empires. Constantine and Justinian helped make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Northern Wei adopted Buddhism as the state religion to distinguish it from the Confucian-based Han dynasty. Both religions continued to flourish even as empires collapsed. Christian and Buddhist monasteries provided refuge for their followers from worldly chaos. The expansion of long-distance trade in this period facilitated the spread of missionaries and sacred objects far from their points of origin. Rome was established around the Mediterranean with its sea trade and had built roads to far parts of the empire. In addition, changing the language of Christian texts from Aramaic and Hebrew to Greek facilitated the spread of scriptures throughout the Roman world. Christian missionaries created new written languages to permit the wider spread of their message. They adapted the texts to alphabetic scripts in the languages of Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia and created written languages in Georgia and the Caucasus. The Silk Road helped Buddhism and Christianity to spread from oasis to oasis from west to east. Sacred texts and artifacts followed missionaries and monks. A Buddhist scholar, Kumaravija, was brought to the Chinese court, where he translated the sacred texts from Sanskrit and developed a “Middle Way” more in line with Chinese culture. Geographical and ecological conditions in sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas inhibited the easy transfer of ideas from one region to another. Lacking navigable rivers and roads, in addition to barriers such as tropical forests, deserts, and mountains, meant that the web of interchange between relatively isolated groups was less dense. Groups in Africa lacked a common written language, necessary for the development of universalizing scriptures. Therefore, belief systems remained localized.

DIF: Difficult OBJ: 1 TOP: 1

MSC: Understanding

2. Identify the similarities and differences between the development of Christianity in the Roman Empire and the development of Buddhism in China. How did each provide continuity as the two empires collapsed?

ANS:

Christianity began in the Roman Empire and spread among the imperial structures that had been built to support the empire. After Constantine’s conversion, the faith was no longer illegal. Churches and public places of worship sprang up, often built with imperial funding. The faith had a universalistic appeal that was not based on a specific locale or identity. It appealed across class, race, ethnicity, and gender. The organization of the religion itself began to echo the structures of the Roman Empire. The pope, bishops, and clergy were organized much like the administration of municipalities. As the Roman Empire declined, the church stepped in to offer shelter to the poor, justice in the form of arbitration and judgment, and moments of splendor. In the Christian church, “Rome” lived on long after the empire itself had disappeared.

Buddhism also had a universalizing appeal, but instead of developing within a single imperial state, as happened with Christianity in the Roman Empire, it spread to China from outside (i.e., India) along the Silk Road, aided by the Sasanians and Sogdians who controlled the central Asian trade routes. The decline of both the Roman Empire and Han China was associated with the “barbarization” or opening of these societies to cultures along their boundaries. This brought new influences. In China, the Silk Road, nomads in the military, and proselytizing Buddhist monks brought new influences from the so-called “western regions”. This meant that Buddhism took much the same role as Christianity in Rome, adapting to the Chinese empire and gaining popularity through imperial and elite patronage. For example, the Tuoba people, who were regarded as barbarians by the Han, established the Northern Wei dynasty after almost two centuries of civil war. Tuoba rulers adopted Buddhism as a legitimizing alternative philosophy to the Confucian ideals of the Han. So, like Christianity, Buddhism adapted to the changing world.

DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2

TOP: 2

MSC: Analyzing

3. Compare how Buddhism offered religious and political alternatives to Hinduism in India and to Confucianism in China. How did Buddhism challenge and adapt to Hinduism and Confucianism?

ANS:

Buddhism was more of a universalizing faith than Hinduism. It advocated an individual path to nirvana rather than the more rigid adherence to caste accepted by Hinduism. It had spread quickly to the cities and commercial centers of India and beyond. It had become a literate culture, and merchants and monks carried texts along the paths of the Silk Road. Brahmans therefore began to concentrate on the more rural areas in their effort to compete for followers. Hinduism therefore took on more agrarian elements and even adopted rituals and ideas from Buddhism. In fact, some Hindus came to regard Buddha as an avatar of one of their gods, Vishnu. Thus, Hinduism and Buddhism existed side by side in India, competing for followers and influencing each other. It would result in the emergence of an amalgamated Indic culture. So, India developed a distinctive culture based on the intertwining of Hinduism and Buddhism.

In contrast, Buddhism spread to China from the outside, along the Silk Road. It grew in popularity as scholars translated key Buddhist texts into Chinese and clarified Buddhist terminology, often using terms familiar from Daoism, and concepts for Chinese adherents. In the imperial disintegration that followed the end of the Han dynasty, Buddhism appealed to people because it represented the idea that people were defined by faith rather than by kinship or sociopolitical status promoted by Han-sponsored Confucian classical learning. Buddhism emphasized personal devotional acts and established a clergy set apart from worldly affairs. Ironically, however, Buddhism also provided a way of establishing new sociopolitical status. For example, the Tuoba people, who were regarded as barbarians by the Han, established the Northern Wei dynasty after almost two centuries of civil war. Their rulers adopted Buddhism as a legitimizing alternative philosophy to the Confucian ideals of the Han.

DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2 TOP: 3

MSC: Applying

4. Explain the ways that the Bantu and Mayan peoples organized their political and social systems as well as the role religion served in organizing these societies.

ANS:

In sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas, it was not easy for ideas, institutions, peoples, and commodities to circulate broadly, because of ecological and geographical barriers. So, the religions that emerged here were more localized than universalizing. The Bantu were a group that migrated out of West Africa in two great waves. Their skill as agriculturalists allowed them to settle in diverse environments and successfully adapt their methods to multiple ecological zones. This ecological diversity prevented the Bantu from establishing common political, social, and cultural institutions. Instead, their political and social structures reflected the areas in which they settled. While the Eastern Bantu peoples lived in areas conducive to rule by kings, the Western Bantu established political and social order based on family and clan structures. Individuals, “big men”, would rise to the top based on their specific talents. These men were believed to have some control over the world of nature, which was inhabited by spirits and powerful forces that needed appeasement.

The Americas also lacked the integrating artery of a giant river, but despite this the Mayans developed a common culture that ruled over large stretches of Mesoamerica through a series of kingdoms built around ritual centers rather than cities. The highly stratified Mayan social structure was headed by a king, who led public rituals that often involved the shedding of blood. Rulers and their wives shared their own blood, but more often the blood came from people defeated in the near constant warfare between Mayan communities. They acted aggressively in trade, expanding their borders through tributary relationships. The extraordinary feature of Mayan society was that its people were defined not by a great ruler or great capital city, but by their shared religious beliefs, worldview, and sense of purpose. Thus, like the Bantu, religion instead of politics was the uniting feature of the Mayans. However, unlike the Bantu, the Mayans achieved a unity through many villages linked by tribute payments to a ritual center. The Maya may have numbered as many as 10 million, achieving a large population in a cultural system without big cities.

DIF: Difficult OBJ: 3 TOP: 4

MSC: Analyzing

5. Compare the political and cultural developments of the Maya in Mesoamerica with those of the Wei in northern China.

ANS:

China, under the Qin and Han dynasties, had created a system of governance and culture that was so deeply embedded that non-Chinese successor states adopted it, such as the Wei after the collapse of the Han dynasty. The Wei adopted the traditions of Chinese statecraft and court ritual. They used classical Chinese for record keeping and political discourse. They used the census as a basis to tax land and conscript labor. The Wei honored Confucian traditions, but at the same time continued to support Buddhist temples, monasteries, and monumental cave sites along the Silk Road to appeal to their nomadic base. Buddhism in China adapted, as it had elsewhere, to the local cultural traditions. Sacred texts were translated into Chinese from Sanskrit and a new form of Buddhism arose—the Middle Way. Buddhism provided legitimacy to the northern states, such as the Wei.

Unlike China, the Mayans did not have the experience of a centralized empire to build upon, one that bequeathed a unifying administrative system and bureaucracy. Without a major navigable river or large floodplain, the Mayans lacked the resources a centralized state needed. The Maya arose on the periphery of the territory controlled by Teotihuacán that was hot, infertile, and subject to hurricanes. In contrast to China and Teotihuacán, though the Mayans had a large population, they did not have a large urban center. Instead, their cities were much smaller ritual centers linked to hundreds of agrarian villages in diverse ecological zones. What linked the villages to the ritual centers was a common Mayan language and tribute payments, similar to the conditions in northern China where the classical Chinese language and bureaucracy provided unity in governance and common cultural and religious beliefs. A dozen small kingdoms dotted the Mayan region, whose semidivine kings and aristocracy sponsored elaborate rituals involving bloodletting—their own and that of captives taken in combat with other kingdoms. Like the Chinese, the Maya developed written language and a class of scribes, which helped integrate the society through shared histories associated with the ruling families. The Mayans also were expert mathematicians and astronomers who, like the Chinese, developed an accurate calendar governing agricultural cycles as well as rituals. Mayan architects built massive funerary pyramids. Like the northern states in China, Mayan kingdoms were in a state of near-constant warfare. However, the Mayans’ goal was not to add territory but to exact tribute—most frequently in the form of war captives to be sacrificed. Mayan religious traditions and common language and culture provided unity similar to that of the Chinese, but the Mayans’ geographical and ecological conditions inhibited the development of a centralized state and its enduring administrative structure capable of surviving the collapse of the civilization.

DIF: Difficult OBJ: 4 TOP: 4

MSC: Analyzing