Comparative Analysis: Development of Axum and Meroe in Northeastern Africa
AP World Mid-Term Review Questions
66. Comparative Analysis: Compare the development of Axum and Meroe in northeastern Africa with the development of the Maya and of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerica.
In both the development of Axum and Meroë in northeastern Africa possessed the ores and fuels needed to produce iron on a large scale. They traded along the Nile River to Egypt, and their goods such as gold and ivory reached ports all along the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Southern Africa, and quite possibly as far as India and China. Axum was a very powerful state. It controlled a huge number of ports, such as Adulis along the Red Sea coast, and it participated in the commerce of the Indian Ocean, where its export goods included ivory, slaves, and crystal. They also traded with Alexandrian Egypt, and eventually with Rome, Byzantium, and India. Teotihuacan was a powerful political, military, economic and cultural center that influenced the whole of Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan is one of the world's oldest and most impressive archaeological sites. The wealth of Teotihuacan was based largely on the amount they had on the trade of obsidian, a coarse green glass occurring in volcanic rock. In common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya had measured the length of the solar year to a high degree of accuracy. They produced extremely accurate astronomical observations; their charts of the movements of the moon and planets were used to predict eclipses and other celestial events such the time between conjunctions of Venus. The ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of food production. It was formerly believed that shifting cultivation agriculture provided most of their food but it is now thought that permanent raised fields, terracing, forest gardens, managed fallows, and wild harvesting were also crucial to supporting the large populations of the Classic period in some areas.
67. Historical Analysis: "While long-distance trade across Afro-Eurasia
66. Comparative Analysis: Compare the development of Axum and Meroe in northeastern Africa with the development of the Maya and of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerica.
In both the development of Axum and Meroë in northeastern Africa possessed the ores and fuels needed to produce iron on a large scale. They traded along the Nile River to Egypt, and their goods such as gold and ivory reached ports all along the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Southern Africa, and quite possibly as far as India and China. Axum was a very powerful state. It controlled a huge number of ports, such as Adulis along the Red Sea coast, and it participated in the commerce of the Indian Ocean, where its export goods included ivory, slaves, and crystal. They also traded with Alexandrian Egypt, and eventually with Rome, Byzantium, and India. Teotihuacan was a powerful political, military, economic and cultural center that influenced the whole of Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan is one of the world's oldest and most impressive archaeological sites. The wealth of Teotihuacan was based largely on the amount they had on the trade of obsidian, a coarse green glass occurring in volcanic rock. In common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya had measured the length of the solar year to a high degree of accuracy. They produced extremely accurate astronomical observations; their charts of the movements of the moon and planets were used to predict eclipses and other celestial events such the time between conjunctions of Venus. The ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of food production. It was formerly believed that shifting cultivation agriculture provided most of their food but it is now thought that permanent raised fields, terracing, forest gardens, managed fallows, and wild harvesting were also crucial to supporting the large populations of the Classic period in some areas.
67. Historical Analysis: "While long-distance trade across Afro-Eurasia