Transformation in the Late Postclassical World (Ch. 14, 15, 11)

...is about exploring the changes taking place toward the end of the postclassical period as the world transitions into a new era as well as evaluating how the Aztecs and Incas in the Americas fit postclassical patterns.

Overarching Ideas:

·  Humans need to adapt to environments has necessitated technological innovation.

·  Cultures spread through syncretism.

·  Economic conditions and religion are key components in legitimizing or undermining government.

·  Ever intensifying trade is a powerful force for social and political change.

·  Social inequality is source of conflict yet ever-present in civilizations.

Objectives:

1.  Analyze the historical significance of the Mongols.

2.  Explain the degree to which the Mongols want to and are able to transform Chinese society.

3.  Describe the Ming dynasty.

4.  Evaluate the consequences of plague pandemics in the fourteenth century.

5.  Describe the religion of the Aztecs and Inca.

6.  Describe the political administration of the Aztec and Inca empires and their attitudes toward local autonomy.

7.  Compare the economic systems of the Aztecs and Inca including their involvement in trade networks, tribute systems, and “Inca socialism.”

8.  Evaluate Aztec and Inca justifications for expansion, including Aztec use of human sacrifice and Inca land inheritance.

9.  Summarize the global transitions taking place in the 15th century.

10.  Evaluate the accuracy of a rising West versus a decline of Eastern civilizations.

Key Concepts:

Explain the definition, role, and significance of…

Genghis Khan
Pax Mongolica
Khanate
Kublai Khan
Yuan
Ming / Moscow
Marco Polo
Ibn Battuta
Zheng He
Black Death
Henry the Navigator / Maya
Olmecs
Chinampas
Tenochtitlan
Corn
Split Inheritance
Potato
Mita
Quipu

Guided Timeline:

Mid-East / S/SE Asia / China / East Asia / W. Eur / E.Eur / Africa / Americas
Early Middle Ages / Peak of Byzantium
&
Rise of Russia / Ghana / 500s – 1300s
600 / Rise of Islam & Umayyad / Tang / Chinese influence in Korea, Vietnam, & Japan
First Muslim Contacts
Peak of Abbasid
1000 / High Middle Ages
Deeper Muslim Contact / Decline of Abbasid / Song / Return to native heritage in Korea, Vietnam, & Japan
Delhi Sultanate & conversion in SE Asia / Decline / Mali
peak of
E. Africa
city-states
the Mongol moment
Late Middle Ages / 1300 – 1492
Ming
1450 / Rise of the Ottomans / Return to Isolation

Eurasia

Key Places:
Locate on the maps…
Golden Horde Empire
Moscow
Il-Khan Empire
Djagatai Empire
Baghdad
Constantinople
Himalaya Mountains / Genoa
Venice
Ottoman Empire
Spain
Portugal
Zheng He’s expeditions
Vasco da Gama’s expeditions

The Americas

Key Places:
Yucatan Peninsula
Maya
Sierra Madre Mtns
Aztec Empire
Lake Texcoco
Tenochtitlan
Andes Mtns
Atacama Desert
Inca Empire
Cuzco