The Worlds of the 15th Century

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The Worlds of the 15th Century

• All types of human societies were still around.

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I. Paleolithic Persistence

• Gathering/hunting societies
• All of Australia
• Most of Siberia
• Arctic coastlands
• Parts of Africa/Americas
• (had changed over time and interacted with
  neighbors)

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Australia

• 250 separate groups
• Assimilated outside ideas
• Outrigger canoes, fish hooks/nets
• Artistic styles/rituals/mythological concepts
• Had not adopted agriculture
• firestick farming
• Exchanges of goods over 100s miles

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Firestick farming lecture Youtube khanacademy
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II. Agricultural Village Societies

• Much of No. America
• Africa south of equator
• Parts of Amazon River basin
• So. East Asia
• ---these mostly avoided oppressive authority,
  class inequalities and seclusion of women

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3 examples from present day So. Nigeria

• Yoruba people
• City-states with king (oba)
• Many oba were women
• Performed religious and political functions
• Benin
• Centralized state ruled by warrior king (Ewuare)
• Igbo
• Dense population but no kingship or state
  building

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Yoruba
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Common characteristics of Nigerian societies

• Traded among themselves and beyond
• Shared artistic traditions
• Moved from matrilineal to partilineal system

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III. Herding People or Pastorialists

• Turkic society
• West Africas Fulbe society (largest ex)

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Turkic

• Warrior Timur (Tamerlane)
• Wanted to restore Mongol Empire
• Ca. 1400
• Army devastated Russia, Persia, India
• 1405 he died while preparing to invade China
• Sucessors kept Persia and Afghanistan for a
  century
• Last great military success of C. Asian nomads

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Tamerlane