NOTE Discussions - Professor Leslie Dossey\'s Notes on mandatory assignment questions for discussion, PDF

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Professor Leslie Dossey's Notes on mandatory assignment questions for discussion,...

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Hoffmann, Mann, Diamond Wednesday, September 5, 2018

4:35 PM

2. Sept. 5, *7 The Agricultural Revolution(s): the biggest mistake in human history? (no class Sept. 3 due to Labor Day) Hoffmann, 21-33 (Sakai); Mann 3-18 (Sakai); J. Diamond, “The worst mistake in the history of the human race” (Sakai) From

1. Mann begins his book on America before Columbus with a discussion of the Beni region of eastern Bolivia. Why do you think he chose to highlight this region? What point is he trying to prove? (3-7, 14)? He chose to highlight this region because the people there may have never seen Westerners before. - Everyone had different ideas about what the Western Hemisphere was like before Columbus - Also there is the argument about people who built causeways and fields in Beni- because we believe since 1491, the land in America has stayed the same Beni is case in point (Beni thought to have untouched nature) - They have built roads, causeways, canals, dikes, reservoirs, mounds (artifacts like pottery), raised agricultural fields, and ball courts - Wilderness Act of 1964- leaving and putting the land back to its natural state - If new view is correct (humans cultivating land is good?), where does that leave efforts to restore nature - Trying to prove that maybe it is good 2. How densely inhabited do scholars now think the Beni may have been? When did people live there and what did they eat? Was this agriculture or hunting-gathering? (14) - Very densely inhabited- a lot of the landscape has been humanized (ERICKSONS's HYPOTHESIS is that maybe as many as a million people have walked the causeways of eastern Bolivia. - Erickson believes it was founded by the ancestors of an Arawak speaking people called the Mojo and Baure like three thousand years ago - Built mounds for homes and farms, constructed causeways and canals for transportation and communication, created fish weirs to feed themselves and burned the savannas to keep clear of invading trees - Villages and towns were spacious, formal, guided by moats and palisades I feel like it was both agriculture or hunting gathering- included foraging the ground - Maybe best toward agriculture because they usually just built things

3. What was Holmberg’s mistake? (9, 11, 15)? - The Siriono were walking through a landscape built by somebody else - The mistake was that this was a Supposition that Native Americans lived in an eternal, unhistoried state - Explains the colonists' view of seeing Indians as barbarians- the Noble Savage, native Americans lacked agency- they were not actors in their own right - Had limited picture, had 95 % destroyed- seeing the refugees at the Holocaust camp

comparison) 4. Why does Diamond call agriculture “the worst mistake” in human history? What were the health consequences of agriculture compared to hunting-gathering? - Agriculture brings social and sexual inequality (brought different classes, disease and despotism ○ They adopted agriculture because it means get more food for less work - Hunter gathering provided better nutrients and protein than high carbohydrate crops like rice and potatoes - Height dropped because of agriculture - Nutritional stress and infectious disease because of agriculture was affecting people's chance of survival Diamond has 3 basic ones - Hunter gatherers had better diet - Farmers ran risk of starvation if crops died - Crops encouraged people to clump together and start large societies- which led to new diseases Also class divisions were created 5. Given its disadvantages, why did most people adopt agriculture over time? (Diamond) - Adopted agriculture because it was an efficient way to get more food for less work. - Planted crops yielded more tons per acre than roots and berries - Gave us free time because crops can be stored - Encouraged the flowering of art - Farming supported more people than hunting - Agriculturalists can defeat hunter gatherers 6. How similar was the climate during the early Holocene to the climate today (Hoffmann pp 25-27)? Pg. 25- Warm and moist conditions prevailed at the start of the Holocene. Sub-boreal of northwestern Europe- cooler and drier- had wet spells. Sahara was also humid/moist We have warmer and drier summers- (Mediterranean conditions) Climactic extremes Retreat of ice 3000 B.C. 7. What did the new agriculture of southwestern Asia (the Fertile Crescent) consist of, i.e. what sort of animals and crops? (p. 30) Wheat, barley, certain legumes And animals such as sheep, goat, cattle, pig, donkey Polished stone tools and pottery 8. How quickly did the people of Europe adopt the new agriculture? (p. 30) Adoption driven by symbolic culture rather than sustenance needs - Human dominion over nature- meal, bread, beer, ceramics Some took a while- Britain took a millennium after developing stone tools to start farming 12.5-7kya (Neolithic cultural complex) 10. What was the ager, saltus, and silva system and how sustainable does it seem to you (compared to, say, the Beni system)? (Hoffmann 32)

Age distinctions of land - Ager would denote cultivated fields, semi-permanent objects of plough culture for grain production and fallow pasture, located close to settlements - Saltus would be scrub or waste pasture- provided a land reserve for future arable - Woodland- silva, community harvested wood as fuel and raw material, gathered wild food, dye, and medicinal plants, and grazed cattle and pigs COMPARED TO BENI- Beni just seems a little more advance in my opinion- however, the Beni did burn savannas- and the Ager, saltus, and silva system seems like it gives more back to the land by having waste pasture

Radkau, Epic of Gilgamesh, Egyptian Book of the Dead Tuesday, September 11, 2018

8:34 PM

3. Sept. 10, 12, *14 Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: irrigation societies Radkau, Nature and Power, 86-97 (Sakai); Epic of Gilgamesh (Sakai); Egyptian Book of the Dead (Sakai) Key terms: salinization ; hydraulic society ; water lifting devices 1. In connection to which natural resource did environmental awareness probably first develop? (Radkau 86, 88) - Water and forest usage - Water irrigation - Transporting woods downstream eighteenth century - Trees helped soil, not just the water - Water regulation: dams - People tried to control water- did not go well- caused catastrophes- cannot fight the tide 2. What were (and are) the problems caused by irrigation and could they be prevented? (Radkau 88-90, 93-95)? - Hydraulic engineering problems (YES- NEED To FOLLOW AND ADAPT TO NATURE AND FORCE) - Water problems dispute in Middle East (no- have existed since beginning) - Irrigation caused evaporation, (yes- put covers on irrigation ditches and construct them underground - Reduce rate of evaporation using underground water tunnels (Qanats in Iran) - Increase of evaporation causes salinization of soil, costly and labor intensive (many people didn't do it) - Minerals in water evaporate and leaves salt there - More of a problem in Mesopotamia than Egypt because they had mountainous areas that was hard to irrigate (no real limit to agriculture expansion) - Egypt let Nile flooded fields, water flowed back and brings salts and stuff with it - Water table was higher in Mesopotamia- evaporated faster than Egypt - Danger of salinization(difficult to determine countermeasures, people learned to put soil in places with low salinity - Creation of Fayum depression- artificial lake linked to nearby Nile valley - Hydraulic engineers, need knowledge - Might have been irrigation that turned Iran into a desert today- cutting down forests and constant irrigation 3. What is Karl August Wittfogel’s theory of “hydraulic society” (connected to idea of “irrigation society”) and does Radkau agree with it? (92, 96-97) - Theory of hydraulic society - Whenever irrigation systems grew to a large scale, they compel a highly- developed organization with central guidance - The cost of hydraulic construction and maintenance needed a political and social structure to for organized labor - Tendency for government to take over water supply, expand and taxation - Promises to offer a key to solving many exciting mysteries of history - Oriental despotism- some government located in Asia and Egypt that go towards autocratic govenrments - Agree? - Larger and complex an irrigation system became, the more dependent the system became on the functioning of a higher administrative authority - As soon as authority fell apart, the parts of the irrigation would also fall apart - Turned into destabilization - Mesopotamia turned critical because of this so - wants to modify this theory (not as extreme as people thought) ▪ Tendency for people to want to take over ▪ Finds it still useful to think with though

4. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia are considered early “irrigation societies,” but in what important ways did Egyptian agriculture differ from Mesopotamian? (Radkau 93-94) - Creation of Fayum depression- artificial lake linked to nearby Nile valley - Hydraulic engineers, need knowledge - Might have been irrigation that turned Iran into a desert today- cutting down forests and constant irrigation - River was allowed to flood the fields in Egypt - Nile provided excellent water economy and sustainability - Shaduf appeared- lifting device that made possible the irrigation of the fields even when the waters of the Nile were low (the New Kingdom) - Simple technology helped with salinization - Just used oxen, donkey, and humans to plow fields 5. In most environmental histories, the Sumerians are given as an example of an irrigation society that destroyed itself and created a desert. Does Radkau agree? When does he think the ecology of Mesopotamia was really exhausted and why? (94-6) - Yes he agrees, he calls it history's first ecological suicide - Ur and Uruk were completely ecologically devastated (Modern day Iraq) - Constant irrigation without a fallow period without sufficient drainage - Combined with the cutting down of forests - Salinization also occurred, did not follow nature's conditions - Ecology of Mesopotamia was really exhausted using this system - Hydraulic society destabilized their system and threated ecological balance - ALTHOUGH, Gives evidence against this - May have happened with another civilization - Salinization occurs - Sumerians existed 3rd millennium BCE, began as civilization in 4th millennium BCE - We are in 4th Millennium CE - Salinization doesn’t begin in 4000 years, takes a while - Humans adapted 6. Did the Greeks and Romans rely much on irrigation? (Radkau) - Do not hear much of irrigated agriculture - Great historical shortcoming - They managed though - Both were democracies (no oriental despotism) - Romans also did not rely much on irrigation - Had baths and aqueducts and natural springs (hydraulic building and not irrigation) - For farming, relied on the rain and storms 7. At the beginning of the fragment from the Epic of Gilgamesh, does the cedar forest have much biodiversity? (Epic of Gilgamesh) - Yes, the Epic goes into extreme detail - Cedar Mountain, abundant, sweet shade - Thorny undergrowth, thick canopy, trees - Saplings, cypresses, lumps of resin - Birds were singing, tree crickets, wood pigeons, turtle dove, monkeys . Why do ilgamesh and Enkidu cut down the forest and kill its protector, umbaba? Does this please the gods? (Epic of ilgamesh) - Cut the forest down (needed wood) because the forest starts to cast a shadow on Gilgamesh - His friend tells him to not be scared (Enkidu) - Tells him not to fear death and dwell on combat - Does not please the gods- Enkidu tells him to slay him and do away with his power before Enlil learns about it and the great gods get angry at them - Personal gain? - Send some of the timber towards Enlil - At the end, they bring it to the god to use in his temple - Gods are protectors of forest, likely to offend gods- but there is a way to buy them off- give gods a share of the plunder of the forest, ambiguous message - Feeling of fright

9. Can you find any injunctions in the Egyptian Book of the Dead that might have helped protect the environment? (Egyptian Book of the Dead) - Do not mistreat cattle - (have not made anyone sick) - Damage bread - Falsified a half aroura of land - Not diminished the aroura - Have not driven cattle away - Not neglected the times and their meat offerings - Quenched a fire at its proper time - Snared the birds of gods or fish in marshes - Waded in water 8. How about injunctions that may have encouraged people to control their levels of consumption? Why is consumption an environmental issue? (Egyptian Book of the Dead) - Do not cut down on the food income in the temples - Damage bread of the gods - Neglected times and meat offerings - Do not take the loaves of the blessed (dead) - Have not added to the weight of balance - Not taken from the mouths of children - Not damaged the grain measure - Not stolen property, been contentious, slain the cattle of a god - Not stolen the bread-ration Consumption creates forest destruction, soil loss, water and grain shortages 9. Egyptian civilization will be one of the longest lasting civilizations in human history. In The Egyptian Book of the Dead, can you find some reasons why? (Sakai) - Used the Nile - Helped the environment and the people - Fear of death and the afterlife led people to do the right things - No abuse or violence, no adultery, - A real civilization

Rules to protect wildlife - Protect biodiversit Held up water and dam

Mann Ch. 6 Wednesday, September 19, 2018

7:38 PM

Sept. 17, 19, *21 Ancient America Mann Ch. 6, 197-217 (earliest American civilizations), 225-29 milpa agriculture, and 252-55 wheeled interlude From

Key terms: Norte Chico culture; milpa 1. Where and when in the Americas did civilization first arise? How does that compare to what is generally considered the earliest human civilizations of the Old World? - Mesoamerica and the Olmec, first before them second Peruvian littoral (at Peru) - Before Christ- 3200 and 2500 BC (so started around 4th millennium BCE, a whole millennium after Sumerians (Mann gives this) - Sumerian civilization began in 4000 BCE (4th millennium) - Egyptian civilization 5500 BCE (both 4th millennium) 2.

What remains a striking difference between the Western and Eastern hemispheres? (201, 254-55) - The great interaction between their great cultural centers - Traffic of goods and ideas in Eurasian societies allowed them to borrow or steal innovations - Algebra from Islam, paper from China, spinning wheel from India - Nobody from Europe (of importance) invented anything really - On the other hand, there was a little exchange between Mesoamerica and the Andes - China had the silk road and in the Mediterranean they had deserts - There was no road across the rainforests and the jagged mountains - No road between Mexico and Peru - Pan-American Highway remains unfinished

3.

Why would the geography of coastal Peru have seemed unlikely to lead to civilization? (202-207)? - Area dry devoid of rain and mountains - Sometimes, rain never falls - Study the area and average rainfall was 2 cm a year - Rather than using agriculture, coastal Peru inhabitants lived off of the sea - Center of fishing - Under MFAC hypothesis- that societies could be founded just by fishing was radical, unwelcome, ad critiqued as an economic impossibility - This meant that this civilization was unlike any other (unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China) - Incredibly rich ocean - Flutes made from pelican wing bones and anchovies

4.

Irrigation was important in the Norte Chico. Did it lead to salinization? (211) - Irrigation needed for cotton production - No, people lived off the rivers - Maybe it's because of Norte Chico's high altitude and mountains - Water rushed so quickly to ocean, did not have time to evaporate - Steep slope

5.

What was the economy of the ancient Norte Chico based on? (212-213) - Based on theocracy - Rulers encouraged workforce from the mounds by staging celebratory roasts of fish and achira root on the side - Alcohol and music - Rested mostly on cotton, textile, netting and edible plants, trade relationships - Shore sites - Also stole from Andean gods- Staff God - Andean spiritual tradition originated in Norte Chico-endured for four thousand years- a millennia longer - Fishermen need cotton (for nets)- so trade

6.

Did these Andean civilizations leave a cultural legacy? (215-16) - Andean spiritual tradition originated in Norte Chico-endured for four thousand years- a millennia longer

Found out about them 15-20 years ago - Archaeology articles and refining timeline- what they did and what they ate

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7.

As Andean societies grew richer- temples and images grew more defined YES- they did Three thousand years- Peru hosted many diverse cultures Primacy of exchange over a wide area, penchant for collective, festive civic work projects, textile and textile technology Chairs, stories Also stole from Andean gods- Staff God (from a gourd) Andean spiritual tradition originated in Norte Chico-endured for four thousand years- a millennia longer MFAC

What was for 4000 years Andean civilization’s only import from outside? (217) - Influenced by maize - Minor crops were tobacco - Maize's social, cultural, and political centrality was that it was the first and only (at the time) resource to pass from Mexico to the Andes - Next major import was smallpox

8. What was / is a milpa and why was it ecologically useful? How does it compare to the way most of our crops are grown today? (225-6) - Milpa- term means maize field (Indian) in which a farmer plants a dozen crops at once - Included maize, avocadoes, squash and bean, melon, tomatoes, chilis, sweet potato, jicama, amaranth, mucuna - Nutritionally and environmentally complementary - Too much maize can lead to disease and pellagra (lack of niacin) - Puts bean and quash together for maize to make it nutritious (provides vitamins) (nitrogen- beans) - Help the soil by keeping shaded - Agricultural fields cannot perform all functions (not natural) farm soils can be exhausted - Today people try to rotate crops in Europe and Asia- use artificial fertilizer and can damage the soil - Milpa has a long record of success - Diversity of plants- better plant control 9.

TALK ABOUT MULPAS, SPIRITUAL TRADITION LIVED On 9four thousan more years (millenia longer than expected) BUT History shows that other socieites more sustainable

What was connection between Olmec civilization and maize? (227-228) - Maize and the milpa helped large scale societies come together - Showed in their art - Ears of maize sprung from the heads of rulers- decorated - Mayan creation story tells us that humans (Popul Vuh) were created from Maize

10. Why didn’t Native Americans have wheeled vehicles? (253-55) - Country is wet and boggy- didn't much need it ○ Horses and things sunk to the mud - Used a moldboard instead - Curved plowshare - Used for toys - Had to invent for themselves, not learned from other people From

Natural barriers No need to fortify- had seas Did not have people who were conquerors No writing, but textiles with recordkeeping

Garnsey Thursday, September 27, 2018

1:08 PM

Peter Garnsey, Food and Society in Classical Antiquity, extracts (Sakai) 1. What were the main foods eaten by the Greeks in antiquity? (13-19, 119-123 - The main foods were derived from cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruit, olive oil, milk, cheese, little fish and meat - Cereals (groups of seed crops), vines, olives - Wheat, porridge, flat cakes, bread - Dry legumes/pulses ○ Lentils, chickpeas - HEAVY CEREAL EATERS - 119. ○ Barley, wheat ○ Naked wheat and other cereals ○ Bread and other cereal products

2. -

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How healthy was this ancient Mediterranean diet? (19-21) Wheat and barley had nutritional advantages- no diseases like maize- food energy High in protein compared to other staples But animal proteins have advantages over plant proteins Cereals consumed in quantity will give most of what a...