1 / 41

Chapter 8 Africa and the Americas Words, Terms and People to Know

Tenochtitlan Aksum Songhai Shona Aztec Olmec Maya Mali. Kilwa Inca Mansa Musa Ghana Kush. Chapter 8 Africa and the Americas Words, Terms and People to Know. Africa & Chapter 8 pages 128-143 the Americas 2000 B. C.—1500 A. D. Equestrian statue from Mali, 13th –

Télécharger la présentation

Chapter 8 Africa and the Americas Words, Terms and People to Know

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Tenochtitlan Aksum Songhai Shona Aztec Olmec Maya Mali Kilwa Inca Mansa Musa Ghana Kush Chapter 8Africa and the AmericasWords, Terms and People to Know

  2. Africa & Chapter 8 pages 128-143 the Americas2000 B. C.—1500 A. D. Equestrian statue from Mali, 13th – 15th cent., terracotta, 27" ht. • The First Global Age • 6. Describe the importance of the West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhay including: • a. Trade routes; • b. Products; • c. The spread of the Arabic language; • d. The spread of Islam.

  3. Professon Ali A. Mazrui “Perhaps, in the future, there will be some African history to teach. But at present there is none, or very little: there is only the history of Europeans in Africa. The rest is largely darkness, like the history of pre-European, pre-Columbian America. And darkness is not a subject for history.” “Africa is the first habitat of man but is the last to be made truly habitable. The crisis of habitability in recent history ranges from problems of tropical diseases to difficulties in physical communications and transportation, and from political instability in black Africa to complexities of white-dominated southern Africa.”

  4. Physical and Political Africa

  5. Geography of the WorldRun Time: [20:27] The varied peoples of Africa are examined in terms of their histories, cultural traditions, and means of making a living

  6. OAT: Architecture- the art or science of building Decipher- to interpret the meaning of Dynasty- succession of rulers in one line of descent Hellenistic- of or relating to Greek history, culture or art after Alexander the Great Naturalism- realism in a work of art or literature Traditions- the handing down of information, beliefs and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another. Opera- form of drama set to music Renaissance- revival or rebirth; a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity Script- a style of writing; written characters Stela- sculptured, upright slab or batlet of stone used for laws, decrees or milestones Temple- stately structure devoted to religious exercises Theology- the study of religious faith, practice and experience Aida true? No, it is fictional. It is claimed that the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette wrote a brief plot for an opera in 1869 at the request of the Khedive. Although there are scholars who argue that the scenario was really written by Temistocle Solera. In 1870 this concept, worked into a scenario by Camille du Locle, was proposed to Giuseppe Verdi. He accepted it as a subject for Aida. Mummy Dummy 2: Medieval Doctors and Their Patients During the Middle Ages, many people came to believe that mummies had a medicinal value, especially those covered with bitumen or pitch. According to Christine El Mahdy, a medieval doctor in Cairo wrote that bitumen could be taken internally or applied to the outside of the body. But, he noted, if getting bitumen is a problem, "corpses may be substituted." By the twelfth century, mummy powder was prescribed for wounds and bruises. But it became important to distinguish among the various kinds of mummies. El Mahdy says that Egyptian doctors classified a mummy as one of four types: 1. Egyptian mummies preserved in bitumen 2. Artificial Egyptian mummies (made from bitumen and herbs but containing no body) 3. Arabic mummies (preserved in oils and spices but containing no bitumen) 4. Bodies buried and dried in the sand. The bodies buried and dried in the sand were the least useful to doctors; such bodies were pulverized and used to relieve upset stomachs. Early Demotic developed in Lower Egypt during the later part of the 25th Dynasty. This is the Ostracon with Demotic inscription. Ptolemaic dynasty, c. 305-30 BC. Probably from Thebes. It is a prayer to the god Amun to heal a man's blindness. Africa OAT Vocabulary Victorian Mummy Unwrapping Parties Mummies were considered very Gothic. And in the Victorian era, when anything neo-Gothic was cool, unwrapping mummies became very stylish. So people would bring back or buy mummies from Egypt and have unwrapping parties. We have invitations saying, "Come to Lord Longsberry's at 2 p.m., Piccadilly, for the unwrapping of a mummy from Thebes. Champagne and canapés to follow." A lot of mummies were destroyed in that way. Amenemhet 3 25th Dynasty This scene, from the Papyrus of Hunefer, shows the Hunefer's heart being weighed against the feather of truth. If his heart is lighter than the feather, he is allowed to pass into the afterlife. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead. Today, in the popular mind, Africa means Egypt. Egypt means pyramids; pyramids mean religion—for most people, Egyptian religion and theology boils down to nothing but-MUMMIES! Africa is more than mummies!

  7. Akhenaten and the new religion of Aten—or, “why traditions are important” Islamists destroy tomb of Muslim saint in Mali By blade Created 17/09/2012 - 15:09 Islamists have destroyed the tomb of a Muslim saint in a northern Mali region under their control, two months after similar incidents in the region brought widespread condemnation, sources said Monday. "The Islamists on Saturday destroyed the mausoleum of Cheik El-Kebir, 330 kilometres from Gao," a local politician told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Twelve of them arrived at the site. They demolished the mausoleum with hammers, picks." The sources said the Islamist militant Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) was responsible for the destruction. "Today in Gao, the Islamists boasted about the destruction of the mausoleum of Cheikh El-Kebir. They said they had smashed the mausoleum on Saturday, a town leader who would not give his name told AFP. "This is a crime," he added. Oumar Ould Gaddy, a Gao resident who is believed to be close to MUJAO, confirmed the reports. "Cheik El-Kebir's mausoleum north of Gao was destroyed. That's true," he said. "The Islamists have confirmed this. There is another mausoleum which they will also destroy soon." Kebir's tomb is venerated by the Kunta tribe whose members live in Mali, Algeria, Mauritania and Niger. The latest attack came two months after Islamists destroyed two tombs at the ancient Djingareyber mud mosque in Timbuktu soon after taking over northern Mali amid chaos in the wake of a coup attempt in the capital Bamako. The fighters from the Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) began their destruction of the city's cultural treasures on July 1, shortly after UNESCO placed them on a list of endangered World Heritage sites. Declaring the ancient Muslim shrines "haram", or forbidden in Islam, Ansar Dine set about destroying seven of Timbuktu's 16 mausolea of ancient Muslim saints. They also destroyed the sacred door of the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque. Along with Sidi Yahya, Djingareyber and the Sankore mosque bear witness to Timbuktu's golden age as an intellectual and spiritual capital which was crucial in the spread of Islam throughout Africa. He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten which is sometimes described as monotheistic,… but henotheism would be a more accurate description, since he ranked the Aten above other gods but did not deny their existence . 18th DynastyReign 1353 BC – 1336 BC or1351– 1334 BC.  Egypt takes control of Kush around 1520 B.C. and forces her religion (forced diffusion) on them. By 1000 B.C. Kush returns the favor and brings back that “old time” religion the Egyptians had forgotten or “desecrated”. Today there are many religions in Africa including: Islam, Christianity and many forms of animism. • Statue of Akhenaten

  8. Africa: Land and Resources 19:29

  9. Kush

  10. Overview Section 1 explains how the ancient African civilizations of Kush and Aksum passed along elements of their culture. Ancient Kush was located south of Egypt on the Nile River. Conquered first by the Egyptians and later by the Assyrians, Kushites learned much from both cultures. As Kush declined, another kingdom, Aksum, rose to take its place. Like Kush, Aksum was a trading country. I. Ancient African Kingdoms • A. Kush first African trading civilization south of Egypt—2000 B.C • B. Present day Sudan • C. Nomadic cattle grazers • D. During the New Kingdom the Egyptians conquered Kush • 1. remains part of Egypt for 500 years

  11. Kingdom of Kush[295 BCE – 320 CE] Nubia[modern-day Sudan]

  12. I. continued The Victory Stele of Piankhy • 2. learned to worship Amon-Re and become true believers • 3. 1160 B.C. Kushites win back independence • 4. est. capital at Napata beginning 25th Dynasty: 721 - 707 BC. • a. caravans carry gold, ivory, ebony to Egypt E. About 750 B.C. Kushite king Kashtacaptures part of Egypt and declares himself as “king of Upper and lower Egypt” • 1. Kashta’s son, Piankhi conquers Egypt and his dynasty rules for 70 years. Piankhi restored the temple of Amun at Gegel Barkal. • The temple, at Napata was in ruins when Piankhi’s reign began. He encased its weatherworn masonry in new stone and added his own grand forecourt. Declares himself son of the god Amun (whom Akhenaten had usurped) invaded Egypt, captured Memphis. His victories are recorded on a stela found at Gebel Barkal • King Shabaka( 25th Dynasty: 721 - 707 BC.)moves dynasty to Memphis. The Memphite Theology text on the Shabaka Stone is the oldest known discussion of right and wrong in history James Henry Breasted copying a hieroglyphic text 1906 from Shabaka Stone

  13. Shebitku (Shabataka) 698-690 B.C.25th DynastyShebitku was the second king of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Introduced demotic script which was key to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. • 600 B.C. the Assyrians invade Egypt armed with iron weapons and drive the Kushites back south H. A most valuable skill-Learned secret of iron smelting from the Assyrians I. 540 B.C. Kushites move capital to Meroe

  14. J. Meroe had a huge temple dedicated to Amon-Re and trees to fuel smelting furnaces • 1. Sandstone palaces and red brick houses filled the city Places to Locate: Meroe • 2. Small pyramids were in the royal cemetery. Taharqa was a pharaoh, a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. His reign can be dated from 690 BC to 664 BC.Restored temples-at Karnak esp. Naturalism replaced idealized style of earlier pharaohs. • 3. Smelting furnaces were plentiful • Nectanebo I(380 - 363 BCE)founded the 30th Dynasty, the last dynasty to be ruled by native Egyptians,  late in Egypt's Pharaonic Period. • 4. Meroe remained a trading center for 600 years -- to be replaced by Aksum in 350 A.D. Granite sphinx of Taharqa from Kawa in Sudan 1: of, relating to, or characteristic of a pharaoh or the pharaohs2: enormous in size or magnitude <pharaonic construction projects>

  15. 1st mention Greek Guide Book A.D. 100 Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Zoskales 1st king of Aksum “He was a stickler about his possessions and always greedy for getting more, but in other respects a fine person and well versed in reading and writing Greek.” K. Aksum A.D. 500 Egyptian merchant named Cosmasdescribes Aksumite agents bargaining for gold from the people in southern Ethiopia: “ They take along with them to the mining district oxen, lumps of salt, and iron, and when they reach to its neighborhood they…halt…and form an encampment, which they fence round with a great hedge of thorns. Within this they live, and having slaughtered the oxen, …” (some what reminiscent of the silent barter of Ghana) • 1. a trading country Queen of Sheba (read) Yeha-Aksum 500 BC. • 2. imported silk, spices and elephants from India • 3. exported gold, ivory, slaves from Africa • 4. Jewish, Greek and Arab merchants settle in AksumPeople to Know: Ezana • 5. Greeks bring Christianity to Aksum • 6. The ancient kingdom of Aksum was unusual because Emperor Ezana converts to Christianity in 324 A.D. Christian heritage remains to this day. Ezana (AY-zah-nah)Conquers Kush in 350 A.D …”I carried war against them when they had rebelled…I burnt their towns of stone and their towns of straw. …” Quoted in Africa: Past and Present

  16. continued • 7. developed writing system(Ge’ez)(GEE-ehz) Native language • Aside from Egypt and Meroe, Aksum was the only ancient African kingdom known to have developed a written language. Also the first state south of the Sahara to mint its own coins. • Coins inprinted with “May the country be satisfied” • 8. farmed on terraces • 9. build stone monuments over 60 feet tall. 1st state south of the Sahara to mint its own coins. Gold,bronze and silver imprinted with “May the country be satisfied.” • 10. around 600 A.D. Arab armies force them into the interior of their country where they lived in isolation for 1000 years.

  17. Time for a GRAPHIC ORGANIZER! AXUM’SACHIEVEMENTS Built Stelae Controlled NE African Trade Written Language Terrace Farming Spread Christianity in No. & E. Africa It’s a good idea to make yourself a graphic organizer after you finish a section of notes or study period to ensure you understand what is important about the material

  18. West African Trading Kingdoms: The Gold-Salt Trade SALT GOLD

  19. Run Time: [05:56] A biologist traveled to Africa to study antelope and became concerned with the grasslands that were devoid of life. In Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. One of the indirect effects of this is the exchange of diseases between baboons and people. This strange occurrence is also affecting the education of a generation of children. The world always has been a much smaller place and more interconnected than most people Realize. Through various types of diffusion ideas, commodities, people and unfortunately… diseases Can spread widely. Ancient Ghana in green circle Ancient areas of human habitation are taking on a renewed interest for people in seemingly distant areas of the world. Viruses closely related to HIV are found in monkeys and other non-human primates in Africa, and many scientists believe that the first humans were infected through contact with monkeys in the middle years of the 20th century. Given the nature of modern high speed transportation few places are truly isolated

  20. The Silk Road (or Silk Routes) is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe. Dissemination:1 :to spread abroad as though sowing seed <disseminate ideas> 2 : to disperse throughout Diffusion: the spread of cultural elements from one area or group of people to others by contact Does an item have to be a luxury to be extremely valuable? How do scarcity, usefulness, and transportation cost affect an item’s value? Do all items have the same value to all people? • Items Traded on the Silk Road • Baghdad- dates, nuts, dyes, lapis lazuli • China- silk, chrysanthemums, rhubarb, paper, lacquer, gunpowder, mirrors, bamboo • Damascus- almonds, purple dye, dried fruit, swords, glass, cloth goods • Delhi- cotton, herbal medicine, precious stones, jade • Kashgar (western China)- pack animals, tea, dried fruit, medicinal herbs • Rome- gold coins, glass and glazes, grapevines, alfalfa

  21. OverviewSection 2 deals with the West African trading kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The trade of these empires was based on gold, salt, and other goods. II. The Middle Kingdoms • A. Several large trading kingdoms develop after 400A.D. • B. Ghana • 1. founded around 200 A.D. • 2. smelted iron • 3. expanded boundaries over West Africa’s major trade routes • 4. Salt and gold carried over caravan route • A.) salt from Taghaza and gold from Wangara(secret) in southwest Ghana • 5. Silent barter pg. 132 Terms to Learn: Silent Barter • 6. Only gold used in trade • 7. 1042 A.D. Arabs from North Africa destroy capital of Kumbi and force tribute from Ghana • Tenkamenin (1037-1075) His principles of democratic monarchy and religious tolerance make his reign one of the great models of African rule. Wangara ? Trade routes of the Western Sahara c. 1000-1500. Goldfields are indicated by light brown shading. Cities in the western and central Sudan influenced by the early spread of Islam, ca. eighth century A.D. Tenkamenin- King of Ghana 12th Century AD 1037 - 1075

  22. Criticism of film: The film converts the real heroes’ private pain and struggle against truly wrenching physical and political disabilities into a screen situation of sentimental, tearjerker shallowness. He grew to manhood in exile, but he returned to fight the evil forces of his brother and return the kingdom to it’s rightful sovereignty. C. Mali Mosque at, Mali, built about 1200 AD(around the time of Sundiata • 1. 1240 A.D. Ghana becomes a part of Mali • 2. By conquering Ghana Sundiata Keita est. the trading kingdom of Mali • 3. Mansa Musa I (Mansa Musa)People to Know: Mansa Musa • http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/world-history/meet-mansa-musa-i-of-mali--the-richest-human-being-in-all-history-8213453.html • a.) brought Islam to kingdom • Terms to Learn: Pilgrimage- 1324 led his people on the hadji from Timbuktu to Mecca. His caravan consisted of 60,000people and traveled a total of 6,496 miles. • b. ) built great Sankore University in the trading city of TimbuktudocumentaryTimbuktu and the Songhai Empire video http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=448456 • c.) reigned for 25 years, controlled lucrative salt and gold trade in Africa providing him with great wealth--followed by weak rulers and Mali loses its land to others Musa depicted holding a gold nugget from the 1375 Catalan Atlas

  23. Mali Empire [13c-15c]25 minutes

  24. The shaded portion indicates the greatest extent of the Songhai empire, ca. sixteenth century. D. Songhai • 1. Largest and most powerful in West Africa, largest of the three trading kingdoms • 2. Sultan Sunni AliPeople to Know: Sunni Ali • 3. Askia Muhammadextends empire • People to Know: Askia Muhammad • a.) becomes more organized and governed strictly according to Shiria (Muslim law). • Capital city of Gao. • b.) divided country into provinces with governors over each province • c.) Songhai lasted only 100 years • d.) 1591 ruler of Morocco attacks and captures gold mines Tomb of the Askias

  25. Songhai Empire [15c-16c] SALT GOLD

  26. Extent of Islamic Invasions

  27. Section Three:covers the rise of two trading kingdoms and city-states in East Africa. The Bantu-speaking Shona set up a trading kingdom in Zimbabwe after a population explosion in their homeland forced them to find new homes. Kilwa and other coastal cities handled trade between Africa andArabia, Persia, India and China The Problem with Great Zimbawe First excavated (1891) by the British archaeologist Theodore Bent, the site was later ransacked by Richard Hall (1902), a British government official who attempted to prove that it had been built by a foreign civilization, not by Africans. In 1902, the British continued with their falsification agenda as British archaeologist Richard Hall was hired to investigate the Great Zimbabwe site. Hall asserted in his work, The Ancient Ruins of Rhodesia (1902), that the civilization was built by “more civilized races” than the Africans. He argued that the last phase of Great Zimbabwe was the transitional and “decadent period,” a time when the foreign builders interbred with local Africans. Hall went out of his way to eliminate archeological evidence which would have proven an indigenous African origin of Great Zimbabwe. He removed about two meters deep of archeological remains, which effectively destroyed the evidence that would have established an indigenous African origin of the site. He condescendingly stated that his goal was to “remove the filth and decadence of Kaffir occupation.” • East African Civilizations • A. Great Zimbabwe Places t o Locate: Zimbabwe Terms to Learn: Population Explosion • 1. one of the best know trading kingdoms-people speak Bantu--one of the main African languages. • 2. ancestors of the Shona (people who settled ancient Zimbabwe) lived in present-day Nigeria but were forced to move by a population explosion • 3. viewed King as a god king and approached crawling on their stomachs • 4. when the king grew old he was to take poison • 5. traded gold, copper, ivoryalong Africa’s east coast and traded with Arabia, Persia, India and China. • 6. Great Zimbabwe is so well known because it is not known howit was constructed, nor why the civilization declined around 1600 and then vanished. • Places to Locate: Kilwa

  28. African Trade Routes

  29. B. KilwaSwahili city-state on East African coast • 1. collected heavy taxes on traders of other nations • 2. dressed in fine silk and cotton • 3. lived in four story houses with vases and hangings from India and China • 4. developed the Swahili culture which was a mix of Arabic and African cultures • 5. Swahili language is a mixture of Bantu and Arabic. Bantu is spoken by many African peoples

  30. Run Time: [20:27] The varied peoples of Africa are examined in terms of their histories, cultural traditions, and means of making a living.

  31. Bantu Migrations: 1000 BCE To 500 CE

  32. Early Human Migrations

  33. Section Four :Section 4 discusses the migration of hunting-and-food-gathering people to the Americas about 25,000 years ago. Over time, people spread out over the Americas. Farming villages developed as people needed to find new ways of getting food. • Path to the Americas • A. 25,000 years ago people migrated across Bering Land Bridge • B. people reach southern tip of South America around 9000 B.C. • C. 7000 B. C. ice age ended • D. by 6000 B.C people living in Tehuacan Valley practicing agriculture • E. 3000 B.C. thousands of villages in the Americas • F. 3000-1000 B.C. develop skills such as weaving build irrigation systems

  34. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

  35. Defining Characteristics - Mesoamerican Civilization • ball courts • cacao • chinampa agriculture • barbecho agriculture • roza agriculture - shifting • codices • grinding of corn mixed with ash and lime • hieroglyphic writing • human sacrifices • lip ornaments • periodic market systems • polished obsidian • sandals with heels • 13 as a ritual number • year of 18 months of 20 days plus 5 extra days • wood clubs laced with flint or obsidian blades • stepped pyramids • jade as precious stone • Check out this site for further insight into Olmec religious beliefs: http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Central_america/olmecs_religion.htm • Animals were strong symbols in the Olmec religion. Because of this, it isconcluded that the Olmecs practiced shamanism. They believed that each personhad an animal spirit. Hallucinogenic drugs from the marine frog may have been used by the shamans for trances. The nobles were buried with jewels in plazas constructed of jade walls. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan isan example of an Olmec ceremonial site. Section Five :focuses on the early civilizations of Mesoamerica. The Olmecs developed cities, hieroglyphic writing, and a calendar. The Maya were great traders, mathematicians, and astronomers. A warlike people, the Aztec ruled central Mexico until they lost their empire to the Spaniards. • Mesoamerica A. TheOlmecs first evidence 1863 1. 1000B.C. mother culture of most Mesoamerican cultures. The other Mesoamerican cultures took their hieroglyphic writing systems and ways of measuring time from the Olmec 2. developed planned cities and hieroglyphic writing and a calendar. 3. Lived southern coast of Gulf of Mexico 4. Religion—not much is know for sure Thor Heyerdahl 1969 and 1970 RA and Ra II in the Kon-Tiki Museum

  36. B. The Mayas So what really happened? Some suggest it was a great drought occurred in the region during a time of political instability and fighting among the city states. But evidence indicates that the drought may have occurred after the collapse had already begun. Others speculate that (1.) overpopulation and food shortages were responsible. Royal massacres in the leading cities and subsequent collapse of other kingdoms suggest something even more insidious: a (2.) bloody power struggle among rival royal families. After all, that Maya building craze wasn't spurred on by a booming population of mere commoners& but rather the mating habits of Maya kings - and their harems. After generations, the growing royal families produced too many princes - and, in turn, too many rivalries - for all to survive. More princes meant more palaces, pyramids, and more temples - and (3.) a greater demand for the human and material resources needed to create them. A destructive and widespread war may have been the result. (4.) Abuse of the environment caused by deforestation in order to make lime plaster. • 1. began 500 B.C. peaked between 3-900 A.D. • 2. lived in present day Mexico, Belize and Guatemala • 3. farming villages that surround religious cities • 4. The best description of the Maya would be great prosperous traders and mathematicians • 5. Mayan Hieroglyphs • 6. Idea of zero and counting system based on 20 • 7. Able to predict eclipses. 8. Made cotton cloth and paper • 9. Abandon cities around 900 A.D. • a.) plague, war, lack of food?http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=227043 EARLY MAIZE COBBS - TEHUACAN VALLEY Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Philips Academy, Andover, MA. Time Period: 300 CE - - 1500 CE Region: Central America

  37. How to Write Your Name in Mayan Glyphs • http://www.mayancraftsyucatan.com/your-name-in-maya.html

  38. 2012—Why it won’t end then. • Astronomers - Calendar to predict eclipses of sun and moon. Believed the earth moved through cycles of birth and destruction in which the world is consumed by fire—but, then the cycle begins again. • December 23rd, 2012 – “Mayan Day of Doom” – The end of this cycle according to the Maya. Countdown to DOOM!!! • http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/us-mayancalendar-poll-idUSBRE8400XH20120501

  39. Mayan Long Count Calendar http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=231059 • http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=227043 This is not the Mayan calendar Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, stated that "We have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end" in 2012."For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," “To render December 21, 2012, as a doomsday event or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." There will be another cycle," says E. Wyllys Andrews V, director of the Tulane University Middle American Research Institute (MARI). "We know the Maya thought there was one before this, and that implies they were comfortable with the idea of another one after this.”

More Related