VIDEO SUMMARIES – NING PRESENTATION

- LITTLE ICE AGE- THE STORY OF GOD

- WHEN THE MOORS RULED IN EUROPE- GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL

- CONQUISTADORS- CRACKING THE MAYA CODE

By: Carlito Almero

History 4 – Dr. Arguello

October 15, 2011

Little Ice Age: Big Chill 14th – 19th Century Glaciers began advancing in Greenland Volatile cold temperatures causes global

cooling This caused the demise of the Viking

colonists in Greenland; with the last known recording (a wedding) of Norse settlers by the 15th century

Crops failed and livestock could not be maintained by the harsh winters resulting in famines and illnesses

Cataclysmic volcanic eruptions contribute to global temperatures to drop, at times 4 degrees cooler than today

1816 was called the “Year Without a Summer” across North America and Europe due to the eruption of the Tamboro volcano in 1815

Little Ice Age: Big Chill

• A significant outbreak in Europe causes one-third to one-half of the European population to be WIPED OUT!

• Although this outbreak originated from China during the 1330’s, the Italian merchant ships carried the plague-infected rats to Europe and thus, fueled the pandemic.

• Over 25 million people perished between a five-year period from the year 1347 to 1352.

• Within a few months of arriving in the fall of 1347, the plague had spread as far north as England.

• A children’s nursery rhyme (Ring Around the Rosie) was sparked by the Bubonic Plague.

• This would be known as, the “Black Death of the 14th Century” and an estimated 75 million people died.

• During its 400-year reign of terror, it killed over 137 million people.

The Story of God Professor Doctor Lord Robert

Winston’s quest into the world of science and religion is on the cusp of what he calls the “Divine Idea”

Winston explores the origins of religion and discusses belief in God

Pre-historic divine experiences that led to the creation and invention of monotheism/Buddhism/Hinduism

The profound awareness of death raises our consciousness of god

Our individual existence is the basis on which divine revelation and ethical considerations need emphasis on

Science and religion is similar in its quest in so much that belief before proof (hypothesis) and faith in proof (theory) deduces their dogmatic quest

The Story of God

• Although farming was a form of manipulation of nature through technology, it would become the basis for organized building blocks for religion as observed by the Aztecs

• Farming was described as an organized religion in which it required a calendar for measuring days for seeding and harvesting, temples for worship and asking the gods for favorable weathers in order to reap abundant food, and professional workers to oversee the process much like priests

• Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one god

• Even though three religions profess the existence of only one higher being or deity; they are still quite dissimilar:

• Judaism – God of Israel• Christianity – Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy

Ghost = 3 in 1)• Islam – God is Allah

When the Moors Ruled in Europe By 700 C.E. Muslim invaded Spain and

Islam was introduced to the population of Northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia

First wave of colonization was by African Berbers (Moors), followed by “enlightened” Arabs

During this period, Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted but not without conflict and challenges; within 20 years, Catholicism rose and destroyed Islam through an inquisition

In 1492 C.E. the Moorish Sultan Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to “Catholic Monarchs” Queen Isabella I of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand II of Aragon marking the victory and fall of Islam in the west

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus accepted a mission to depart from SE Spain funded by Queen Isabella I of Castile to initiate Spanish colonization in the “New World” (North and South America)

When the Moors Ruled in Europe

• Andalusia became the commercial and cultural center of the world

• Faith coupled with their pursuit of a higher learning encouraged abstract thinking and natural science such as: astronomy, medicine, chemistry and mathematics

• The Muslims valued education and thus established countless libraries such as the Great Mezquita of Córdoba, the famed university opened its door to teach grammar & literacy

• Islam embraced scientific and mathematical solutions; out of this gave birth to architectural buildings such as the Alhambra (pictured above); its harmonious lines rooted from complex geometry based upon a single ratio

Guns, Germs, and Steel Pulitzer-Prize recipient and

Professor Jared Diamond attempts to answer why Europeans dominated the World and the riddle to global human inequalities

His theory on geographic location being the root to civilization was how many European societies were able to develop and spread across the continents

Diamond’s argument that the technological advancements between human societies were due to environmental differences based on the geography of that particular culture and not so much inherent by the European genomes

Guns, Germs, and Steel

• Throughout history, the patterns that are revealed show that the geography of the Eurasian landmass gave its human inhabitants quite an advantage based on the east-west orientation of the continent where trade routes were established

• Through plant and animal domestication, societies afforded a sedentary existence and thus civilization was formed

• Those small societies confined to relatively small tracts of land due to geographical agriculture isolated them from advancing technologically since they were not exposed to other humans and; consequently, became their demise

Conquistadors – Hernán Cortés Born and grew up poor in a town called Medellin Cortés was identified as one of the first conquistadors and

became famous for his march across Mexico and eventually conquering the Aztec Empire

Studied law but was drawn to follow in Christopher Columbus’ footsteps by seeking fortune in the New World

Funding his own expedition, he sailed with 11 ships and 500 soldiers to the Yucatan Peninsula looking for gold, silver, and other treasures

From 1519 – 1521 C.E., Cortés traveled inland with the aid of a female slave translator named La Malinche who was considered a traitor for selling out her people to the Spanish

Along the way he made a deal with the Tlaxcalans, to free them from the Aztecs; thus sealing their alliance

Conquistadors – Hernán Cortés

• After “discovering” Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, Cortés captured the Aztec emperor Montezuma and brainwashed him who was later killed by his own people

• Cortés and his men escaped in the dead of night and regrouped with their allies, the Tlaxcalans – enemies of Montezuma

• With the help of his ship builder, Martin Lopez, a fleet was built from the ground up in land and was carried in bits and pieces back to Mexico City

• Cortés used military war tactics which the Aztecs were unfamiliar with and weakened them

• They cut off the food and water supplies from the three main bridge ports in Tenochtitlan and thereby starving the city into submission

• Weakened and devastated by European diseases such as smallpox, chickenpox, and measles the Aztecs were decimated

Cracking the Maya Code Around 200 C.E. the Ancient Mayan lived in the Yucatan

Peninsula; a lost ancient civilization created in isolation from Europe and Asia

The Maya began to built their cities in the heart of Guatemala and the plains of the Yucatan – Tikal, Copan and Palenque

Maya civilization thrived for over 2,000 years and while Europe entered the Dark Ages, these cities were just reaching the height of their glory

During the Spanish inquisitions, overzealous missionary Diego de Landa ordered the collection and destruction of all written Maya works, incredibly, all but four books survived – the Madrid Codex, the Dresden Codex, the Paris Codex, and the Grolier Codex

All that was left were strange inscriptions, twisting forms called hieroglyphs – carved on monuments, painted on pottery and written in bark paper books

Mysteriously, in the 9th century, the Maya abandoned many of their cities and was forgotten until a thousand years later when it was discovered again by a Spanish explorer named Jose Calderon

The Ancient Maya developed the science of astronomy, calendar systems and they were the first people in the Western Hemisphere known to have developed a written language called the hieroglyphic writing

Cracking the Maya Code• They were advanced in math and science –

developing a mathematical system based on numbers 1-20, highly skilled in creating elaborate architecture, such as pyramids, temples, palaces and observatories – Incredibly, all were constructed without metal tools

• The Dresden Codex was considered to be the most important of the four remaining books

• Between the 18th – 19th century, various dedicated scholars around the world patiently worked and collaborated with others to decipher the Maya Code

• Eric Thompson was the first to forge the way in interpreting the code, even though most of his theories would be proven wrong

• Russian linguist, Yuri Knorosov key insight was to treat Maya glyphs as a syllabary or phonetic sound

• By the 20th century, a majority of Maya texts can be read and today, the Maya, and their descendants are rediscovering their own rich, colorful history, tradition and beliefs by learning the hieroglyphs