Question

What were some of the Maya’s architectural and mathematical contributions. Be specific. What was the black death and what effect did it have on Europe? What are the differences between the types of slavery traditionally practiced in Africa and the slavery that developed in the New World? What were the lasting effects of the Crusades? In what ways did they provide opportunities—both negative and positive—for cross-cultural encounters and exchanges?

Answer 1

1. What were some of the Maya’s architectural and mathematical contributions?

2. What was the black death and what effect did it have on Europe?

3. What are the differences between the types of slavery traditionally practiced in Africa and the slavery that developed in the New World?

4. What were the lasting effects of the Crusades?

ANSWERS

1.

• The Mayans believed of the influence of cosmos on daily life, they had an advanced knowledge of celestial bodies, they at that time knew how to predict eclipses and built two calendars.
• First calendar ( calendar round ) - based on overlapping annual cycles, 250 days a sacred year and 365 secular year and every 52 years was a single interval after that it would readjust itself.
• Second calendar ( long count ) in this each date was counted from the fixed date from the distant past, It grouped days into sets, or cycles, as follows: baktun (144,000 days), k’atun (7,200 days), tun (360 days), uinal or final (20 days) and kin (one day).
• The pyramid at Chichén Itzá in Mexico - is the ultimate piece of their astronomy understanding the temple. it is situated according to the suns location.
• The Mayans build huge temples with massive structures without metal or steel
• The Mayans in mathematics built their own system of numbers which were represented by dots, vigesimal number system based on base 20 The numerals consisted of only three symbols: zero, represented as a shell shape; one, a dot; and five, a bar.

2.

This disease black death spread in Europe during 1346-53, the black death was a plague which was circulated through rodents who were in great density the black rats who likes to live close to humans when became infected usually died in 10 to 14 days and the flies who fed on them then with biting humans transferred the disease on them.

Effects on europe - Killed 50 million people or 60% of Europes population.

the lower classes living in densely populated areas were affected the most. hence, mostly the peasants died.

the black death hit hard the monasteries because the poor people infected got refugee in these monasteries.

3.

The slavery in the new world was the slavery which was introduced by Europeans and it was different from the slavery in Africa.

• the slavery introduced by Europeans was called chattel slavery.
• slavery in Africa was different in chattel slavery the slave had no rights the children grandchildren of the slaves were slaves for life but in Africa, they could be freed.
• people enslaved in Africa were well treated unlike under chattel slavery.
• africans enslaved other peoples and not their own.
• the slavery in Africa was at a less amount unlike Europeans needed slaves in great numbers for their expanding colonies.

4.

effects of crusade

• Europeans learned many new things from the Muslims, for example, building and sailing boats and using magnetic compasses
• increased the authority of the king as sometimes the nobles died without leaving any heir behind them in that case the king used to take their land
• increased trade between Europe and the middle east
• the increased religious hatred between Muslims and Christians
• it also increased the taxes on the people
• power and importance of the pope was temporarily increased
• caused an increase in exploration of foreign lands