Chapter 7

The overall view of this chapter was very intriguing to me in that the practice of trade influenced many civilizations in different ways. Trade not only brought goods to these different civilizations, but it brought different values, cultures, and technological ideas to the societies receiving the goods. Trade influenced many civilians to change certain practices in their lives. It was also interesting to learn how trade brought diseases that greatly affected other civilizations. With trade, some civilizations had great technology that promoted commercial growth and influenced other civilizations to advance their technology. Trade also brought connections, which reminds me of today's society. America along with other countries are connected through networking and trade. Because of trade, different societies have to maintain peace with other societies in order to stay in contact and receive the goods. Therefore, trade plays a major role in politics. Foreign trade is one of the main issues in politics today. I find it very interesting that trade was a major turning point way back in history, and trade is still a very important resource in today's world.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 was an interesting read, especially reading about the cities without states. The city of Jenne-jeno was intriguing to learn in that nothing was found of an authoritative government. The people of Jenne-jeno were smart, with their work of earth and metal. This particular city seemed to be just as successful without the authority of state. Their use of trade and exchange was important to the city of Jenne-jeno as well. The Mayans were also interesting. Throughout my years of schooling, I was always reminded of the Mayans and their smart minds. They were known for their writing system, art, and math. The Maya civilization had their political and city-state units. One of the most interesting I learned from Chapter 6 was the sudden ending of the Maya civilization. Because of its constant warfare and growing population, some of the Maya civilization took a downfall with its scarce land for the over-population that led to frequent competition. The Mayans downfall reminded me of the Roman empire and their sudden end to what seemed to be a successful and prosperous civilization. Regardless of its ending, the Maya civilization will always be known for their written texts, buildings, and mathematical ability.

Chapter 4 and 5

In Chapter 4, the Jewish religion of Judaism made me think about my own faith and religion in Christianity. I can understand how Christianity came from Judaism. In Christianity, we call God Yahweh as well. We believe in the Bible known as the Hebrew scriptures. The one thing that I noticed that was not mentioned in Judaism that is essential to my faith in Christianity is the belief that God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rose from the dead. However, I believe that both religions believe in the same God. Overall, I learned a lot from the reading. It was interesting learning about the civilizations' different cultural traditions, especially China's transitioned between Confucianism and Daoism. 

In Chapter 5, one part that grasp my full attention was India's caste system. It interested me in that I feel that we kind of deal with that in America. Not necessarily to those extremes, but I do feel that there is some inequalities that remind of the caste system. Sometimes, I think that certain justice issues are not dealt with fairly. Therefore, I think that our government or justice system discourages certain people from moving up in the social hierarchy. I remember in our class discussion that we mentioned some of this topic concerning America's social hierarchy and what it is based on. We named hierarchy in money and social status, race, and politics. Even though hierarchy is important to have in certain situations like government authority, I further believe that everyone should be treated fairly and encouraged to reach higher in life.