Change and Continuity Essay

The civilizations from 3500 B.C.E to 500 C.E continued to have the same basic society rules but changed from having little/no trade amongst each other to having regional exchange and changed from there being no religious ways of thinking to having new and distinct religions.       

                Societies were organized with men being more important than woman, the elite classes being distinctly separate from those of lower class, and slaves being used as cheap labor. This didn’t change over time. In Athens woman meant nothing in the court, only being referred to by their relationship to some other man. Men were thought of so greatly in comparison to woman that it was thought a woman’s job was to birth sons and manage domestic affairs. As in Athens, woman of China stayed inside the home. They had ‘three obediences’ to follow, first to their father, secondly to their husband, and thirdly to their own son. Now days, a mother has authority over her son, but Ancient and Classical China believed a woman was to obey what her son told her to do. Elite classes were also a major part of society that didn’t change, luxury items still determined their position (for instance, the Olmec Civilization), more land meant you were richer (as in China), or as in India, whichever caste you were born into determined your status. The last main part of society that continued to stay the same was how slavery was prominent in most places such as Eurasia, Greece, Rome, and India. Even in China slaves played a minor role in the daily lives of the people. This is one of the most important continuities that can be found in history because it is still true; woman and men are becoming equals, but men still have the upper hand in many positions of power; “elite classes” are still separate from others, for they are seen with the more expensive items; and until the Civil Rights Movement in the recent past, slaves still were used as manual labor to save plantation owners, and other white men, money.

                A significant change that occurred between 3500 B.C.E and 500 C.E was the amount, and distance, of goods that were exchanged. Before 3500 B.C.E there was very little exchange, due to how hard it was to travel great distances, but over time exchange began to grow and expand. Before trade many civilizations couldn’t get necessary goods to fuel their society, resulting in famine and deforestation. Once travel began, caravans were a prime way of delivering goods and made commerce across Northern Eurasia easier. In Mesoamerica the trade grew into a sprawling network of trade. As trade began to grow, so did the forms of transportation used to deliver these goods from one place to another; the Indian Ocean Basin used seaborne routes and the Eastern Woodlands of North America used rivers to deliver necessary, and unnecessary, items from one place to another. Even in the Sahara trade began to pick up around 300 C.E. Trade is and was a vital part of history, it created a way for one society to get goods they didn’t have from other societies, Egypt got wheat and barley from Mesopotamia and gourds and watermelon from Sudan. Besides exchanging merchandise, trade routes also spread cultures, such as their religions, art, architectural techniques, and styles. For example Greek culture (art, religion, and philosophy) was influenced by Mesopotamia and Egypt. Besides cultures and products, unwanted spread also occurred, such as the spread of diseases. Intensified trade between these time periods brought even greater trade later on. Trade is so important to the growth and power of every empire and society since then, now days majority of products people in America buy have been processed, manufactured, and/or packaged elsewhere in the world.

                The other main change that happened in this time was the new religious traditions, which went from being mainly polytheistic to monotheistic, and the life style techniques. The first monotheistic religion that appeared was Zoroastrianism, around the 7^th century B.C.E, which sought to distinguish between good and evil, and like other religions to define the relationship between life and death. Zoroastrianism sprang up about when Judaism did, which also believed in one High God. Judaism set the path for many following religions, such as Christianity and Islam. Not only did religions begin, but different traditions started up (some due to religions), in China a new form of governing sprang up, Confucianism, which stated how important education is and that social harmony would come from moral examples from positions of authority. Other traditions that began in India were Hinduism and Buddhism, which started around the same time. The beliefs of Hinduism were to become involved in a social and political life where as Buddhism was to withdraw into nature. Both of these religions spread within the same state, yet the differences between them are great. The importance of religions in this time was it changed how rulers led their empires and how traditions began, even what goods were significant in the regions that had that religion. The change is still important today even because many of these religions were foundations for current popular beliefs, many of the religions that began between 3500 B.C.E and 500 C.E are even still practiced today.