Compare and Contrast -- Indus Valley and China

            Though 3,000 miles away, the Chinese and Indus Valley are very much alike—in terms of politics and religion. Both civilizations demonstrate a centralized state, but the Chinese centralized state was more prominent than the Indus Valley, due to archeological research. These centralized governments were run by Indian priest kings and the Chinese Zhou dynasty. Because of this, the Indus Valley developed a more religious structure—as opposed to the Chinese belief in honor. In regards to religion, both civilizations pushed polytheism, which is the belief of multiple deities. Chinese religion focuses heavily on the idea of faith in ancestry, while people from the Indus Valley established the idea of reincarnation.

             In spite of the fact that the Chinese and Indus civilizations had similarities in their politics, these civilizations’ polytheistic ideals started to differentiate themselves as time progressed. The Indus Valley mentality of reincarnation eventually turned itself into Hinduism—while its’ Chinese counterpart (Shang religion) believed that Gods controlled multiple aspects of daily life—also known as the “Mandate of Heaven”. What this “Mandate” granted was access to heavenly powers—as long as they were faithful in their decisions.

Document 1.1

How useful do you find Nisa's account for understanding the life of much earlier Paleolithic people? What evidence of contact with a wider world can you find in her story?

I find it very useful--experience is the best way to convey emotions or feelings. For example, Niva would enjoy receiving food from strangers--considering that was the only thing those people had in the Paleolithic era--no toys, technology, etc. The fact that she didn't really know any other people except for her nomadic family made contact and interaction with others much more valuable--considering we, as humans are always exposed to the social interaction from the Internet, phones, and  population.

What does her account indicate about San attitudes towards sex and marriage? How might you compare those attitudes with those of contemporary society?

From Niva's account, San marriages seem a lot more sacred when it comes to sex--it didn't seem like Niva wanted to commit to sex until she full understood the concept of love. Compared to our contemporary society, sex in the Paleolithic era was a lot more patient because we live in an exponentially growing society where we want everything instantly (by nature, we are lazy)--due to the technological advances in transportation and social media.

How does Nisa understand God, or the divine? How does she understand the purpose of the curing rituals in which she took part?

Nisa views God as a cruel and unfair deity due to her husband passing away--although I'm sure everyone has their own input on spiritual loss--some people are just lucky or privileged. It seems like Niva didn't really understand the purpose of the healing rituals because she seemed so conflicted about it--the N/Um would either heal or destroy. In her own experience, she felt so unstable--yet the story didn't really give us a clear ending.

How would you describe Nisa's overall assessment of San life? Do you find in romanticized, realistic, or critical? What evidence from the passages supports your conclusions?

I would really describe her San life as heavily reactive based-- considering she didn't even know anybody or anything about her culture and had to solve problems based on intuition. She was heavily nomadic. I find this account very realistic--considering that she did not have books or a phone to help her interact with the outside world before her. For example, when Niva receives food she gets so excited because it's something new to experience, compared to our contemporary where food is a norm, but we get excited when we hear new music, buy video games, and buy make up.

Chapter 1 -- Malaria

From what I read this week, livestock was very beneficial for an exponetially growing human agriculture--yet it also brought upon fatal diseases such as malaria. Malaria is one of history's oldest diseases and is still prominent today--but I'm sure it doesn't show up as much as it did in the Neolithic era (due to a lack of Malariotherapy or antimalarial drugs). Malaria is a blood infection that is transmitted by a female mosquito that sucks up the host's blood and is transferred into another.  Symptoms may include: chills, rigors, sweating, body aches, headaches, nausea, general weakness, and prostration. Problems arise when " P. falciparum" malaria go untreated, causing a dysfunction of vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, and the liver. As of today, there is still no vaccine for malaria, but could be prevented by insect repellents (picaridin), mosquito nets, or indoor residual spraying. Nets, although highly unreliable due to a variety of mosquito size, are designed to kill the mosquito before it could find a way in. Indoor residual spraying is where you coat the indoors with insecticides--although this seems a bit dangerous for infants growing up or people who may be allergic to these insecticides.