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III. The Postclassical Period, 500–1500> A. Global and Comparative Dimensions> 1. Periodization, 500–1000> e. The Global Picture

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The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


e. The Global Picture

The EASTERN HEMISPHERE ECUMENE expanded with continuing interaction between the great civilizations and the complex noncitied societies. The distinction between the two types of societies and also among the civilizations became less clear as religions, trade, and the movements of people widened to create networks that included all but the most isolated societies of the Asian far north and African far south. The way was opened for expansion on a hemispheric and a global scale.	1
Entirely separate from the Eastern Hemisphere ecumene, WESTERN HEMISPHERE societies developed major temple-palace civilizations in the Mexican highlands around Teotihuacán, in the MAYAN areas of the Yucatán Peninsula, and in the Andes around great cities like Tihuanaco. These civilizations did not establish persistent dynamism or continuity over time, however, as they experienced significant eras of decline, followed by the emergence of new societies. By the year 1000, great “classical” periods in both Mesoamerica and the Andes had come to an end, and networks of smaller complex states existed.	2
COMPLEX NONURBANIZED SOCIETIES continued to develop in North America, building on the traditions of earlier mound builders. HOPEWELL CULTURE created large new centers in the Mississippi Valley (See North American Chiefdoms), like Cahokia, and in the southwestern desert areas, large settlements were built by such peoples as the ANASAZI. In the PACIFIC OCEAN BASIN, this was an era of movement for the POLYNESIAN peoples (See The Pacific Islands in Pre-European Times) who settled many of the islands and possibly facilitated interregional exchange of plants.	3
LARGE INTERREGIONAL NETWORKS in the Eastern Hemisphere and new contacts within the Western Hemisphere and in oceanic regions were developing by 1000, changing the picture of scattered but interacting separate societies and opening the way for the creation of even larger basic networks.	4


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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