Ch.6

After reading chapter six, a few of the main points the author talked about that interested me was on: Continental Comparisons, Civilizations of Africa and the city of Meroe. In the section of Continental Comparisons the author explained that the three super-continents were Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas. Even though the second-wave era is known as the turning point for the Agricultural Revolution, gathering and hunting still remained as the sole basis for sustaining life and its society. Also, during the second-wave era Eurasia (not Africa) held more than 80% of the world's people, Africa came in second at about 11%, and the Americas between 5 and 7 percent. In the section Civilizations of Africa, the author talked about how Africa was the most tropical compared to the other two super-continents and because of this the climatic conditions brought numerous disease-carrying insects and parasites. Lastly, the city of Meroe was a Nile Valley civilization and even though the city eventually declined and was later conquered, its reputation in the world of northeastern Africa and the Mediterranean was great riches because of their access to gold, ivory, tortoiseshells and ostrich feathers.