This impressive collection of readings illustrates that the history of the world is as much about the relationships among societies as it is about transformations and continuities within societies.   Exchanges:  A Global History Reader is designed as an introduction to the discipline of world history. Unlike other source collections, Exchanges helps students look beyond strictly delineated regionalism and chronological structures to understand history as a product of ongoing debate. Structured around a series of interconnected themes and debates, and pairing both primary and secondary sources, Exchanges challenges both students and teachers to rethink history.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 The Origins of Agriculture and Civilization 38 The First Farmers 40 >> 10. JARED DIAMOND, Location, Location, Location: The First Farmers 41 The Eloquent Peasant 43 >> 11. The Eloquent Peasant 44 Agriculture 45 >> 12. FRANCESCA BRAY, Agriculture 45 Complex Food Systems in Mesoamerica 47 >> 13. JOHN S. HENDERSON, The World of the Ancient Maya 47 Complex Food Systems in Africa 49 >> 14. DAVID L. SCHOENBRUN, We Are What We Eat: Ancient Agriculture between the Great Lakes 50 Conversations with Ogotemêlli 52 >> 15. MARCEL GRIAULE, Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas 52 Cultural Heroes and the Origins of Agriculture 53 >> 16. Han Shu 24, translated by Nancy Lee Swann 54 Chapter 2 The City: Its Origins and Nature 56 Early Mesopotamian Cities 58 >> 17. J. N. POSTGATE, Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History 59 Uruk, a Mesopotamian City 60 >> 18. The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by N. K. Sandars 61 Cities in Mesoamerica 62 >> 19. OCTAVIO PAZ, Food of the Gods 63 >> 20. RICHARD M. LEVENTHAL AND CHARLES H. HOWARTH, JR., “Copan: Ancient City of the Maya” 64 The Origins of the Polis 66 >> 21. ANTHONY SNODGRASS, Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment 66 The Polis of Athens 68 >> 22. THUCYDIDES, History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Rex Warner 68 Humans as Polis Dwellers 69 >> 23. ARISTOTLE, The Politics of Aristotle, translated by Ernest Barker 70 iv Contents Chapter 3 Consolidation and Fragmentation of Power: The Urban Context 72 The Unification of Egypt 74 >> 24. BARRY J. KEMP, Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization 74 The Memphite Theology 75 >> 25. Memphite Theology 76 Shang Oracle Bones 77 >> 26. DAVID N. KEIGHTLEY, Shang Oracle-Bone Inscriptions 77 The King of the Road 78 >> 27. ”The King of the Road”: A Self-Laudatory Shulgi Hymn 79 Lordship in Mesoamerica 80>> 28. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock 81 Citizenship in Ancient Greece 81 >> 29. ANTHONY SNODGRASS, Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment 82 Constitution of the Athenians 83 >> 30. ARISTOTLE, Aristotle’s Constitution of Athens and Related Texts, translated by Kurt von Fritz and Ernst Kapp 83 A North Indian City 85>> 31. The Ra¯ma¯ yan. a of Va¯ lm¯iki: An Epic of Ancient India, translated by Robert P. Goldman 85 Chapter 4 Ancient Religions: Cosmology, Cosmogony, and Right Ritual 112 The Nature of Polytheism 114 >> 40. YEHEZKEL KAUFMANN, The Religion of Israel: From Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile, translated by Moshe Greenberg 114 A Greek Account of the Birth of the Gods 117 >> 41. HESIOD, Theogony, translated by Richmond Lattimore 117 A Mayan Account of the Birth of the Universe 120 >> 42. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock 120 Vedic Understandings of the Cosmic System 122 >> 43. The Laws of Manu, translated by Wendy Doniger 123 >> 44. The Ramayana, translated by R. K. Narayan 124 Humans and the Cosmos 125 >> 45. The Laws of Manu, translated by Wendy Doniger 125 >> 46. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock 126 Contrasting Monotheism and Henotheism 129 >> 47. The Great Hymn to the Aten 129 >> 48. Psalm 104, The New Oxford Annotated Bible 132 Chapter 5 The Axial Age: New Reflections on Society, Religion, and Knowledge 134 The Axial Age Defined 136 >> 49. KARL JASPERS, The Origin and Goal of History, translated by Michael Bullock 136 The Axial Age Refined 138 >> 50. ARNALDO MOMIGLIANO, Alien Wisdom: The Limits of Hellenization 139 The Birth of History in Greece 139 >> 51. THUCYDIDES, History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Rex Warner 140vi Contents The Birth of Philosophy in China 141 >> 52. CONFUCIUS, The Analects of Confucius, translated by Simon Leys 142 A New Vision of Righteous Living from South Asia 144>> 53. Buddha’s First Sermon, version produced by Maitreya Sangha 145 The New Jerusalem 146>> 54. Nehemiah 3:1—7; 8:1—8; 13:1—27 and Isaiah 43; 44:28—45:22; and 66, The New Oxford Annotated Bible 146 A Mesoamerican Axial Age 153 >> 55. DAVID DREW, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings 153 Chapter 6 The New Politics and Culture–The Consequences of the New Vision 157 The Unification of China 159 >> 56. SIMA QIAN, Historical Records, translated by Raymond Dawson 160 >> 57. CHO-YUN, HSU, The Changing Relationship between Local Society and the Central Political Power in the Former Han: 206 B.C.—8 A.D. 162 The Invention of Greek Democracy 164 >> 58. THUCYDIDES, History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Rex Warner 164 >> 59. ARISTOTLE, The Politics of Aristotle, translated by Ernest Barker 166 The Limits of Hellenism 167 >> 60. ALAN E. SAMUEL, The Shifting Sands of History: Interpretations of Ptolemaic Egypt 167 The Universal Cities of the Roman Empire 168 >> 61. GREG WOOLF, Becoming Roman: The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul 169 >> 62. AELIUS ARISTIDES, To Rome 171 A Buddhist Empire in South Asia 172 >> 63. A´SOKA, Rock Edicts, rendered by Ven. S. Dhammika 172 Chapter 7 Carriers of Exchange 177 Cultural Exchange in Mesoamerica 178 >> 64. OCTAVIO PAZ, The Power of Ancient Mexican Art 179 The Orientalizing Revolution in Greece 180 >> 65. WALTER BURKERT, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, translated by Margaret E. Pinder and Walter Burkert 181 Cultural Diffusion in China and Africa 182 >> 66. ELIZABETH ISICHEI, A History of African Societies to 1870 182 Contents vii >> 67. WILLIAM WATSON, The Chinese Contribution to Eastern Nomad Culture in the Pre-Han and Early Han Periods 184 Changing North—East African Trade Patterns 185 >> 68. The Autobiography of Harkhuf 186 >> 69. The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea, translated by Lionel Casson 187 Palmyra Caravan Tariffs 188 >> 70. Palmyra Caravan Tariffs 189 Immigrants as a Cultural Force in China 190 >> 71. SIMA QIAN, Historical Records, translated by Raymond Dawson 191 The Lion Capital 192 >> 72. The A´soka Capital, Sarnath, India [Third century B.C.E.] 193 The Diffusion of Greek Art in the Ancient World 193 >> 73. JOHN BOARDMAN, The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity 194 >> 74. Greco-Buddhist art 196 Part 2 Conclusion 199 Part 3 The Transformation and Rebirth of World Systems (c. 2001 C.E.—1000 C.E.) 203 Chapter 8 The Fall of Empires 207 Eurasian Collapse–A Continental Crisis 208 >> 75. BARRY K. GILLS, AND ANDRE GUNDER FRANK, World System Cycles, Crises, and Hegemonic Shifts, 1700 B.C. to 1700 A.D. 209 The Sack of Rome 211 >> 76. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, Letter 138, to Marcellinus, translated by Wilfrid Parsons 212 Luxuries and Decline 213 >> 77. IBN KHALDÛN, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, translated by F. Rosenthal 213 Ecological Collapse 215 >> 78. JARED DIAMOND, Ecological Collapses of Past Civilizations 216 The Fall of the Roman Empire 217 >> 79. A. H. M. JONES, The Decline of the Ancient World 218 The Conquest of the S®s®nian Empire 221 >> 80. MARSHALL HODGSON, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization 222 The Fall of Teotihuacan 224 >> 81. RENÉ MILLON, The Last Years of Teotihuacan Dominance 224 viii Contents Environmental Problems: Aksum and the Maya 226 >> 82. STUART MUNRO HAY, Aksum: An African Civilization in Late Antiquity 227 >> 83. T. PATRICK CULBERT, The Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization 228 Chapter 9 Migrations of the First Millennium 230 The Huns 232 >> 84. AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, The Later Roman Empire, translated by Walter Hamilton 232 The Huna in India 235 >> 85. ROMILA THAPAR, The Image of the Barbarian in Early India 235 The Angles and Saxons Come to Britain 236 >> 86. BEDE, Ecclesiastical History of the English People 236 Barbarians in Mesoamerica 237 >> 87. MICHAEL D. COE, Mexico 237 The Expansion of the Bantu 239 >> 88. CHRISTOPHER EHRET, An African Classical Age: Eastern and Southern Africa in World History, 1000 B.C. to A.D. 400 239 Challenging the Master Narrative 240 >> 89. LESTER LITTLE, Cypress Beams, Kufic Script, and Cut Stone: Rebuilding the Master Narrative of European History 241Chapter 10 The Heirs of Empires: Rebuilding the State System 244 Europe after Rome 246 >> 90. PATRICK J. GEARY, Before France and Germany: The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World 246 The Propaganda of Lineage 248 >> 91. Liber Historiae Francorum, translated by Bernard S. Bachrach 249 The Unification of China 249 >> 92. ARTHUR F. WRIGHT, The Sui Dynasty 250 Advice to a Future Emperor 252 >> 93. Emperor Taizong on Effective Government 252 Japan and the Creation of a State 255 >> 94. KENNETH G. HENSHALL, A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower 256 >> 95. The Seventeen Article Constitution, 604 A.D. 257 Chapter 11 The Diffusion of Culture 261 Buddhism in China 262 >> 96. ERIC ZÜRCHER, Buddhism: Its Origin and Spread in Words, Maps and Pictures 263 Contents ix >> 97. J. K. FAIRBANK AND MERLE GOLDMAN, China: A New History 264 >> 98. MOZI, The Disposition of Error 265 Two faces of Christianity 267 >> 99. BEDE, Ecclesiastical History of the English People 268 >> 100. CHARLEMAGNE, Capitulary Concerning the Regions of Saxony, translated by P. D. King 269 New Crops in Spain 270 >> 101. THOMAS F. GLICK, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages 271 The Spread of Arabic 272 >> 102. ANWAR G. CHEJNE, The Arabic Language: Its Role in History 272 To Make or Not to Make Ceramics 274 >> 103. JAN VANSINA, How Societies Are Born: Governance in West Central Africa before 1600 274 Part 3 Conclusion 276Part 4 The Medieval World System, 1000—1500 279 Chapter 12 Global Trade Networks 285 The Islamic World as the Hub of Eurasian Trade 287 >> 104. AL-QALQASHAND¯I, Subh al-a ‘sha¯, translated by Bernard Lewis 287 Rebuilding Europe: The Origins of Its Hegemony 288 >> 105. JANET L. ABU-LUGHOD, Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250—1350 289 Eastern Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Beyond 290 >> 106. CHAPURUKHA M. KUSIMBA, The Rise and Fall of Swahili States 291 Marco Polo and the Post System in the Mongol Empire 291 >> 107. MARCO POLO AND RUSTICELLO DE PISA, The Travels of Marco Polo, translated by Ronald Latham 292 Markets in China and India 293 >> 108. CH’OE PU, Diary: A Record of Drifting Across the Sea, translated by John Meskill 293 >> 109. ABD-ER-RAZZℑK, Narrative of the Voyage 294 Tribute and Gift Exchange in the Americas 294 >> 110. DAVID DREW, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings 295 >> 111. Records of Tribute Received by the Aztec Capital, 1502—1520 296x Contents Chapter 13 Exploration and Conquest 299 Vikings in North America 301 >> 112. Groelendinga Saga, translated by Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pálsson 301 The Crusades 303 >> 113. The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres, Book I, translated by Martha E. McGinty 303 The Portuguese in the Atlantic 304 >> 114. GOMES EANNES DE AZURARA, The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, translated by Charles Raymond Beazley and Edgar Prestage 305 The Kingdom of Songhay 306 >> 115. ROLAND OLIVER AND ANTHONY ATMORE, Medieval Africa, 1250—1800 307 The Mongols 309 >> 116. IBN KATHIR, The Fall of Baghdad (1258), translated by Bernard Lewis 309 >> 117. A Mongol Governor, translated by Patricia Ebrey 311 Ambassadors, Post Systems, and Lame Conquerors 312>> 118. Clavijo: Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403—1406, translated by Guy le Strange 313 Conquest in the New World 314 >> 119. INGA CLENDINNEN, Aztecs: An Interpretation 315 >> 120. JUAN DE BETANZOS, Narrative of the Incas, translated by Roland Hamilton and Dana Buchanan 316Chapter 14 Exchanges of Inventions, Ideas, and Disease 319 China: Hotbed of Inventions 320 >> 121. JOSEPH NEEDHAM, Science and Civilisation in China 321 >> 122. DAVID LANDES, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor 323 The Perpetual Motion Machines of India 324 >> 123. LYNN WHITE, JR., Tibet, India, and Malaya as Sources of Western Medieval Technology 324 The Chess Queen 325 >> 124. MARILYN YALOM, Birth of the Chess Queen 326 Networks of Disease 327 >> 125. WILLIAM H. MCNEILL, Plagues and Peoples 328 Contents xi >> 126. IBN AL-WARD¯I, Risa¯lah al-naba’ ‘an al-waba’, translated by Michael Dols 329 >> 127. GABRIELE DE’ MUSSIS, Historia de Morbo, translated by Rosemary Horrox 330 Chapter 15 Exchanges and Perceptions of the Other 333 Russia Searches for a Monotheistic Religion 334 >> 128. The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text, translated by S.H. Cross and O.P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor 335 Muslims and Crusaders 336 >> 129. USA¯MAH IBN-MUNQIDH, Kita¯ b al-I’tiba¯ r, translated by Philip K. Hitti 337 Mali in the Fourteenth Century 338 >> 130. IBN BATTU¯TA, Rihla, translated by J. F. P. Hopkins and N. Levtzion 339 The Mongols through the Eyes of Their Neighbors 340 >> 131. WILLIAM OF RUBRUCK, The Journal of Friar William of Rubruck 341 >> 132. LI CHIH-CH’ANG, The Travels of an Alchemist, translated by Arthur Waley 342 The Old and the New World Confront Each Other 343 >> 133. DIEGO DE LANDA, Yucatan Before and After the Conquest, translated by William Gates 344 >> 134. GORDON BROTHERSTON, Image of the New World: The American Continent Portrayed in Native Texts 345 Part 4 Conclusion 348 Chapter 16 Transition: Bridging the Divide in World History 350 Credits 355