600+CE+-+1450+CE+Postclassical+Period

Hi! and welcome to the Post Classical Era! Links: [|benefitial to understanding] The above link magazine researcher. He makes his notes on a book that Ann Hagen wrote. The link contains information on the Anglo-Saxon society and aspects of their food. My understanding of this society is better now because it provides the diet of these people, methods of obtaining food, and how they prepared some of it. This insight reveals how sophisticated these people were and also revealed some of the technology available to them. [|Today's issues] The above article was written by Anup Shah. In it, he relates hunger to poverty and the issues the world is having related to food. This in turn directly relates to manorialism during the middle ages in Western Europe. The serfs working on the land of their lords were very poor. They had lots of food that was grown by themselves taken away as tax and/or fees to the lord. This system was very harsh and unfair. If the serfs had maybe one less fee/tax, maybe they wouldn't be so hungry. Maybe they would be able to buy their way out of such a miserable life.

Primary source:Taken from the Quran, Sura 6 Juz 8 verse 145 http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/?Sura=6&FromVerse=145&Translation=Eng-Dr.%20Mohsin&Script=Usmani " I find not in that which has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be Maitah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork) for that surely is impure, or impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allâh (or has been slaughtered for idols or on which Allâh's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But whosoever is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, (for him) certainly, your Lord is Oft¬Forgiving, Most Merciful. " The religion of Islam is impacted by a very popular food: Pork. In the verse, it says swine is impure and whosoever is forced by necessity... your lord is oft forgiving... Meaning that those that eat it willingly are offending Allah (God). It shows that when food is available everywhere, people begin to have choices and they choose to not eat things for an insane reason. What has a pig done to be so "impure". Does this mean that other animals that live in mud are also the same? Will the Islam religion reject it?

Secondary source: World Civilizations AP pg 199-200 "Socially and economically, the empire depended on Constantinople's control over the countryside, with the bureaucracy regulating trade and controlling good prices. The large peasant class was vital in supplying goods and providing the bulk of tax revenues. Food prices were kept artificially low, to content the numerous urban lower classes, in a system supported largely by taxes on the hard-pressed peasantry." The above exert was from ch 9 of the book and it's talking about the Byzantium empire. This is an example of how food impacts the economy of a society. By keeping the prices low, people still have enough money to purchase foods and pay their taxes. It partly shows how the Byzantium empire did not fail like Athens and also the effort the government is making to satisfy the needs of people.

Essay: The Aztecs and Manors of Western Europe were both affected greatly by food(agriculture.) The similarity between the two is that both were impacted the most economically, this similarity revolves around key concept 3.3: Increased economic capacity and its consequences. The differences between these two regions are the forms of technology and the cultural impact of food. Manors of Western Europe had very little while the Aztecs had advanced very far.

The economies of these two civilizations were heavily influenced by agriculture. In Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec civilization, they excelled in agriculture and food served as currency in many instances due to the lack of coined money. One direct case are the tributes of the Aztecs' enemies. They would have to pay tribute very much like a tax at a constant rate. This monthly income meant that the Aztecs could gain money while having a smaller work force of their own population. Sometimes these extra people would join the military and conquer more tribes which results in more tributes being paid. So by introducing this system of conquering, the Aztecs benefited unfathomably: Peacefully conquered tribes were allowed to live their own lives as long as they paid tributes and rebellious tribes were captured and used as the workforce/human sacrifices. Like the Aztecs of Mesoamerica, the Manors of Western Europe were also farming heavily, lacked coined money, and were influenced by taxes one way or another. This was their only option because they had lost almost all knowledge of the Romans and any great civilizations prior to this primitive society. This lack of knowledge also meant that there would be less artisans and higher status economical positions to be held. Similar to the Aztecs, there was a almost forced labor system. These laborers were called serfs and by "almost forced" it means that serfs technically had a choice to whether or not if they wanted to work on manors. In reality though, they didn't. The manors were the only safe haven of this primitive society. Taxes also played a big role during this time. Manors had to give up crops because they were used as currency to the King while they also took taxes from the serfs. Ultimately, the economies of these two societies were dominated by food. The Manors had nothing else to live on while the Aztecs advanced to agriculture. The technological differences between the Aztecs and Manors of Western Europe are essential to the reasons why each had a good or bad economy. The Aztecs were a rapidly developing civilization that still had opportunities to create new methods of farming. Due to the location of Tenochtitlan: in the middle of marsh, the Aztecs developed islands called Chinampas. These islands numbered in the thousands and were placed all around the marsh. As a result of the distance of these Chinampas, an efficient method of watering crops would be difficult to install, but the Aztecs did anyway. The irrigation system was very complex and used the water from the marsh. A third technological advance is the creation of aqueducts. They were used to separate the clean water from the dirty water of the marsh. All these forms of technology were developed in order to improve the methods and effiency of farming. On the other side of the world, the manors lacked many forms of technology. Perhaps the best tool used in agriculture in this region of the world was the plow. There was a lack of advanced irrigation which reduces the amount of crops that could be grown, thus reducing the size of the economy. The lack of aqueducts is not really important because manors always had a river running through the land. An advantage and also a disadvantage is the geography. The flat lands of Western Europe meant that farming was simple but also exposed the lands to easier invasions. Going back to the Aztecs, food was a very big part of their culture. They had deities for nearly every aspect of nature from a rock to the sun. They believed that human sacrifices were needed for the sun to rise in order to give light to their crops. This is another driving force for the conquering system introduced. The culture of the Manors were not influenced by food due to the strength of the Church. It was the only organized system remaining at this time.

To sum everything up, food played a big role in Mesoamerica and Western Europe. The economies were heavily influenced and had positive and negative impacts on society. Technology also played a big role because people needed better ways to support their population. Culture can be influenced by food because there was nothing else like the Church in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs had nothing else to believe. media type="custom" key="8135026"