The Human Web: A Bird's-Eye View of World History

Thematically, Part 3 brings The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange and Conflict into focus by highlighting the role of early metropolitan webs in the diffusion of ideas, technologies, and goods among numerous people and across great distances. Whereas Part 1 introduces religion as a key element of human societies, Part 3 shows the role of religion in urban organization and trade networks. The stratified social organization of Sumer included a priestly class that supervised a rural labor force, increased the demand for precious commodities, and encouraged specialization. Egypt’s Old Kingdom “rulers claimed to be living gods, who, in effect, turned the entire country into a single temple community” (52). They controlled Nile shipping and used the concentration of wealth to support skilled craftsmen and organize pyramid construction (52).

While the religious element of the earliest civilizations primarily supported interaction on a local scale, the emergence of portable, congregational religions extended the human web. Buddhism originated in India and propagated monastic communities across South and East Asia via trade routes, spreading “Indian influence among other peoples of Eurasia” (64) and encouraging the commercialization of China. Before Buddhism arrived in China, Confucianism united “China’s landowning class in obedience to the emperor just as effectually as canal boats united the imperial economy” (67). These examples establish the integral role of religion in social organization, economic growth, and governance.

In addition, advancements in military technology supported the creation and power of governing bodies. Table 3.1, “Empires of Southwest Asia and Egypt” (56), illustrates the prevailing weaponry and logistical bases of rulership. The authors highlight three landmarks in military technology: the chariot revolution, the democratization of warfare via iron metallurgy, and the emergence of cavalrymen. Such military advancements ushered in constant political-military upheavals, which not only prompted the development and consolidation of imperial, bureaucratic governments but also “sustained trade links, as well as exchanges of microbes, religious ideas, and technologies” (59).

Part 3 supports a key point that the authors posit in the Introduction: that inequality and competition at one level promote cooperation at other levels. The authors develop this assertion here by discussing how political fragmentation in Greece incited the invention of a new form of cooperation, the polis (or city) which was supported by the phalanx, or new military strategy. Together, the polis and phalanx enabled the introduction of coinage, which accelerated extended trade and intensified specialization while allowing military achievements that inspired great works of art and scientific exploration. Macedonian and Roman conquest of Greece then extended Greek influence across widespread empires.

Because constant warfare and growing inequality marked this period, the text illustrates another critical role that religion plays: offering solace in amid insecurity and hardship, as evident in the invention of alphabetic writing, which democratized literature and made “sacred scriptures accessible to laymen” (60). This constituted a critical transformation in the nature of religion: Not only priestly classes but also common people helped “stabilize urban society by making its inherent inequality and insecurity more tolerable” (61). This was especially true in the Roman Empire, where the rise of “Christian churches created a new identity and community for the poor and oppressed” (78). In Part 4, the authors elaborate on why portable, congregational religions had such an effect on growing human societies.