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Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times

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Jerry Bentley argues against the popular Eurocentric belief that the world began with Christopher Columbus. In other words, before 1492 cross-cultural encounters did not exist. The book analyzes the dynamics of these pre-modern encounters, and seeks to understand cross-cultural conversion. Bentley argues that cultural and religious traditions faced much opposition in foreign territory, and that they rarely won converts unless there were political, social, and economic encouragement. More importantly, was the need for aid from the syncretic process which allowed traditions to gain support in other lands. Bentley offers illustrations to support his argument, however, he often uses sources of bias when they support his argument. Unfortunately, sometimes his arguments seem to contradict each other.

At least until recent times major civilizations gradually shared, adapted, borrowed, and sometimes transfromed material elements of civilization and even ideas. A wonderful overview of history before European colonialism introduces eaxamples and processes for a valuable perspective that should be read by area specialists and others tending to see things from the view of a single nation, faith, or culture. The pace and shock of change increased with modern communications and powerful force producing perhaps a different story from the period after that so well reviewed in this book. One might start with Phillip Curtin and Wolf's "peoples without history' for this later period.