The most important geographical feature was water.
The people in Africa, sub-Saharan Africa more specifically, did not had their own written languages throughout their history. This meant that they were not able to preserve their cultural heritage in a written way, and that of course can be a problem on the long term. In order to preserve their culture, the African people used the oral way of keeping the traditions alive, mostly by telling stories to the younger ones, thus it was continuing from one generation to other. Also, the music and the dances where crucial for the preservation of their culture, by being able to see and hear the sounds and dances of their ancestors, they were able to easily accept and be interested in their culture, thus learn it, and continue to keep it alive.
The birth of gunpowder was quite accidental. It was first invented inadvertently by alchemists while attempting to make an life-extending ELIXIR. It was a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter, and charcoal. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder was being used in military affairs.
How did the Maya operate politically without a centralized government? The Maya had city-states that were not unified. They were tied to each other through a system of economic exchange through trading rather than direct rule through a centralized government.
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