The Anasazi are a Native American people who lived in the southwest of the modern-day United States during the pre-Columbian era. They are most notable for the elaborate dwellings, called pueblos, that they built in caves and on the plains.

The construction of the Grand Canal, by the Sui Dynasty in the seventh century, directly and expediently linked the economies of northern and southern China for the first time in Chinese history. It facilitated the movement of goods and people, aided military movement in times of civil conflict, and allowed ideas to spread more rapidly around Chinese society.

During the Early Middle Ages, urbanization was most pronounced in China (and southeast Asia), the Middle East (and the Indian subcontinent), and the Swahili city-states of East Africa. Europe and the Americas were much less urbanized. China was the probably the most urbanized society in the world at this time and many of the most populous cities were located in East Asia.

The Zapotecs (500 BCE - 700 CE) and the Toltecs (800 - 1100 CE) are two civilizations that emerged in modern-day Mexico. The Zapotecs were briefly contemporaries of the Olmecs, and for a longer time, the Maya.

During the Medieval era, the global population grew substantially. This occurred in spite of the massive destruction caused by the spread of the Black Death and the genocidal conquests of the Mongol Empire. As a general rule, the global population has almost always been growing since the introduction of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution. 

Coptic Christians, usually called Copts, have lived in significant numbers in Egypt for over a thousand years. Egypt was a Christian state until the Islamic conquest, and the Copts are the surviving remnants of this fact. In modern Egypt, they represent a significant minority population, not to mention the largest Christian denomination in the country. They are also found in large numbers in Sudan and, in smaller numbers, in Libya.

The Chimu culture flourished on the Pacific coast of modern-day Peru from about 800 CE until the mid-fifteenth century.

The decline of the Mississippian civilization took place in the thirteenth century, long before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. After their decline, the Native American people who were living in this region, reorganized into hunter-gatherer groups, which would persevere until long after the arrival of Europeans.

The Inca city of Tiwanaku was built on the shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is an important archaeological site, for it is here that many of the earliest South American civilizations arose.

The Bubonic plague of the fourteenth century, also called the Black Death, led to the deaths of approximately thirty-three percent of the population of Europe. As you might expect this led to a myriad of social, political, religious, and economic issues. One of the more surprising consequences of the plague was the rising power of workers in European society. The plague led to a shortage of labor in Europe, particularly in Western Europe, which allowed those who survived to demand higher wages and improved working conditions.