jzen's Historians Guild Journal

Vocabulary:

Fertile Crescent-A name given to an area of rich farm land in Southwest Area, because of its distinctive curved shape.

Mesopotamia-an area that incorporates the Fertile Crescent and means the land between the rivers.

City-State-A city and its surrounding lands that functions similar to an independent country does today.

Dynasty- A set of rulers from a single family.

Cultural Diffusion- The process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one culture to another.

Polytheism-a belief in more than one god.

Empire- An empire is a unified entity that brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler.

Hammurabi-Ruler during the peak of Babylonian Power who created a code of law.

Short Answer:

1) The three environmental challenges to the Sumerians were:
- Unpredictable flooding combined with periods of little or no rain.
- No natural barriers for protection of villages.
- The limitation of natural resources.

2) They viewed them with attributes that we typically ascribe to humans, getting angry, being loving, etc.

3)The code of Hammurabi was a list of 282 specific laws that covered family relations, business conduct, and crime. They also sought to protect women and children from unfair treatment.


Critical Thinking:

1) The increase in food surplus allowed trade to extend, as well as the maintenance of larger populations that would build more cities. As this increased trade, ideas were spread as well leading to the spread of culture throughout the region.

2) As large groups of people start to congregate, being able to maintain enough resources to take care of them, ensure their safety, and prohibit one group taking advantage of another, rules need to be in place that allow this process to take place, and to maintain some order and organization. A set of laws are beneficial to this process for this reason.

3) It forced them to solve the problems they were facing. To provide water, they needed to irrigate, for defense, they built city walls, and with the surplus of items they had, they were able to trade with others to get items that they needed. Interacting with the environment closely helped to push the boundaries of technological advancement, and caused civilization to become more refined.

Vocabulary:


Delta-A broad marshy land formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of the river.

Narmer- The likely candidate for the unifier of upper and lower Egypt.

Pharaoh- Egyptian God-Kings

Theocracy- A type of government where rule is based on religious authority.

Pyramid- A major structure used as a burial tomb for kings.

Mummification- A process of preserving a corpse to prevent it from decaying.

Hieroglyphics- A form of writing that developed in ancient Egypt that revolved around pictures that had sounds associated with them.

Papyrus- a paper-like writing surface made out of reeds.


Short Answer:


1) The desert provided a natural barrier that prevented other nations from invading.

2) The looked on him as a man-god, powerful and full of magic. His will was always to be accomplished.

3) They did this because of their views of the afterlife. The body needed to be kept as preserved as possible because it would resurrect with the person in the afterlife.



Critical Thinking:


1) The deserts. These were virtually impenetrable. The area that they cover are so vast, the logistics required to cross them would have been nearly impossible for people from that era. Invasion by sea would have been a much easier to accomplish.

2) This played a primary part in their lives. They were constantly building structures and performing rituals to their gods and goddesses. The yearly cycle was attributed to them, as well as any feast or famine they may have endured. Their world was full of spirits.

3) In the beginning, they shared the common trait of a picture standing for an idea. In time, pictures stood for sounds instead of ideas. A difference was that cuneiform was pressed into clay or stone, while in Egypt, they developed paper which would be used to writing hieroglyphics.

Vocabulary:


Subcontinent- This refers to an area of land that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and is separated from the rest of the Asian Continent by the Himalayan, Hindu Kush, and Karakorum Mountain Ranges.

Monsoon-Seasonal winds that effect India’s climate.

Harappan Civilization-Name given to the early river civilization that sprung up around the Indus River Valley.


Short Answer:

1) The major problems a monsoon can cause are flooding when they develop in the summer months, and drought if they fail to develop in the summer. During the winter, they can cause dry air.

2) Indus cities were precisely laid out in a grid system, unlike their counterparts. They also built sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems that were as good as those developed in the 19th century.

3) Earthquakes from shifting tectonic plates are thought to be the reason for the decline of the civilization. This would have caused flooding and possibly altered the course of the Indus River. Changes to agriculture and trade would also have been affected by the inability of the rivers to be used for trade or irrigation.


Critical Thinking:

1) I think the biggest indicators of a strong central government are the uniformity of culture and religion, as well as the presence of relatively few weapons, indicating a stable, peaceful place.

2) Knowledge of math and geometry, spatial relations, design principles that allow for growth, knowledge of local climate and conditions that would affect structures, and the placement of infrastructure that would serve as the best method for implementation.

3) They were connected through sea trade routes provided by the Indus River and Persian Gulf routes. There also would have been overland routes that would have connected the two cultures.

Vocabulary:

Loess-The yellowish silt that is fertile, deposited by the Yellow River.

Oracle Bone-Animal Bones and Tortoise Shells used by Shang Kings to consult the gods.

Mandate of Heaven-The right to rule by a just ruler as issued by the gods.

Dynastic Cycle-The rise, fall, and replacement of dynasties.

Feudalism-a political system in which nobles or lords are granted the use of lands that legally belong to a king.


Short Answer:

1) The two rivers are the Huang He (Yellow) River and the Chang Jiang (Yantze) River.

2) Respect for one’s parents is across the board. Men were required to control the property and make important decisions, women were expected to obey fathers, husbands, and sons, as well as to have male offspring.

3) The mandate of heaven was issued and used to justify overthrowing the Shang dynasty by the Zhou dynasty.


Critical Thinking:

1) Benefits would be a strong and secure relationship with the community, with a clearly established order. Drawbacks would include lack of expression, loss of individual identities, and lacking individual rights.
2) There was not a noble class in Ancient Egypt. After the pharaoh, the most powerful group would have been the priests.

3) No, not so much. I think much of it stemmed from an inability to maintain order and to protect the provinces from tribal incursions. This was regarded as weakness seen in the monarchy and was exploited by the warlords who had grown powerful in their respective areas.

Short Answer:

1) The Fertile Crescent is an area of rich soil in the shape of a crescent located in the Middle East. It is called this because of the state of the soil and the shape it takes.

2) Irregular rain patterns, no natural protections, and limited natural resources.

3) The growth of cities along with the need for increased controls in food supply and a need to protect the people led to organized government. It was probably an extension of previous tribal leadership and developed into a much more complex institution once more things were needed to maintain order.

4) The contemporary notion is that the Pyramids will built as tombs for the pharaohs. They were to be a lasting home for those in the afterlife.

5) Without the Nile, there would be no Egypt. It owes its very existence to the Nile River.

6) This tells us that the government was likely a strong centralized government.

7) Trade seals from the Indus Valley were found in Mesopotamia during excavations.

8 ) It held the advantage of being able to be learned by everyone in the various parts of China, despite being able to be said the same way. This opened up an easy way to connect the various parts in communication.

9) The dynastic cycle is a pattern used by historians to describe the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties by other ruling families. This is reinforced by the notion of the mandate of heaven which states that if a ruling family is unjust, the gods will bestow the right to rule on another.


Critical Thinking:


1) It was necessary because it is an organizational tool. It helps not only to keep records, but also to spread ideas, and to keep information that can be passed on easily from one generation to another without having to relearn everything. Writing helped civilization spread, and also allowed for more complex processes to be performed that would otherwise be impossible for people to do without it. It also was a necessary tool for those in power to propagate control over their subjects. It can be seen in monument building and other types of record keeping that would promote the kings authority and the implementation of laws.

2) There are several reasons civilization would rise in river valleys. The first is the fertileness of the soil. The areas around rivers tend to be very rich and easy to grow crops in. A second reason is easy access to water. This is important not only for drinking and irrigation, but also provides a valuable means of transportation to different areas. A third reason would a more controlled local climate that has the river help regulate the area. Finally, rivers are valuable in trade. It makes the shipment of goods easy to accomplish and most served as routes out to the greater ocean and to lands far beyond the local kingdom.

3) Theocracy held the weight of the divine, and combined two institutions into one entity. In my opinion, it held greater weight than the warrior king did because people respected their religious traditions. When they are united, there is more emphasis given to who the person is and what they are, something a mere mortal couldn’t hope to understand