Learning Objective 3

I felt like making an outline so I did!

Land of the Pharaohs: Egypt

1. The Nile and the “Two Lands”

a.       Stretches from Central Africa to the Mediterranean

b.       Upper Egypt

                                                         i.      500 miles in length

                                                       ii.      12 miles in width

c.       Lower Egypt

                                                         i.      Fan-shaped pattern of water ways

d.      The Nile

                                                         i.      Cycle of labor depended on flooding and receding

                                                       ii.      “Gift of the Nile” provided wealth

e.      3100 B.C.

                                                         i.      Lands were unified with one king

                                                       ii.      King= Pharaoh

2.  Government by a God-King

a.       Pharaoh

i.                     No boundaries between God and humans

ii.                   Pharaoh was given the power of God

iii.                  Believed the peace of the universe depended on the Egyptians

b.      Tending the “Cattle of God”

                                                         i.      All land belonged to the Pharaoh

                                                       ii.      Pharaoh had an army of scribes

                                                      iii.      People inherited, bequeathed, sold, and bought land, houses, and goods

c.       Men and Women Under the Pharaohs

                                                         i.      Women closest to the pharaoh- mother and principal wife

                                                       ii.      Mother and principal wife had their own lands

                                                      iii.      Wife was often the king’s half-sister

                                                     iv.      Had many wives

3. Gods, Humans, and Everlasting Life

a.       Gods

                                                         i.      Usually had heads or bodies of animals

                                                       ii.      Conceived during the stone age

b.      Humans

                                                         i.      First believed that the pharaoh was immortal

                                                       ii.      By 1800 B.C. they believed that the soul had to stand before the ruler of the underworld for judgment

4.  The Writing of the Word of God

a.       Hieroglyphs

                                                         i.      Came up for religious reasons

                                                       ii.      Earliest writing

                                                      iii.      Created around 3100 B.C.

                                                     iv.      Used to honor kings

                                                       v.      Means “the writing of the word of god”

                                                     vi.      700 B.C.- faster short hand was created

5. Calendars and Sailboats

a.       First Calendar

                                                         i.      12 equal months of 30 days

                                                       ii.      5 “free” days to make 365

b.      Medicine

                                                         i.      Did not understand germs or infections

                                                       ii.      Trained physicians and surgeons

                                                      iii.      Some healing drugs

                                                     iv.      Created a medical school, library, and books about diseases

c.       Sailboats

                                                         i.      3100 B.C.- masts and sails

                                                       ii.      2500 B.C.- adapted to the Mediterranean Sea

6. Pyramids and Temples

a.       Tombs

                                                         i.      Giant royal pyramids

                                                       ii.      Early centuries of civilization

b.      Great Pyramid

                                                         i.      Built around 2650 B.C.

                                                       ii.      476 ft. high

                                                      iii.      760 ft. on each side

                                                     iv.      Each block weighs 5000 lbs.

7. The Rhythm of Egypt’s History

a.       2200 B.C.- local officials gained independence

b.      333 B.C.- ruled by Greeks

c.       30 B.C.- Conquered by Romans

Elephants

In class today, we watched a video of a guy talking about history.  He is an author and Mr. Schick was really surprised that nobody in our class has read his book.  He was kind of funny, but I found it a little bit stupid.  It was still interesting though.  I think it had a lot of good information in it and it really helped me understand the material more.  I didn't really understand what the point of the “open letter” to the elephant was about though.  If Mr. Schick can find a video like this for every topic we study, I think it will be a lot easier for me to remember things we learned when it comes time for a test.

Late Because I Was Sick

I know this is late, but that is because I was sick and didn't have my book with me so I couldn't do the assignment.  Anyway, Jared Diamond was on track with his theory of “Geographic Luck.”  There is evidence in our text book to prove it.  The book says that clay for pottery was not available everywhere and that families had to negotiate who would get it and what they would trade for it.  They also needed help from other families to build buildings and houses.  Another thing is that some families only had girl children, so those families would need guys from other families to marry the daughters so they could keep the community alive.  It’s pretty obvious that some people just got lucky and have what everybody else needs.

Sick

I was not in class today because I was sick.

Note Taking

In class, on Friday, we started reading from the text book.  We started taking notes in our composition books.  Mr. Schick helped us by asking us what we think we should write down from each paragraph.  I think having a text book will make it a lot easier for me to study this semester.  I didn't really like having to study on my computer for Human Geo.  I feel like it is easier for me to concentrate when I’m not looking at a screen.  And, with a book, I can’t play games.  By Wednesday, my we have to write a several hundred word essay on the first learning objective in the book.  We have to answer the question, “Was Jared Diamond on track with his theory of "geographic luck"?  I think this could be really easy if I don’t over-think it.

First Day of West Civ

Today in class, we basically did the same thing we did on the first day of Human Geo.  Except, this time, we had to get books.  Mr. Schick told us to download Google Chrome.  We had to make another blog for Western Civilization, because we couldn't use the one from Human Geo.  Mr. Schick also repeated that he has no tolerance for computer games in his class.  I am really glad I have Mr. Schick again.  Some of the people from my Human Geo class don’t have him anymore and they are upset.  Even though blogging every night is a lot of work, it’s worth it because Mr. Schick makes the class fun and interesting.  One thing that is really awesome about his class this semester is that it is in the same room as my advisory!