January 29

Today in class we watched a movie called Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Jared Diamond is a scientists who grew up loving birds. The movie took place in Papua New Guinea, a country whose citizens still living like hunters/ gathers. They still will like this because they are secluded. The people are not starving, not unhappy, and are satisfied with what they have. Two important questions that come during the movie are What separates the haves from the have nots? and Why do white men have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little? They can't believe that there is boxed cereal and canned food. So whites took advantage and made them think that they are genetically better which is the reason why they have so much cargo. Whites also call them stupid. Jared Diamond disagrees with this and claims that they are intelligent in their way of living. They can go in harsh climates and survive. Something Diamond could have never done. They are geniuses in there own way.
Jared also give three reasons why some civilizations have progressed? 

1. Advanced technology 
2. Large populations 
3. Well-organized work force 

The New Guineans are one of the few civilizations that still live like this. I enjoyed watching the movie and learning about this unique way of living. 

January 29

Today was the first test of West. Civ. and the first one I took made by Mr. Schick.  He lets us use our blog, which was nice. Luckily I had a lot of vocab words on my blog.  Now I know I need to write all my notes in my blog. If he is taking off for spelling, then I may not have done as good as I thought I did.  I think overall I did well on it and feel good about it.  It was fair and it was what I was expecting.  I wish I was a better speller.

January 28

Today was a review day for our first test tomorrow. On Wednesdays, we have West Civ last mod. By the time the class was ready to start, I had to leave for a basketball game against McDonogh.

Fourth class

For some reason it seemed like there was a lot of people absent form class today. We talked about Hammurabi's Code of Laws and how some of the laws are still in use. I found it interesting that a lot of them related to Laws in the Bible. A lot can be learned form the laws about the early civilizations. There was a divide between classes, men had more respect then women, and medical procedures took place. The test was moved from Wednesday to Thursday.

Third Class

Today I had my tenth or eleventh shadow. Her name was Kendra and she said her favorite class was West Civ. Mr. Schick offered Jessica's grapes to her. Every single class I have sat in a different seat. We continued going over the PowerPoint on prehistory and Mesopotamia. We learned that the Sumerians divided the hour into sixty minutes and the minute into sixty seconds. They also created a calendar based on the moon cycles and built ziggurats to worship their numerous gods in. Another, important person is King Hammurabi who created the first documented series of laws called the Hammurabi Code. At the end of class, we looked up some of the laws. A couple were curl and disturbing. I learned from the laws that they had regulation on marriage and divorce. I was surprised that marriage and divorce was a thing all the way back then. The last group we talked about were the Indo- Europeans who were a group of people from the grasslands of the Russian steppe. They were the first to introduce the horse. I like the way Mr. Schick teaches and hope to do well on the first test on Wednesday.

Prehistory notes

When and where did human beings first emerge? 
200,000 years ago human beings emerged in southwestern Africa.

Why did the period known as "prehistory" end? 
The period of prehistory ended when people started writing things down.

What made the rise of civilization possible?
Settling down in permeant shelters and agriculture made the rise of civilization. It allowed the women to nurture their babies and provided a more food for more children.
 
Name some early technological innovations.
Some early technological innovations are the wheel, the plow, and the spear.

How did hunter/gathers live? 
Hunter/gathers were nomadic, meaning they moved from place to place. They followed the animals, their main food source, living in caves or under some branches.

Who was King Hammurabi, and why was he important?
King Hammurabi was the king of Babylonia and he created a series of laws known as “Hammurabi’s Code." These laws included “an eye for an eye” and regulations of marriage, divorce, and punishments for all sorts of crimes.

Prehistory: the time before things were written down

Paleolithic Age: (Old Stone Age) the earliest prehistoric age

Neolithic Age: (New Stone Age) marked by the making of tools and the start of agriculture

Agricultural Revolution: (Neolithic Revolution) the shift from hunting/gathering to more permanent settlements centered on agriculture (beginning in southwestern Asia)

cuneiform: the earliest form of writing, invented by the Sumerians

ziggurat: a Sumerian temple built on top of a "mountain" of earth

Indo-Europeans: people from the grasslands of the Russian steppe who introduced the horse to the Near East, also called the Hittites, settled in Asia Minor

My first day

Today was my first day of Western Civ and I was late. Today was my first time this year being late and of course I had a new semester two class first mod. In class, I tired to set up my blogger but for some reason it did not work. I got it to work when I got home. This is my first blog and I hope to get better at it during this semester.