February 27

Today we took our third test on Ancient Egypt. We have been studying this for about two weeks I think. I thought it was easy even though I really didn't study as much as I usually do. There were 26 multiple questions. There were a couple of questions on the pyramid challenge. Mr. Schick is currently grading the test.  Jessica is playing a game on her computer that looks boring and Alyssa is listening to music. Mr. Schick's tests are a whole lot easier than Mr. Teter's test. Doesn't matter about how much I studied because I got a hundred. Hope to keep it up.

Cyber day- February 26

5 Questions 

1. When was the Great Sphinx of Giza built?

           A) 2555-2532 BC

           B) 2532-2555 BC

           C) 2645-2625 BC

           D) 2625-2645 BC 

2. In what month did the Nile River flood? 

           A) October 

           B) June

           C) July 

           D) November 

3. What was Egyptian harmony and balanced of the universe called? 

           A) Nirvana 

           B) Maat 

           C) Gods and goddesses  

           D)Ra 

4. Who made up the "white kilt class" of ancient Egypt? 

          A) slaves and servants

          B) priest, physicians, and engineers  

          C) famers and artisans 

          D) merchants and scribes 

5. What material was used to cover the pyramids before the Muslim conquest? 

          A) limestone

          B) mud bricks 

          C) granite 

          D) marble 

February 25

Government by a God-King

• Pharaoh- all powerful, worshipped as a god and intimately connected to the other Egyptian gods and goddesses
• relied on harmony and balance of the universe called "maat"
• Pharaohs had multiple wives, and all routes of financial and social success were through the palace 
•  Women could inherit land and money,and divorce their husbands, only few ever had real political power
• 
  

Gods, Humans. and Everlasting Life

• gods were often portrayed with animal heads or bodies
• believed in an afterlife and mummified bodies to preserve them for this post-death journey
• all souls would need to justify themselves at the point of death and be either sent to an after world of paradise or the jaws of a monster 

The Writings of the Word of God

• earliest Egyptian writing formed c. 3100 B.C. and were small pictures known as hieroglyphs 
• Hieroglyphs represented religious words, or parts of words, and most commonly adorned temples
• Hieratic script was a shorthand developed by scribes and priest
• It was usually written in ink on papyrus, which was made from mashed Nile reeds
• Papyrus was stored in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of ancient Egypt.

Calendars and Sailboats

• astronomers created a calendar with 12 months and 365 days, using the moon
• doctors wrote extensively on health issues and created potions and cures for a number of common ailments
• wooded sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile
• 
  

Pyramids and Temples

• pyramids: massive stone tombs, originally covered in marble but was later stripped off during the Muslim conquest
• Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted humans and gods  in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective

February 24

Today in class we built pyramids online. My partner was Ellee.  It was the most stressful thing I have ever done. I completed the pyramid third so we got a B on the project. In building the pyramid, many important choices were need to be correct in order for the pyramid to be built in time. Choices included the angle of the pyramid, the location, the workers, and the material used to build it. Also how many times the works were fed and what food they would eat. One of the last decisions was how you would reward them. The hardest part was steering the boat up the Nile in time. After about ten tries I got it! That was not fun, Mr. Schick!!

Cyber day- February 20

Ancient Egyptian Technological Breakthroughs:

1. Hieroglyphics- Hieroglyphics helped control the large Kingdom by writing laws and letters. Also, they were used to keep accurate records of different events. If the Egyptians didn't invent this writing system, then we would not know much about how they lived and what life was like. 
   
2. Papyrus Sheets- The Egyptians learned how to make a material from the papyrus plant that could be written on.  On the papyrus sheets, they wrote important documents and religious text. Since the weather is dry, the documents have been preserved in good conditions. Thus giving us another way to learn how civilization grew. 
   
3. Boats- The Egyptians built boats out of wood. They were used to transport cattle, farming supplies, and people across Egypt. This allowed the Kingdom to connect and work together. 
   
4. Physicians and Doctors- Back then they didn't just believe that all illness came from the evil spirits and the cure was a religious treatment, but they could use herbs and natural resource to produce medication. The Egyptians were the first to identify and name organs like the heart and the lungs. We know all these advancements came from them because they wrote down their findings on the papyrus sheets in hieroglyphics.  
   
    
5. Shaduf- The shaduf was a device used by farmers to water their crops. The device would collect water from the Nile and then the farmer would fling the water to spread it across the field. This helped the farmer to keep the fields moist so the harvest would be plentiful. 
   

February 19

 More Ancient Egypt Notes

1. The Nile 

•  flows from the South to the North 
• Three rivers come together and form it
• world's longest river (4,000 miles) 
• has 5 cataracts- a large waterfall
• Delta is at the end of the river by the Mediterranean Sea
• no pollution in the river, even though they bathed in it 

Pyramids 

Daily Life 

Cyber day- February 17

Notes on Ancient Egypt: 

Geography

• centered around the Nile River
• provided water for drinking, irrigating, bathing, and transportation
• every July it floods
• every October it leaves behind rich soil
• delta is a broad, marshy triangular area of fertile silt
• managing the river required technological breakthrough in irrigation

Pyramids

• the Great Sphinx of Giza (built 2555-2532 BC) 

           -a recumbent lion with a human's head 

           -oldest monumental statue in the world 

Daily Life 

1. slaves and servants 
2. farmers
3. artisans
4. merchants
5. scribes
6. soldiers
7. government officials
8. Pharaoh

• slaves/servants helped the wealthy w/ household and child raising duties
• farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions (benefitted from the Nile)
• artisans would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes on the after life
• money/ barter system was used- merchants might accept bags of grain from payment- coinage came about
• scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy and medical treatments (wrote in hieroglyphs and hieratic)
• soldiers used wooden weapons w/ bronze tips and might ride chariots
• upper class "white kilt class" - priest, physicians, and engineers

Pharaohs

• the political and religious leaders of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest  of Every Temple'
•  'Lord of the Two Lands' means the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt
• owned all land. made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners
• Hatshepsut was a women who served as pharaoh
• Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51-30 BC)

Gods and Goddesses

• over 2,000 gods and goddesses 
• they "controlled" the lives of humans 

Old Kingdom 2649-2152 BCE

Middle Kingdom 2040-1640 BCE

New Kingdom 1550-1070 BCE

February 12

 Today in class, we went over the two test we have taken this year. It was an easy class. Mr. Schick told us to keep the test for the final exam at the end of the year. Most of the questions will appear on the final. Next we will learn about ancient Egypt, but first I get to enjoy a four-day weekend.  It is supposed to snow on Tuesday so there is a possibility that we could have a five or six day weekend. That would be nice. I want it to snow so I can go sledding.

February 11

Today we took our second test for West Civ. It was 25 multiple choice questions on a scantron. No essay questions. All the questions on the test were about the video we watched and Jared Diamond. I thought the test was easy. Mr. Schick was able to grade them before the class ended. I got a 100%. Yay me. I guessed on one, but overall I remembered everything else.  I like the way Mr. Schick teaches and that we have little test frequently.  Unlike when we have one big test a month. Next we are learning about ancient Egypt. I hope we watch another video. I really liked the Jared Diamond video. I learned a lot and it helped me understand the time period.  

February 6

 Today in class, Alyssa and I presented our PowerPoint, while Jessica and Megan worked at the computer. Jessica put truck instead of trunk in one of the sentences. It was hard not to laugh at Alyssa while I was reading. I think the class like our presentation, but I we should have put more photos of people with smallpox. Two other groups presented and there are two more to go. Glad we got ours down today. We have a test on Tuesday on the video we watched in class. I think i will do well on it because I took good notes.

February 5

In class today, we picked a topic and had to make a presentation on it.  I was grouped with Alyssa, Jessica, and Megan. Our topic was smallpox and how it influenced the Native Americans. The Europeans brought the disease over to the Americas, causing 20% of the Indians population to die. The method of treatment the Indians used actually increased morality. There is no cure for smallpox. The symptoms are flue-like and then red spots form in the mouth, hand, and arm. Which then turn into blisters and eventually cause deep scars. We made a PowerPoint with pictures and animations, containing this information and more.  Tomorrow Alyssa and I will present in front of the class.

February 4

We finished the video. There are the last set of notes on the video: In Jordan, people start making plaster from limestone. The plaster would seal up cracks to help control the temperature in the home. This was a big advancement in understanding and control fire. This would eventually lead to steal. Because of the geography, New Guineans could not produce a surplus of food which caused no technological advancement. They spent there time looking for food and had no time to do anything else.

Fertile Crescent:
-became dry from all the farming, so people left
- traveled east and west because there were similar climates and vegetation  (knew skills and how to survive in certain climates)
- this movement spread farming and trade of skills, goods, animals, and crops (if this didn't happen America would not be at all what it is like today)
- Americans eat 21 million tons of wheat per year

The answer to the Cargo Question:
Geographical luck. If you guys had what my people started out with, then you would be the ones with all the cargo.

I liked this movie and hope we watch more.

February 3

We continued watching the video. There are some more notes: Sago trees where used by New Guineans for food. They wood chop down the tree and it would take 3-4 days to process into dough that was not very nutrias and didn't have a lot of protein. A tree would produce 70 pounds, but the it could not be stored for very long. They also eat roots from a plant, bananas, and spiders. This caused the New Guineans to continue on having the hunter/gather lifestyle. Each day they would spend looking for food. They didn't have a food source that could be stored for long periods of time like barley, wheat, and rice.  These grains very more nutrias then sago. Draa is the oldest permeant civilization founded. In Draa, the first granaries were used to store wheat. They were the First farmers in the world. They planted the barley and wheat close to their village which was near a water source. After harvesting, they would replant the biggest, strongest, healthiest seeds. This is called plant cultivation or domestication.

China- Rice
Middle East- wheat and barely
Americas- corn, squash, and beans
Africa - sorghum, millet, yams
Papua New Guinea- roots and bananas

Geography Luck: 
-If you had nutrias grains that can be stored, you would thrive.
-Climate
- Location (could trade)
-Animals

Wealth of America would no the same if we lived off of bananas, spiders, and sago.  New Guineans were at a disadvantage in location, farming, and animals.  They could were on a remote island, no easily stored grain, and only had pigs for domestication.

 Domestication  
-animals were used for: farming, meat, milk, and clothes (reliable source of food year round)
-goats and sheep were the first animals to be domesticated
- out of 2 million species of animals , 14 species (that way over 100 pounds) are domesticated

1. goats
2. sheep
3. pigs
4. cows
5. horses
6. donkeys
7. bakterm camels
8. Arabian camels 
9. water buffalo
10.  llamas
11. reindeer
12. yacks
13. mittens 
14. vali cattle

South America: llamas; Asia, Africa, Europe: other 13; Middle East: native cows, pigs, sheep, and goats

Carnivores animals were harder to domesticate.

Ideal animals- mature and reproduce at the age 1 or 2  

For social animals (heads), they controlled the Alpha leader then have control over whole heard