February 24

Today in class we had to build pyramids.  It was on a website on Mr. Schick's blog.  Jess was my partner but, she wasn't very good at building the pyramid.  I figured it out after a while.  I kept getting confused with the angle.  All of my people died from a famine.  Jessica and I got an A because we were the second group to finish building the pyramid.

Cyber Day: Egyptian Inventions

Medicine: The Egyptians knew how to perform many different surgeries and wrote down these surgical procedures.  They found ways to cure many diseases. They also believed in a god that would frighten away evil spirits.

Boats: The Egyptians invented bats so they could transport things to other areas along the Nile.  The boats were made of wood and allowed for easier transporting of goods.

Hieroglyphics: Egyptians used hieroglyphics as a way to keep records of events.  They wrote their names, did math equations, and wrote secret messages.

Calendar: The Egyptians used two different calendars.  The Epagomenal calendar which consisted of 365 days and 5 ceremonial days and a ceremonial calendar which had 360 days.  These calendars helped the Egyptians predict when the Nile would flood.  If they did not know when the Nile was going to flood, they could have died from famine.

Plow: The plow made it easier to plant crops. This meant that they could produce crops faster.

February 19

Today we started the Prezi.  We talked about the Nile River.

Nile River:

• Water for drinking, irrigation, bathing, transportation all came from the river
• It flows south to north
• Every July it floods
• Every October it leaves behind rich soil
• The delta is a broad, marshy triangular are of fertile silt
• Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation

February 17

Ancient Egypt

Geography

·         Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River

o   Nile River:

§  Water for drinking, irrigation, bathing, and transportation all came from the river, it flows south to north

§  Every July it floods

§  Every October it leaves behind rich soil

§  The delta is a broad, marshy triangular area of fertile silt

§  Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation

Pyramids

·         The Great Sphinx of Giza

o   built 2555 – 2532 BC

o   It’s a recumbent lion with a human’s head

o   The oldest monumental statue in the world

Daily Life

·         Slaves/servants helped the wealthy with household and child raising duties

·         They raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions – benefitted from irrigation of the Nile

·         Artisans would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles in the afterlife

·         Money/barter system was used – merchants might accept bags of grain for payment – later, coinage came about

·         Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy and medical treatments

·         They wrote in hieroglyphs and in hieratic

·         Soldiers used wooden weapons (bows & arrows, spears) with bronze tips and might ride chariots

·         Upper class was known as the “white kilt class” – priests, physicians, engineers, religious and political leaders

Pharaohs

·         The political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding titles: ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’

·         As ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt.  He owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners

·         Hatsheput was a woman who served as pharaoh

·         Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51 – 30 BC)

Gods and Goddesses

·         Over 2000 gods and goddesses

·         They “controlled” the lives of humans

February 6

Today in class Chesca and I presented our power point.  Jessica and Megan were at the computer and they did a bad job clicking while we were talking. Two other groups presented before and after us.  Jessica spelled a lot of words wrong and she laughed at us while we read the power point.   

Research Project

Today in class we worked in groups and did a research project.  My group’s topic was small pox and how it affected native Americans.  We made a power point but, it was hard to do because we did not have that much time.  Chesca and Jessica kept arguing over what pictures to put in the power point.  We have not gotten our tests back yet. 

February 4

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond

Papula, New Guinea

• What separates the haves from the have nots?
• Why do white men have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little?
• 1^st explorers thought white men had more power than them because they brought new goods to their country
• White men thought they were better than New Guineans

Why since ancient times have some societies progressed faster than others:

1. Advanced technology

2. Large populations

3. well-organized workforce

Important food source – sego

Sego can’t be stored for long periods of time, also low on protein

Barley and wheat – Middle East

1^st permanent settlement – Draa

11,500 years ago

Plant cultivation – domestication began

China grew rice, farming emerged in Americas – corn, squash, beans

Africa – sorghum, millet, yams

Geographic luck