Cyber Day: Ancient Egyptian Inventions

1. Sails-  Sails/Sailing was the most important invention in Ancient Egypt because it allowed for transportation through the Nile River. This allowed for transportation of things that could not be transported on land because of distance or weight. This improved life for the Ancient Egyptians because it allowed easier and more efficient transportation to take place.

2. Calendar- A calendar was also an important invention in Ancient Egypt because it was the difference between life or death. Without the calendar the people had no idea when the Nile River would flood. Life in Ancient Egypt depended on the Nile River so, if it flooded and they weren't prepared for it, people could have died from famine.

3. Papyrus- Papyrus was an important invention in Ancient Egypt because the worlds first paper was invented using this. The Ancient Egyptians used this to keep track of all kinds of things like the days, when the Nile River would flood etc... The papyrus paper has allowed us to see what life was like in Ancient Egypt because it is very durable. This improved life for the Ancient Egyptians because it allowed them to again keep track of things and also invent a calendar.

4. Written Language- The Ancient Egyptians invented the first written language called hieroglyphics. This made it possible for the Egyptians to write and names and ideas. This improved life for the Ancient Egyptians because this helped them communicate, and talk about war, politics and culture.

5. Ox Drawn Plow- This invention cause a revolution in Ancient Egyptian agriculture. The Ox Drawn Plow made it easier and more efficient to plow lands. This improved life in Ancient Egypt because since it made it easier to plow fields that means they could plant and produce food quicker.

Ancient Egypt Presentation

Today in class we started going over the Ancient Egypt Prezi that we took notes on Tuesday for cyber day. I had already finished the prezi, so today's class was just clarifying the topics and noting what is important/what will be on the future test. But before we started doing that, the class had to finish reviewing the Guns, Germs, and Steel test that I haven't taken yet because I was absent last week. Therefore, I had to leave the classroom and roam the halls for ten minutes until they were done. But getting back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egypt is a very interesting topic to study, one of my favorites when I was in middle school. In seventh grade in my social studies class, that whole year was devoted to ancient civilizations, so I already have background knowledge on the topics we will be covering. Even though I enjoy Ancient Egypt, my overall favorite is Ancient Greece so I can't wait until we get to that unit. Tomorrow we will finish going over the prezi/taking notes in class tomorrow, I'm told it's something that you don't want to miss.



Here are extra notes that go along with my previous blog's notes:

-Nile flows south to north
-Cataract are the rough place in the river (consists of rocks-kind of like white water rafting)
-Nile is the worlds largest river, 4000 miles long
-Technological breakthroughs include irrigation, sailing, and baking bricks for building of pyramids.

CyberDay-Ancient Egypt Notes

I'M BACK!! I was not in class on Wednesday or Thursday due to a family emergency, but I am back now so here are the CyberDay notes on Ancient Egypt:

Geography:
-Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River
-The Nile River supplied water for drinking, for irrigation, for bathing and for transportation
-Every July it floods and every October it leaves behind rich soil
-The delta is a broad, marshy triangular area of fertile soil
-Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation
Pyramids:
-The Great Sphinx of Giza was built 2555-2532 B.C
-It is a recumbent lion with a human head
-It is oldest monumental statue in the world
Pyramid Video:
-Inside the pyramid there is a King and Queen chamber
- Subterranean chamber lies beneath the pyramid
-Al Amun wanted to find a special entrance in to the Great Pyrmaid that would lead to treasure
-The sarcophagus of the Pharaoh is empty
Daily Life:
-Hierarchy: Pharaoh-Nobles/Priests-Soldiers-Scribes-Merchants-Artisans-Farmers-Slaves/Servents
-Slaves/Servants helped the wealthy with household and child-raising duties
-Raised wheat,barley,lentils, onions- benefited from irrigation of the Nile
-Artisans would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife.
-Money and Barter system was used-merchants might accept bags of grain for payment-coinage came later
-Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy and medical treatments.
-They wrote in hieroglyphs and hieratic
-Soldiers used wooden weapons (bow/arrow&spears) with bronze tips may ride chariots
-Upper Class, known as "White Kilt Class"(Priests, Engineers, Physicans)
Pharaohs
-The political and religious leader of the Egyptian people. Titles include "Lord of Two Lands" and "High Priest of Every Temple"
-"Lord of Two Lands" Pharaoh ruled Upper and Lower Egypt. Owned all lands, made laws,collected taxes, and defended Egypt from foreginers
-Hatshepsut was a woman who served as pharaoh
-Cleopatra VII also served as a pharaoh, but much later (51-30 B.C)
Gods and Goddesses
-Over 2000 gods and goddesses
- They "controlled" the lives of humans
John Green Video
-Ancient Egyptian Civilization lasted from 3000 B.C.E.- 332 B.C.E.
-Cities existed only along the Nile-made transporting goods easy
-Nile helped with bigger food surpluses
-Egyptians were buried with things that would be useful to them in the after life
-Old Kingdom (2649-2152 B.C.E.)
-Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.)
-New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.)
-Ra-God of Sun/Creation
-  Amun-Ra most widely recorded Egyptian God




 

Test Grades and Presentations

Yesterday in class Mr.Schick finally told us our grades from the test we took last week. However, he aren't going over the test until next week. Our class had the highest overall average of an 88.8%. Mr. Schick explained the system of the dings to the newbies, where one ding equals an "A" and two dings equals an "100%."I got two dings which was a little surprising to me, because there was one question I had to completely guess. After he told everyone their grades we got on with the presentations about the variable in Germs, Guns, and Steel. My group went first as promised and we did our presentations on Animals. I was a little disappointed the way our presentation went, only because there was some grammatical errors and the sound on the youtube video wasn't working. After we went we continued  on with the other presentations, I think we are almost through with everyone, but there is one or two presentations left which will presented on Tuesday.        

Doing a Little Work

Today in class we had to prepare a presentation on one of five subjects, on the variables in Germs, Guns and Steel. My group which consisted of Me, Karson, Veronica, Zaire, and Ellee got to pick first and we chose animals. At first we only had one mod to complete the assignment, and then present the next mod but Mr.Schick changed it so we had the whole class to work on it because there was no way some of us could get it done. We decided to make a power-point on our topic and we all had to split up the work because there was seven animals and only five of us. Mr.Schick even helped us by finding a youtube video that involves a goat, which everyone will see tomorrow;) We were able to complete our power point by the end of class with funny pictures and a little surprise:) Our group is kicking off the presentations so prepared because we are starting off with a bang!

Germs Guns and Steel 2/4/15

Today in class we finished watching Germs Guns and Steel. However, the first 20 minutes of class was taken up by Mr. Schick trying to fix the volume on the speaker/computer so we ended up having to use Evan's computer in order to finish watching it. The major points in the the rest of the video were:

-Making plaster from limestone, was a major technological advancement. (in Jordon, used plaster to insulate the wall to keep the wind etc... out.
-In Papa New Guinea they didn't have metal tools, because they didn't have a food surplus, which means they couldn't have specialists, which means no metal working, and therefore no metal tools.
-The Fertile Crescent's head start in farming could not continue because the climate was to dry and the ecology was deteriorating.
-America consumes 20 million tons of wheat a year- however wheat is not native to America, it is originally from the Fertile Crescent.

The conclusion that James Diamond came up with for answer the question, "Why white men have so much cargo and New Guineans have so little," was simply the geography. The New Guineans got the short end of the stick, and if American's had settled in New Guinea we would be in a similar situation.

Germs Guns and Steel Video 2/3/14

Today in class Veronica brought in donuts(: Everyone got four but I'm pretty sure Karson and I  had like eight. After donuts me continued watching Germs, Guns, and Steel. I think we are almost finished the video but it will take at least another class to finish.

These are the notes from the video so far:
-Sageo-found in sageo trees, can make into dough, doesn't last long, can't store, not nutritious
-People from Papa New Guinea have many talents that we don't have and vice versa.
-Barley&Wheat much better to plant and eat, gives nutrition.
-Draa - oldest settlement that people ever found.
-It had the world first grainary, which was a place to store grain.
-China- grew rice
-Americas- corn, squash, and beans
-Africa- sorghun and yams
- Biggest difference in farming inequality is GEOGRAPHIC LUCK
-Animal Domestication- controlling food and breeding.
-Goats and Sheep were first domesticated animals
-Ideal domesticated animals give birth in first couple years of life
-14 species of domesticated animals
-Goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys, bactrian camels, Arabian camels, water buffaloes, llamas, reindeer, yaks, mithams, baly cattle.
South American- llamas
-All other animals were from Asia, Europe, and North America
Cows, pigs, sheep, and goats were native to the middle east.