Test on Egypt

Today in class, we had to take a test on Ancient Egypt. I thought it would be really hard so I studied and we studied for the first 15 minutes of class. Some questions I didn't know the answer to but most of them I thought I answered correctly. Some of the questions were things like "The Nile provides everything except..." or "Who was one female Pharaoh of Egypt?" or "Who out of these is the highest on the social ladder?". Some of the ones I guessed on were questions like "How long is the Nile River?". Mr. Schick is going to grade them so I will find out how well I did in a couple minutes.

Land of the Pharaohs Notes

The Nile and the "Two Lands"

• Upper Egypt had higher elevation and Lower Egypt emptied into the Mediterranean Sea
• The Nile was the major provider of life
• around 3100 BC, the two lands were united by one Pharaoh 
• Pharaoh was all powerful, worshipped as a god and intimately connected to the other major gods/goddesses 
• Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe called "maat"
• Pharaohs had multiple wives 
• Women could inherit money, land, and divorce their husbands, though few wielded true political power
• Earliest Egyptian writing formed 3100 BC and were small pictures called hieroglyphs
• Hieroglyphs represented religious words, or parts of words and most commonly adorned temples
• Hieratic script was shorthand developed by scribes and priests 
• Egyptian astronomers created a calendar with 12 months and 365 days
• Egyptian doctors wrote extensively on health issues and created potions/cures
• Wooden sailboats allowed people to transport things on the Nile 
• Pyramids were massive stone tools, originally covered in marble but the marble was stripped off 

Pyramid Building

Today in class, we had to play a game where we build a Pyramid. We got to work in partners and the first two pairs got an A, the next two got a B, if you finished in class you got a C and if you didn't finish, you got a 0. I worked with Kacey and we got an A. It was hard and frustrating but we got it done second. The thing that frustrated everyone the most was the Nile Expedition but me and Kacey knew that you could click "Finish Game". To start the game, you had to pick a location, materials, and workforce. It kept firing us because we didn't pick the right workforce. It took us a couple tries but we finally got it right and built the Pyramid.

Prezi videos

Pyramid Quest
  In this video, a man went to look for treasure in the Pyramids. With him, he brought stonemasons, engineers, and architects. Scribes said the treasure was in the Great Pyramid so he set up camp there. He went inside and didn't find anything, which made him mad and confused him. What he didn't know, is that there is more to the Pyramid than what he saw. There are many chambers and tunnels that we have discovered today.

Mummification
  In this video, they talk about mummification and why the Egyptians created it. Mummification was created to preserve bodies for the afterlife. To make a mummy, they first take out certain organs. Next, they cover the body in salt and then let it sit for 40 days. After this, they put oils on the body, and linens were glued on. They put the mummy on a wooden board and but a pouch on it's chest. Finally, they put a cover on it.

About Egypt
 In this video, They talk about the Ancient Egypt Civilization which was from 3000 BC - 332 AD. The Nile River shaped the world view of the Egyptians. It flooded every Summer which left rich soil for farming. When Egyptians died, they were buried with something special to them to take to the afterlife with them. Ancient Egypt had 3 time periods: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.

Technological Developments of the Ancient Egyptians

1. The invention of Sun clocks and Water clocks: Obelisks were built in 3500 BC by the Egyptians. Shadows formed a sundial which allowed people to divide the day into 2 parts. They could also show the year's shortest and longest days. One of the first water clocks was found in the tomb of Amenhotep I who started using them around 325 BC. They were made of stone and had slanted sides which let water drip at a constant rate or bowls that filled with water at a constant rate to determine time. These inventions were important because they made it possible to tell time.



2. The invention of the Ox-drawn plows: The first Ox-drawn plows were made in 2500 BC. It required the domestication of animals and skilled metal working. These plows made farming easier and quicker.



3.  The invention of Hieroglyphic Writing: Hieroglyphics were invented by the Egyptians in 4000 BC. The Egyptians called them "the words of God" and they were mostly used by priests at that time. Hieroglyphics are written in either rows or columns and can be read from left to right, or right to left depending of the direction the human and animal heads face. Hieroglyphics allowed people to communicate without using words.



4. The invention of Paper: The first paper was woven from marsh grass called Cyperous Papyrus. Papyrus is where the name for paper came from. It was invented by the Egyptians in 3000 BC. The plant stem was cut into strips and softened, then they were soaked in water and put under a mat. The mat was pounded into thin sheets of paper. The invention of paper gave the Egyptians something to put hieroglyphics on.



5. The invention of Pyramids: Generally, it took about a decade to construct a pyramid. It was traditional for a Pharaoh to start building a pyramid when he takes the throne because it could take his entire reign. Pyramids were some of the most fascinating structures to ever be built.

Test

Today in class I took the test about the Guns, Germs, and Steel video. We went over it and I think I did well. After we went over the answers to the test, we went over the Prezi on Egypt again and took notes. We looked at some of the drawings that Egyptians did which were draw from the side in 2D. We also learned that they had many gods and goddesses with heads of animals because humans were a powerful species but animals could do things humans couldn't. Egyptians drew things that showed the afterlife which is one belief of their culture.

Prezi on Egypt

Ancient Egypt

• Pharaohs were the political religious leaders of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: Lord of the Two Lands and High Priest of Every Temple
• Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River. It had water for drinking, irrigation, bathing and transportation
• Every July, the Nile River floods and every October it leaves behind rich soil
• The Delta is a triangular area of fertile silt 
• Managing the river required new irrigation techniques 
• The Great Sphinx of Giza is a recumbent lion with a human's head that was built from 2555-2532BC. It's the oldest monumental statue in the world
• Pharaohs were the highest in ranking. Next was Government officials (nobles, Priests), Soldiers, Scribes, Merchants, Artisans, Farmers, Then Slaves and Servants 
• Slaves and Servants helped the wealthy with household and childraising duties
• they raised wheat, barley, lentils, and onions
• Artisans carved statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife 
• They used a money/barter system: Merchants might accept bags of grain for payment but eventually, coinage came out
• Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, described anatomy, and medical treatments 
• They wrote in Hieroglyphs and in hieratic 
• Soldiers used wooden weapons like bow and arrows or spears with gold tips and sometimes rode chariots 
• Upper class was known as the White Kilt Class. This class included Priests, Physicians, and engineers 
• The Pharaoh was the leader of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. He owned all the land, made all the laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners 
• Hatshepsut was a women who served the as the Pharaoh 
• Cleopatra VII served as the Pharaoh from 51-30BC
• There were over 2000 gods and goddesses who "controlled" the lives of humans

Guns, Germs and Steel video 2

For the first part of class we had a lockdown drill and a shelter-in-place drill. We had to turn off the lights, lock the door, and silently sit against the wall. For the second part of class we continued the video and took more notes:

• Learning how to make steel was a big technological breakthrough 
• Understanding how to work with fire was the first step to forging steel 
• Certain rocks can be used to make steel when they are heated to the right temperature 
• New Guinea didn't have metal tools
• New Guinea didn't advance because they spent too much time farming and trying to feed themselves
• When people moved out of the Middle East, they tended to move East or South putting them in the same geographical conditions
• In the 16th century, people took things from the fertile crescent to the new world

Guns, Germs and steel

Today we watched the Guns, Germs and Steel video and took notes:

• In China, they grew rice
• Before people traveled easily, they got whatever crops were native to where they were born
• In the Americas, they grew corn
• Corn, squash, and beans can be stored easily and dried out
• South Africa had sorghum, millet and yams
• New Guinea had some of the earliest farmers 
• New Guinea crops couldn't be stored and were low in protein so they sometimes ate giant spiders for protein, vitamins, and minerals
• People with the most productive crops were the most productive farmers. The people with the most productive crops had geographic luck
• Humans started to domesticate and breed animals to eat and get supplies from
• Communities that domesticated animals could also use the animals to fertilize their crops
• Goats and Sheep were the first animals to be domesticated
• 168 out of 2,000,000 animals were attempted to be domesticated
• They don't domesticate reptiles, birds, fish, insects, or carnivores
• Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Cows, Horses, Donkeys, Bactrian Camels, Arabian Camels, Water Buffalo, Llamas, Reindeer, Yaks, Mithan, and Bali Cattle are the only 14 useful domesticated animals
• Cows, Sheep, and Goats are native to the Middle East

Test

Today in class I took my test. For some of them I had to guess because I didn't know them but I think I did okay. The first couple pages were fill in the blank which seemed difficult for me. Then, the short answer questions were mostly easy answers. The back of the test was the map; I got all of the map questions correct. The test was a good one overall and I think I did okay except for a couple.