Today in class we had a test on Egypt. To be honest, I don't think I did as well as I thought. I ended up getting a 77% which was terrible. I should've studied more, and that is my fault. Hopefully this test doesn't lower my grade too much. I just have to study more next time!!

Cyber Day once again, yes I'm crying.

1. Egyptian life is centered around the __________________.  The _______________ flows _______________ to ______________.  It is used for drinking, irrigation, bathing, and transportation. 
2. Every ____________ the Nile River floods and every ____________ it leaves behind rich soil. 
3. The ________________________ was built in 2555 - 2532 B.C. 
4. Who is the lowest and the highest on the pyramid. 
5. What was the jobs of the slaves/servants? 

Key

1. Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River.  The Nile flows south to north.  It is used for drinking, irrigation, bathing, and transportation. 
2. Every July the Nile River floods and every October it leaves behind rich soil. 
3. The Great Sphinx of Giza was built in 2555 - 2532 B.C. 
4. Who is the lowest and the highest on the pyramid. The highest on the pyramid is the pharaoh and the lowest on the pyramid is the slaves / servants. 
5. What was the jobs of the slaves/servants? There job was to help the wealthy with household and child raising duties. 

Today in class we had a sub, due to Mr. Schick being in DC with the seniors.

Pyramid Quest

• Harun al-Rashid's youngest son Al-Ma'mun set up camp looking for the Pharaohs treasure and to find the secret of the weapon that does not rust and bends but does not break (1802 AD)
• Al-Ma'mun came with hundreds of stone mason engineers and architects, not an army of soldiers
• Scribes said that everything he was looking for was behind the stone plates of the great pyramid (guarded by the sphinx)
• The pyramid could only be entered by a stone lifted on the side, this was very hard because all the stones looked alike
• When they finally got in (by breaking in), they found no treasures
• Even the pharaohs sarcophagus was empty
• people are still studying this pyramid

Mummification

• Mummy of a young man named Herakleides
• died in Egypt in the 1st century A.D. at about 20 years old
• Mummification was developed by the Ancient Egyptians to preserve the body for the afterlife
• Typically all internal organs removed before mummification, except the heart
• In Herakleides case, the heart was removed but not his lungs 
• The body is left for 40 days covered in salt until all moisture was gone

John Green's Crash Course

• Ancient Egypt is the most influential river valley civilizations
• Ancient Egyptian Civilization lasted from 3000 B.C.E. to 332 B.C.E
• The Nile River was one of the safest and richest agricultural areas in the world
• Planting was easy for the Egyptians
• Egyptian communities existed only along the Nile
• Timber and gold - the divine medal
• The Nile is easily tamed

Today, Friday the 20th we had a cyber day. Here is my cyber day assignment ..

5 technological developments of ancient Egyptians

1. sun clocks 
2. water clocks 
3. black ink 
4. modern 365 day calendar 
5. sails

Sun Clocks: Obelisks ( 4 sided monuments) moving shadows formed a kind of sundial, providing Egyptians to split the days into two parts by "indicating noon" They also showed the longest and shortest days of the years. After, when markers were added it helped divide the time. The sun clock were important because they allowed to have a schedule and were able to teach others about the 

Water Clocks were the earliest time keepers that didn't depend on the "observation of celestial bodies". One of the oldest was found in the tomb of clepsydras ("water thief"). A water clock were stone vessels with sloping sides that enabled water to drip into the hole at the bottom. 

Black ink was one of the types of ink and dyes that the ancient Egyptians invented. The depth of the colors were utilized a lot in Egypt. The same colors and inks can and are seen today. The ink helped them  write in hieroglyphs and in hieratic. 

Modern 365 day calendar was invented by the Egyptians. They didn't use the lunar calendar system. They established the calendar with the help of the solar system, the 12 months, 30 days in each month, with 5 extra days. They also founded leap year in the year 238 B.C

Sails helped the Egyptians travel and have efficient ways of getting water to the land.  

The list of importance

1. water clocks 
2. sun clocks 
3. calendar 
4. sails
5. ink 

Today in class we went over and finished up the powerpoint on Egypt. Since Mr. Schick wasn't here last Friday, i have already posted the notes we went over today. Overall today was a good class.

Today in class we went over the Gun, Germ, Steel test. I did really well on that test, I got a 96 !! After Mr. Schick gave us all the test back, we went over the test. We went around the room, read the question then gave the answer.  The one question that I got wrong was a mistake that I made, and I now know the correct answer.

Daily Life

• Slaves/servants helped the wealthy with household & child raising duties 
• farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions - benefitted from irrigation of the Nile
• Artisans would carve statues & reliefs showing military battles & scenes in the after life. 
• 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 & medical treatments 
• They wrote in hieroglyphs & in hieratic 
• Soldiers used wooden weapons (bows, arrows, and spears) with bronze tips & might ride chariots
• Upper class known as the "white kilt class" - priests, physicians engineers. 

Pharaohs 

• the political & religious  leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High priest of Every Temple" 
• As the "Lord of the Two Lands" the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper & Lower Egypt 
• He owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, defended Egypt against foreigners 
• Hatshepsut was a women who served as pharaoh
• Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51 - 30 B.C) more on her when we study Greece 

Goddesses & Gods

• over 2,000 Gods & Goddesses
• they "controlled" the lives of humans 

Notes from class 2/11/15 ...

geography 

• Egyptian life is centered around the nile River
• it flows south to north 
• everyone lives near the nile 
• Water for drinking, irrigating, bathing, transportation (sails)
• every july it floods 
• every october it leaves behind rich soil
• delta is a broad triangular area of fertile soil
• longest river in the world 

Pyramids 

• Great Sphinx of Giza 
• built 2555 - 2532 b.c.
• recumbent lion with a human head 
• oldest monumental statue in the world. 

Daily Life

• Slaves/servants helped the wealthy with household & child raising duties 
• farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions - benefitted from irrigation of the Nile
• Artisans would carve statues & reliefs showing military battles & scenes in the after life. 
• Money/ barter system was used - merchants might accept bags of grain for payment - later coinage came about. 

Today in class we had our first quiz on the video Guns, Germs, Steel. I thought that the test was easy, but I think I should've studied more, so I would of had a better grade. I think that I will get an 80 or above. After class we went over the test on Mesopotamia, and fixed anything that was wrong. Im glad we went over the test so we could use our test as an exam review.

Today in Western Civ, we started off by moving our seats. Then we got our tests back, there was 3 rings of the bell I think, and I was one of them.  We also got informed that we would have a test on Guns, Germs, and Steel on Monday. We went over people questions and then Mr. Schick gave us an idea of what types of questions would be on the test like what lands were lucky enough to have growth, why Jarred Diamond was in Papuanew Guiea.

Today I wasn't in class because i don't feel good. So here are the notes that Chris gave me ....

• These people invented plaster
• Plaster made the house smooth inside
• Created a new job for the people 
• Stone had to be heated for days at over 1,000 degrees
• New Guinea never technologically developed
• Spent too much time feeding themselves
• Fertile Crescent is no longer the power house
• Most villages were abandoned
• Too dry for farming
• Entire communities were forced to move on
• Animals moved from the Fertile Crescent
• Once they reached Egypt, they caused an explosion of civilization
• Suddenly - enough food for everyone
• Same is true for European civilizations
• 16th century - crops and animals taken to America from Europe
• Diamond was criticized
• Divisions of the world are not set in stone
• Some New Guineans try to catch up to the rest of the world but they still have a long way to go
• Geography is the answer to the New Guinean's question
• All of their time was spent making sure there was enough food for their people
• Used to farm as much as possible and then moved on to a new location

Today in class it took us a little longer for us to get started due to Mr. Schick's computer. Luckily Luke let Mr. Schick use his computer so we could use watch the video Guns, Germs, Steel.
Here are the notes I took from today:

• 2 million domestic species in the world
• Diamond eliminated 
• reptiles
• insects 
• fish
• rodants
• carnivores (meat eaters) 
• best animals can give birth at the age of 1 to 2 years old
• Zebras are the ideal domestic animals but they are very nervous, meaning if the hear a little sound and it scares then they word run away
• Here are the 14 domestic animals 
• goats 
• sheep
• pigs
• cows 
• horses 
• donkeys
• bactran camels 
• arabian camels 
• water buffalo 
• llamas 
• yaks 
• mithans (ox) 
• reindeer 
• bali cattle 
• none of these animals come from papuanew Guinea, Australia, or North America 
• 13 animals are from North Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Europe 
• cows, sheep, pigs, goats native to the Middle East. 
• The middle east also known as fertile crescent, all the animals native to that land 

On Friday and Today, Monday February 2nd we watched a video called Guns, Germs, and Steel. Here are the notes i took from Friday & Monday

• Jared Diamond - a professor who is in Papuanew Guinea 
• Papuanew Guinea - a remote island close to Australia 
• A man asked Diamond " Why do you white men have so much cargo, and we have so little?"
• Cargo - known as white mans power. Cargo is our belongings that we have 
• "white men think they're superior" 
• things both civilizations have in common 
• advanced technology 
• large populations
• organized workforce 
• Separated things into have & have nots
• Guineans are living a hunter & gather lifestyle 
• Sego is a major part of their diet
• Sego is not healthy, but it fills you up
• Sego is hard to store 
• Barley & wheat grew naturally in the mid east 
• middle east had barley & wheat 
• china had rice 
• Americas has corn squash & beans 
• Africa had millet & yams 
• most productive plants, create a most productive civilization 
• geographic luck - some places were lucky to get crops naturally & some are able to have & care for animals 
• animals gave a lot to people like milk for protein, gave fertile soil, and fur/skin for warmth