Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Test Today

Well today was the last test that we took ending the school year. It wasn't the best test in the world. I passed though so it's okay. I wanted to go into exams with a 90 percent, but I guess that didn't happen. Well I'll work harder next year to get the grade that I want in social studies. I am proud of myself though because 1) My grade is still good 2) I did better than some others 3) I finished my last test in west civ. Well I'll see you Monday for our last class all together.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Test Tomorrow

Well tomorrow we are taking our last test in west civilization. After this blog and the one tomorrow, I will only have one more left to do. It's weird to think that my freshman year is almost over. Anyways tomorrow we have a test on the middle ages and other stuff. Today we just reviewed the power point and you would ding whenever there was something that might be on the test tomorrow. I hope that I do well on this last test because I want to also have a good grade going into exams because you never know. I would rather be safe than sorry. One funny thing that happened today was that Devon hit his head on the back of Hana's laptop and I couldn't stop laughing (if you didn't notice). Well I'll see tomorrow!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Notes

Well today we took notes, once again. I am kind of done with notes, but I need to learn so I kind of have to. Well today we took notes off of a power point. It's on your blog so I decided to read and listen. I didn't write down the notes because I like to study off of the power point rather than my confusing notes. That was all we did in class today. One important thing in the notes that we had to take down was: Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party of Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732. (if he didn't win western Europe would have been taken over by the Muslims. That is all I have for today!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Notes

C. Germanic people adopt Christianity
1.) 511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
2.) 600 AD- Church +Frankish rulers convert many
3.) Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
4.) monasteries and convents
a. 520 AD- Benedict wrote the rulers for monks and monasteries
- poverty, chastity, obedience, study
b. his sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
c. 731 AD- the Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
d. Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books

D A European Empire Evolves
1.) Franks control largest European Kingdom
a. the Roman Province formerly known as Gaul
b. Ruled by Clovis- the Merovingian Dynasty

2.) Major domo- mayor of the palace-ruled the kingdom

3.) Charles Martel- Charles the Hammer
a. extended the Franks reign to the north, south and east
b. defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the battle of tours in 732 historic battles

4.) Charles the Hammer's son- Pepin the short
a. possibly named for his unusual short haircut
b. working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombard
c. Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the grace of God"- beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 751- 987 AD

E. Charlemagne takes center stage
1.) Charlemagne- Charles the Great
a. six foot four
b. built the greatest empire since Rome
c. fought the Muslims in Spain
d. fought Germanic tribes
e. spread Christianity
f. reunited western Europe
g. became the most powerful king in western Europe
h. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob
i. this signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman empire

2.) Charlemagne's government
a. he limited the authority of the nobles
b. he regularly visited each part of his kingdom
c. kept close watch on his huge estates
3.) Cultural revival
a. encouraged learning
b. ordered monasteries to open schools
c. opened a palace school
4.) But, his heirs were weenies
a. his son- Louis the Pious was ineffective
b. Louis' three sons- Lothair, Charles the bald, and Louis the German - split up the kingdom at the treaty of Verdun in 843 AD


Monday, May 19, 2014

Notes


  • Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire was reunited under Charlemagne's empire
  • Charlemagne spreed Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from 

  • Middle ages= medieval period
  • 500- 1500 AD
  • medieval Europe is fragmented 

A. Invasions trigger changes in Western Europe
  • invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
a. Disruption of trade
  • Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
  • money is scarce
b. Downfall of cities
  • cities are no longer economic centers
c. population shifts
  • nobles retreat to the rural areas
  • cities don't have strong leadership 
2. Decline of learning 
  • Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
  • only priests and church officials could read and write
  • knowledge of Greek(and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
3. Loss of common language
  • dialects develop in different regions
  • by the 8005, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin 
B. Germanic kingdoms emerge
  •  the concept of government changes
  • Roman society: loyal to public gov't
b. Germanic society: loyal to the family 
  • Germanic chief led warriors
  • during peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
  • during wartime, warriors fought for the Lord
c. Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis 
2. The franks under Clovis
  • another battlefield conversion 
  • Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop 
  • the church in Rome approves of the "alliance" 
  • Clovis and the church begin to work together
C. Germanic peoples adopt Christianity
  • (Pope) Gregory 1 expands papal power
  • Papacy= pope's office
  • Secular power = worldly power
  • Papal Power (power of the Pope) is political power presented from the Pope's palace
d. the church can now use church money to: 
  • raise armies
  • repair roads
  • help the poor
e. Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom) 




Friday, May 16, 2014

Notes


  • Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances

- in other words: the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you


  • The Feudal Pyramid 

King

The most powerful Vassals
(nobles and bishops)

Knights- mounted warriors who received fiefs for defending their lord's land)

Peasants (mostly serfs)
landless, powerless, money less, rights-less, just working the land for "the man" (their lord)


  • Mind your manors
manor- the lord's estate
-the lords manor house
-a church
-some workshops
-15-30 families
all on a few square miles

  • How harsh is it?
 peasants are poor and pay high taxes
-tax or grain
-tax on marriage
-church taxes (tithe=10% of their income)
-They live in crowded cottages
-Live with animals and insects
-eat very simply

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Test!

The test today was a success! I got a 90% and I am very proud of myself. I wish I would have gotten just a little bit of a higher grade so that it would move my grade up one point! I am okay though, it is okay I will get the next test and hopefully maybe the blogs could bring me up one point. I want to have an A going into exams. So yeah the test was not that hard, I just got confused on the Roman emperors, but that was all! We don't have class tomorrow so I will see ya Friday!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Test Tomorrow

Tomorrow we apparently have a test which I wasn't really expecting. It's all on Rome and some of our tests that we took over these past two weeks. The only thing that will be new on it is the power point that we went over yesterday. Today we just went over the power point and went over a few things. That was basically it, that was all we did in class today. I will study hard for this test and I will get a good grade!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Notes

  • Decline of the Roman Empire
  • AD 180: Rome has problems 
-economic- trade is risky, takes too high, food supply dropping 
-military- frontiers were hard to patrol, Roman generals fought, soldiers loyalty declined, mercenaries appeared
  • Diocletian divided the empire into 2
-Greek-speaking East- had more resources 
-Latin- speaking West- Rome, tradition

Diocletian:

    Diocletian was the Roman emperor from 284- 305. Living in a poor family when he was younger he rose up to become the cavalry commander to the emperor Carus. He was born in Solin, Croatsia and he died in Split, Croatia.  

- AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire 
-moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium, where Asia met Europe 
-after his death, empire is divided again
- this time, "barbarian invaders (Huns, vandals, Visigoths, angles, Saxons, Franks) 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Test

Today we took the test and I am proud of myself because I got an 88%. I also got a (half) ding. It didn't move my grade down either, well at least I don't think it did. I thought the test was pretty easy. Some of them I had to think about and some of them I didn't even have to look at the answers because I already knew them. Tomorrow we don't have class so I will see ya Friday!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Notes for tomorrows test


  • Where did the first Indo-Europeans settle around 750 B.C.?
Tiber River
  • three groups that dominated 
-Etruscan's 
-Latins
-Greeks


  • Tarquin the Proud 
was the last of the king's
  • Tarquin's son 
raped a women and got away with it
  • how did Rome move from a monarchy to a republic
-ruled by Etruscan kings(monarchy) who were advised by patricians(aristocracy)
-after Tarquin(tyranny) the government became Res Publica(republic) 
  • patricians and plebeians
-patrician: upper-class, landowning, established, connected, powerful
-plebeians: common people, workers, small-time farmers, some wealthy none patricians
  • Define
-Senate-government assembly of 300 patricians; appointed for life, first by kings, then consuls
-consuls- 2 senator who led the government and military for one-year terms; could veto each other
-tribunes- leaders of the plebeian assembly; first rather powerless, gaining around over the years
  • twelve tables
-marked the first time that the laws were written down in Rome
-set up to protect plebeians who were getting pushed around by patricians
-displayed in forum

  • Roman republic; modern government and modern document
-the Constitution of the US and its separation of powers
-Senate/ assemblies- US Senate/ House of Reps
-Consuls/Dictator- President of the US
-Senate could act like judges- like our Supreme Court
  • kings who ruled between 600 and 500 BC
Forum- Rome's political center

Monday, May 5, 2014

Roman Notes


The word spreads about the risen Jesus
  • Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and message
  • He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain
  • He writes letters to many of those he spoke to- these epistles are part of the New Testament
  • if not the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world's largest religion
Caligula- good start
  • in addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius' adopted grandson and great- nephew- putting him next in line for emperor
  • he started of well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record
  • all in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful" (according to the historian Philo) 
bad finish for Caligula 
  • he began to fight with the Senate 
  • he claimed to be  god, and had statues displayed in many places- including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem(sacrilege) 
  • other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in to many spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest (at least that's what the critics said)  
  • assassinated by his own aids, AD 41 (pg. 28) 
Next in line: Claudius
  • ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- thought to be cerebral palsy or polio) he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed
  • he rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts, he renovated the Circus Maximus
  • Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup- so Claudius had them killed 
Meanwhile- religious troubles
  • Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
  • romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
  • AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zeolots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple ( except for one wall)
  • the western wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines
  • half a million Jews died in the rebellion 
Persecution of Christians
  • Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor
  • especially Christians who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
  • often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum (thrown to the lions etc.)
  • despite the opression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200 , around 10 percent of the people in the Roman empire were Christians 

Friday, May 2, 2014

Notes


  • 44 B.C. Caesar secured a vote from the senate making him dictator for life
  • his death produced another crop of warlords and more bouts of civil war
  • mark Antony and Octavian were the rival loyalists of Caesar
  • they joined forces against Caesar's assassins
  • Marcus Lepidus formed into a group with them and he was a lesser warlord
  • they then divided the roman world 
  • Octavian was based in Rome
  • Lepidus was in north Africa
  • and Mark Antony was sin Alexandria 
  • in 31 B.C. the two halves of Rome's empire went to war
  • the Roman version of Greco- Roman civilization prevailed in Western territories 
  • LO1- the Rule of the Emperors
  • princeps- a traditional name for prominent leaders who were considered indispensable to the Republic
  • 27 B.C. Augustus was confirmed as commander
  • After Augustus won supreme power, Greek city- states in Anatolia began building shrines and sacrificing to "Rome and Augustus 
  • When Augustus died the Senate declared him a Devine Being like Julius Caesar
  • Vespasian was known for cynical sense of humor
  • Praetorian Gaurd- legion sized part of his army
  • Augustus was convinced that if their peace and stability will last, the changes he made must continue after his death
  • Domitian- was Vespasian's son was assassinated near the end of the first century 
  • the philosopher- statesman was Marcus Aurelius
  • he was also called the best of rulers, the cultured and energetic Hadrian, and the wise and dutiful Antoninus   

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Nothing at all

Today in west civ we absolutely did nothing at all. We sat there for like 15 minutes in the beginning of the class because you said we could do whatever. All we did was talk and then you just stood up and told us to go to the cafeteria for the rest of class. So we did and we sat there and that was it. We don’t have class tomorrow so you won’t hear from me till Friday! 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Roman empire notes


  • Octavian- AKA Caesar Augustus
  • Augustus - the first emperor- getting it done
- beings the Pax Romana- period of peace and prosperity
- built roads, aqueducts (brought water to cities)
- set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service
- Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14, and passes power too...


  • Tiberius!
  • From Jesus to Christianity 
- Jesus was a Roman citizen and a practicing Jew 
- at 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31- 33), preaching to the poor (and there were lots of 'em) in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders
- statements like "My kingdom is not of this world" made the Romans (and the Jews) nervous, and they began to plan his execution
- the governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate (prompted by Jewish high priests, sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion

Monday, April 28, 2014

Notes


Today we just took notes and went over things in our textbook. Then at the end we started to watch this video on Caesar and Rome and that was all we did.  
  • proletarian- second class citizens, but they no longer own property and not living a very good life like they used to 
  • Pompey and Crassus and J.C. = first trimvirate 
  • Rubicon is a river that marks the northern Roman empire 
  • Caesar had built a powerful army personally devoted to himself
  • Caesar moved swiftly to make himself supreme ruler of the republic 
  • the only enemies he has right now is the senate 
  • Caesar go stabbed 23 times but the senate  

Friday, April 25, 2014

last of the Projects and notes

Today we had 2 more groups/people that went for the projects. They presented and one of them was food and the other one was on art and sculptures. Then we all got our books and took notes and went over some things for our next chapter.


  • many army commanders turned into what amounted to independent warlords
  • they liked the idea of everyone keeping track of each other and no one is in full power
  • Caesar came in and took over siding with the poor citizens
  • he stood up for them rather than helping the middle class or rich
  • Caesar was a brilliant thinker and great politician 
  • in 60 B.C. he began to collaborate with Pompey 
  • Pompey was an officer promoted by Sulla
  • Caesar won an appointment as proconsul of a province that included the southern regions of Gaul

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

More Projects

Today more people presented there projects and they were very good once again. We got some more good food and got to see some more very good presentations. Some people did a really nice job on some of their projects. I like watching people present them and getting to eat different foods that they made. I still think Hanna and I took the house down, but you know others have been doing a great job too. Well tomorrow we do not have class so I'll see you Friday!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Projects

Today was the start of presenting our projects! I am pretty excited to say that Hanna and I did pretty well on this project. People liked it and they were interested. We had made a roman cheesecake/pie and we also brought in grapes and apples because that is what they ate in Rome. We worked very hard on it so I think we deserve a good grade. Otherwise some other people went and one other person had sesame cookies and then three other people/groups went and they made like coliseums. Well that was all we got through with today and I can't wait to see more projects tomorrow!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Test

Today in west civ we took a test on Ancient Rome. I have the right to say that I passed it. I didn't pass it by much though. Oh well hopefully when I come back Hanna and I will ace this next project. We have it all pretty planned out and it's going pretty well so far. This time at least I hope our class will give us a better grade than last time. I wasn't to happy about the grades my class we giving us on our video project. Well this is my last blog for what like 11 days so I hope you have a nice Easter break!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Notes for Test on Friday


  • roman legion - 5000 men
  • century- 80 men 
  • infantry- soldiers on foot
  • cavalry- soldiers on horses 
  • Sicily 
  • Africa - Carthage is in africa
  • sack Carthage
  • punic wars III 
  • Rome vs. Carthage  

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Review for test

Well today we just went over Rome and the things we have been talking about for a couple days now. We went over that the Etruscan's, Latins, and the Greeks were one of the first people to go to Rome. Also that the types of government they had were democracy, monarchy, and aristocracy. I learned today that an assembly was like a house where the plebeians would vote. Also tribunes were like people that got elected by the plebeians to like serve them. Then the senators were elected by the senate. Well we have one more day to review for this test and then we don't have class on Thursday. The test is on Friday I hope I am prepared.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Questions

1.) It affected it because Rome was built near the Mediterranean Sea so they could trade with other areas.

2.) They influenced them in many things such as the alphabet, their building program, and also their dress style.

3.) The nobles and the common people.

4.) It was significant because it was the start of having new rules and laws that they would follow. Instead of judges making the decision she/he could just look in the book at the set of laws.

5.) They defeated the Etruscans.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Boooookssss

Today in west civ all we did was read the textbook. We highlighted things and underlined things and took notes. That was all we did today. In the beginning we just said what we were doing for our projects. Hanna and I are making a healthy roman cake. It's only considered healthy though because there is yogurt and vegetable oil in it. We are adding fruit to it to. You will have to see how it turns out and hopefully it will taste really good. I am excited to make it and I hope you are excited to taste it. Otherwise I don't know what else to say because in class we just underlined important things that you wanted us to know. Well today is the last day of the week for blogs, and I will see you next Monday, first mod! Have a nice weekend!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Roman Notes

Well so today all we did was take notes on Rome. Some of the notes were like there republic was made up of democracy, monarchy, and aristocracy. Also they said that the last king of Rome was Targuin the Proud. Also you moved our seats a little bit and you moved me, Hana, Claire, Ava, and Hanna all together. I like the seat, but I was very confused why you did that because in the beginning of the year you told us you were going to move us because we talked too much. It’s okay though we can prove to you that we can all sit next to each other. Also you wanted to say who we are working with for this Roman project and I am working with Hanna. Just to let you know. I might have mentioned it before, but oh well at least you get to hear it again. Well goodnight!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Roman Projects

Well today in west civ we found out we are doing another project on Romans. Our last project we did it on the Greeeks and that was a video. This time you gave us a list of options that we can choose from or we could come up with an idea on our own. I an excited for this project because I think it is really cool and also it will be fun to come up with an idea. I am working with Hanna again on this one and hopefully our class will give us a better grade on this one than they did the last time. Also yesterday I wrote a blog on the roman family so I didn't get to share that I got a 95 on the last test we took! I was pretty proud of myself. Well goodbye!

Monday, March 31, 2014

Roman Family

       Roman families were very caring for each other. Families were held together by fathers called  paterfamilias. They weren't just devoted to Sparta, they also cared about there families at home too! If they didn't belong to a patrician family they were known as a plebeian, and then the Republic was patricians. The Roman Republic was also like the Greek city-states. Everyone in a paterfamilias would leave the household upon marriage. Only a wife would not be completely subject to him, only if she was still subject to the authority of her own father. Fathers also were fathers of there city-states. Senators also addressed each other in a session called "conscript fathers." The Senate is an assembly of three hundred heads of patrician families. There were also consuls. Consuls were two of the senators. Fathers weren't just the only people helping out with the families. Motherhood was important too. A married women who was bore to her title was known as a matron. A matron was a lady mother. Roman families were very organized, loving families, and they were so different then what they are now.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Test

Today in western civ we took our test on the Greeks, Spartans, people and places. I don’t know how I did on it, but it was hard to study the blog part because I didn’t know who had the right answer! I hope I did okay though I think I might have gotten a couple mixed up, but that’s all. I have to see if I mixed up Themistocles and Xerxes. I know I mixed up something on the back of the map, but I hope I got a good grade on it. Well that was all we did that class so I don’t know what else to say. Well goodbye! 

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Test Tomorrow

Today in west civ we just talked about the quiz tomorrow and what to study. I had to leave a little early so I don’t really know what else we did, but that was what we did when I was there. Our test is on the handout and our blog we did for cyber day. We also talked about watching part two of the video, but again I had left early so I didn’t know what we did for the rest of class. I really hope I do well on this test because you said this is like to boost our grades up to give them a kick start. I hope I do okay though and that all my studying will pay off because it is a lot! I wish it wasn’t so much, but that’s okay. Well I will see you tomorrow and I hope you have a nice night. Hopefully the snow will all be melted when we wake up.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Test Coming Up!

Today in western civ we went over the handout that we have been doing for a couple of weeks. We got it like 3 weeks ago and we just went over it. It was based on the video that we have also been watching for a while. We haven’t even finished the video yet. Otherwise that was what we did the whole entire time for the whole first period and you would go over the word when we would say the questions. I don’t really know what to say anymore because that was all we did. Oh and we have a test on Wednesday. It was going to be tomorrow, but we talked you out of it. I have a lot of homework tonight so I am happy that I don’t have to add an extra thing. Otherwise tonight I am going to write notecards and that stuff. Well Goodbye!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Back to the Movies

Today in western civ we like reviewed the videos that we made on Athens or Sparta. We only got to watch a few of the videos, but then we graded them on what we thought they deserved. We also said comments like what we thought they did well or what we thought they could have done better. I was really disappointed in my class today because Hanna and I good on this project and I thought our video was good too. People were giving us an 86 and I think we deserved better than that especially since we also did the story board pages. Also people were saying we had no description, but others didn’t have description either and they were getting better grades from people than us. It was very offending, to me and to Hanna. Well it honestly doesn’t matter at least we got a good grade on it and it moved my grade up a few points! 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

You Came Back

Well you finally came back to class today. It has been like a week. I'm just kidding I don't know how long you were out, but it felt like a while. Well today we went over our cyber day homework from Monday. We also went over our paper that we have been doing for like two weeks now. We then find out that we have a test on Friday. It's on a lot I do have to say and we don't have class tomorrow so I don't really know what a the right answers are on the handout that we have. We also don't have class tomorrow so I don't really know how we are going to get them. I left class early because I had a lacrosse game and I might have missed like two minutes at the end of class so I am pretty sure I didn't miss much. Well have a nice night.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

You Left Us

Well today you were feeling better, but you left us again! You had an academic thingy to go to. I feel likes it has been a while since you have been at school. Anyways today we had Mr. Del Puppo as our sub. Well before you left you told us that we had to finish the questions, finish our handouts and that stuff, I had already finished all of that so I finished my other homework from my other classes. Mr. Del Puppo also said that he had tests and stuff to grade so the class was silent the whole time. It was too quiet. Also my computer died so I could not do much. I finished like more than half my homework so that was good. Especially since I had practice. Well I hope you come back tomorrow because all the classes that we have had have been boring because there is nothing to do!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Cyber Day 3/17

1.) Mostly fertile land is not a characteristic of Greece.
2.) 3/4 of Greece is covered by mountains.
3.) The Greeks used Barbarians to describe barbarios.
4.) A megalithic structure had massive rough cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs.
5.) A tribe is a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship. e all of the above
6.) They were governed by tribal leaders chosen by warriors. all of these
7.) The Greeks were the first European barbarians to make contact with civilization.
8.) China would not be considered a member of Western civilization.
9.) Ionian Sea was west of the Greek mainland.
10.) The Aegean Sea was east of the Greek mainland.
11.) The Aegean people lived on vine, grains, and olives
12.) The Mycenaean civilization arose on the island of Crete.
13.) The spartan civilization established settlements along the Greek mainland's southern shore and on some islands.
14.) The Mycenaean civilization built massive walls to protect themselves from attack.
15.) It was called the Dark Ages.
16.) The Greeks joined the Persians as the leading commercial and seafaring nation of the Mediterranean.
17.)The "c" means around.
18.) The coastlines around the Mediterranean Sea were called colonies.
19.) Ancient Greek city- states most likely resembled cities.
20.) An oligarchy is a form of government in which small group citizens dominated.
21.) A democracy was a form of government which decisions were made by the majority of adult male citizens.
22.) A tyranny is a form of government in which a self-proclaimed dictator held power.
23.) A monarchy is a form of government which is held by a single ruler, and is often passed along from father to son.
24.) Spartans used monarchy.
25.) They began military training at age 7.
26.) Athens was the wealthiest city-state in the ancient Greek World.
27.) The acropolis was the high fortified citadel and religious center of an Ancient Greece town.
28.) The southern peninsula was called Peloponnesus.
29.) Triremes were massive fighting ships with three banks of oars, used to ram or board enemies ships.
30.) A hoplite was a heavily armed soldier and armored citizen-soldier of ancient Greece.

1.) The time period was called the Dark Ages and it was from 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C.
2.) The two stories that Homer told about the Trojan War were called the Lliad and the Odyssey.
3.) It meant middle of the land. Meduis meant middle and terra meant land.
4.) Prominent and long established Athenian land- owners were called Aristocrats.

Friday, March 14, 2014

You Were Missing Again

Well yesterday in West Civ, you were absent once again. Where have you gone? Otherwise while you weren't there Mr. Teter watched over us. All we did was watch the video we have been watching for the past couple of days. At first we were supposed to work by ourselves and get headphones, but none of us had headphones. We tried to watch it on the screen, but we didn't know how to work it or something. So then we decided to get into groups and watch the video. Then we got out of groups because we tried to watch it on the screen again. It didn't work so then we just got back into groups and stayed that way the rest of the class. Well we are supposed to get snow on Monday so let's see what happens! I may see you late on Monday, you might see me on regular time, or you might not see me at all. Well have a nice weekend!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Watching the Videos

Well today in western civ we watched some of our videos that we all did for our projects. I think they all turned out pretty good. I was not there at class yesterday because I had a game (sorry about that). So I didn’t get to see some other videos so I am hoping that maybe we can watch some of the ones I missed on Friday because we don’t have class tomorrow. We watched like I think four or five videos today and some of them were pretty cool. Cough* Cough* especially mine and Hanna’s. People did a really good job on them and today we didn’t get very far, but we watched one video that is from another girl in another class. We didn’t get to finish it, but so far it was pretty good. Well I will see you on Friday with a brand new blog. Bye!

Monday, March 10, 2014

You Weren't Here

Well today I did completely nothing in class. Well I did, but then I didn't. You had assigned us to finish our projects or do that worksheet you gave us the other day in class. I have already finished both of those things so I just sat next to Hanna and we fixed up our project a little. I really don't know what else to say because we didn't do anything. Well some people finished things and some people didn't. We were supposed to watch all of our videos and present our projects today, but you weren't here. It's okay though we will present them tomorrow. I am excited to see everyone's videos and all there story boards. I personally think mine and Hanna's video and story board are pretty cool. We did a pretty good job and I hope you think so too. Well I will see you tomorrow and have a nice rest of your day!

Friday, March 7, 2014

More and More Videos

Well today you were not here at school today. So we had a substitute and so yeah. We watched the same video again, but this time we all watched it separately on our own laptops. Then we got out the papers and we answered the questions. That was all we did today. I almost finished the paper, but i didn't because we ran out of time. It was disappointing. I really wanted to finish today, but I didn't like I just a said. I had my wooden headphones today and they are really embarrassing. I only had to use them today though. Yeah so it is Friday and I am excited because I like Fridays. I am also upset though because we would have had a three day weekend, but we didn't because of the snow. That's okay though i would rather have school Monday than Go an extra day in the summer.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

More of the Video

Well today in Western Civ we watched some of the video again. This time we got farther in though. We had once again another short class because today is Ash Wedsnesday! So we only got through like a couple minutes of the movie. We took some notes down and that kinf of stuff. We only took a few though. One thing was like there were I think ten thousand slaves in Greece. I don't remember I will have to look it up later. I felt like that was all we did I can't really remember anything else that happened. So yeah we just watched the movie and took notes today. Also I was having a nose attackand kept having to get up and get tissues. It was only like three times though my nose is fine now. Well I am going to go study for my tests and quizzes I have tomorrow! See you Friday because we don't have class tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Video

So today well we watched your video and we got  a quiz that turned out to be a study guide for us. Well that was all we did today basically. Well we watched some of a video, but not much. We only got past the like introduction. We had a two hour delay today which was great. I got to sleep in and classes were shorter. That is why we only got through the introduction of the video we were watching. The study guide goes with the video and we have to fill it out as we go along. We only got to fill in like two answers though. Well I am still working on that video and I think it is turning out pretty good. I still need to make a couple of changes and we are working on the story board, but that is it and it is going to be great!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Day Off

Well today we had a day off of school once again because of the snow! Then the teachers slammed us once again with homework and once again I was stuck inside all day doing it. Thank you for not giving us anything big that has to be turned in by the next day. I really don't like cyber day I think we should be able to have a day off, but I know that if we don't have cyber day we will be stuck in school till the middle of June. So for now I am okay with it, but I don't like it. My brothers sit at home and eat food and play video games all day while I am stuck up in my room doing work for five hours. It is not very fun and they both make fun of me for it. Oh well jokes on them because there going to have to go to school till late June and I am going to be on summer break. Otherwise Hanna and I are working together on this project and I think it is going well so far.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Commercial Project


Today in western civ we watched some videos of places in the world. First we watched one of Baltimore and it was awful. It wasn’t good and it didn’t make Baltimore seem very nice. We then watched another one of Los Angeles and we compared the two videos. Los Angeles made there video look much better and made Los Angeles seem like a much better place to go to for a nice vacation. The reason why we watched those videos is because we are doing a project. We are making videos, and poster boards, or we are doing whatever we want on Sparta or Athens. I am doing my project with Hanna and Hana. I don’t know if we are doing it on Athens or Sparta yet, but I know we are making a commercial for it. Well I hope you have a nice weekend and I shall see you next week!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Sparta and Athens

Well today Devin taught the class today and we went over our LO3 notes from the other day. The notes which I have a blog from the other day on, where all about Athens and Sparta. It was stuff like how they were different, and what the were like. I think it was things like Sparta had more of an army and Athens had more of like a navy. They were more on water and Sparta was more on land. 
. It said that they were both very competitive with each other. There was a lot of other things that we talked about like the golden ages, monarchies, and oligarchies. We also talked about democracies which is a government by common people. That is all we pretty much did that whole class and then you talked a little in the end. Well till Friday because we don’t have class tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Geography of Greece

So today we took notes in I don’t even know what it was called. It was called like government geography or something like that. Hold one I am going to get my notes out of my folder.  Never mind it wasn’t called government geography I don’t know what I was thinking. It was called Geography of Greece. Well the topics were geography of course, Mycenaean’s, Culture in Decline which was also known as the dark ages, and Homer and myths. That was it for today and I am sure we will probably take more notes tomorrow. Some of the notes were about like the dates of things of when they began and when they ended, and some things were about events and other things. Well today it was also snowing during class, but then I went outside and it had all already melted. It was kind of sad, but see you tomorrow!

Monday, February 24, 2014

LO3 Notes

  • dark ages began to develop in city-states
  • polis-Greek city-state
  • Greek city-states were small places, consisting of no more than a town and few square miles of the countryside
  • acropolis- a combination of fortress and temple precinct
  • Athens and Sparta fought each other and competed
  • hoplites- men at arms
  • they equipped themselves with bronze, helmets, armor, round shields, long spears with iron blades and short iron swords
  • phalanxes- formidable shock units of several hundred men each
  • the sense of the city-state as a community of all its citizens was reinforced by tradition and myth
  • each city-state was believed to have been founded by a family or clan
  • the status of a father usually determined that of his children
  • good life of an individual was to participate in civic affairs
  • the communities that would become city states were ruled by kings
  • monarchy- development of citizen armies
  • oligarchy- one way of a new form of government
  • other city-states developed into large commercial centers
  • triremes- massive fighting vessels that fought in Phoenician style by ramming or boarding enemy ships
  • tyranny- the rule of tyrant or self proclaimed dictator who held power partly by force party by exploiting internal divisions and partly by providing efficient government
  • democracy- government by common people
  • the most powerful and successful city-state was Athens
  • immigrants were almost never awarded citizenship and slavery was widespread
  • when a city-state send some of its citizens overseas to found a colony the new settlement became a separate, independent state
  • Spartans were descendants of Greeks  
  • landholders- less than 10,000 adult males
  • helots- descendants of earlier Greek immigrants who were bound to the land by the Spartan state and compelled to work for landholding citizens
  • when and how the Spartans developed their government is unknown
  • by the fifth century policy decisions had been taken over by the council of elders
  • council of elders was some of thirty men from leading families who had to be at least sixty years of age and were chosen by citizens for life
  • there were also two kings(high priests and army commanders) whose positions were hereditary in different families
  • ephors- five officials elected annually and usually also elderly
  •  boys were taken from there families by the state at age 7 for toughing and military training
  • women led free and active lives
  • Spartan women won praise for sharing the militaristic ideal for their menfolk
  • fourth century is when Spartan started to lose battles
  • the freedom of Spartan women aroused by admiration and disproval by the Greeks
  • to protect their harsh and rigid way of life the Spartans tried to seal off their city-state from outside influences
  • aristocrats-descendants of prominent and long-established Athenian families that had traditionally ruled the city-state
  • 800 BC was when many old established communities in Attica merged to form a single city-state that was known by the most important communities Athens
  • over years Athens grew to become the wealthiest and one of the most powerful Greek- City states
  • Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta in which Athens was defeated
  • ostracism- it is when the assembly could exile him or any other citizen for 10 years by simple majority vote that required no proof of actual wrongdoing
  • 445 BC was when final peace was made with Persia, Athens was the controlling power of the Aegean Sea
  • civic and political participation was therefore part of the Athenian way of life for adult male citizens
  • during the Age of Pericles there were about 40,000 adult males who qualified
  • women from well-off families in democratic Athens led more restricted life and had fewer rights than in Athens
  • Athenian girls and women who every four years wove a new robe for Athena's sacred image on the acropolis
  • fifty thousand or so resident aliens were a very verified group
  • resident aliens in Athens bore all the obligations of citizenship but they were entitled to only some of the benefits
  • the hundred or so slaves in Athens were also a very diverse group
  • most slave owners were small business people and farmers who kept only a few slaves and often worked side by side with them'
  • male slaves usually worked in silver and lead mines  and were sure to die sooner because they were overworked
  • Assemblywomen- is when the wives actually take over the government

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Auditions


Well in class on Friday I can’t really remember what we did. Wait now I remember. We just went over our notes we took from the other day that we took while reading the book. We were auditioning for who is going to be the teacher on Monday since you are not going to be there. You are going on the Holocaust trip with all the seniors. I got to audition and I thought I did a pretty good job, but apparently my class didn’t think so. I walked away asking for an applause, how rude. I mean I think I should have gotten the part to be teacher on Monday! Well that was all we did that class was audition, but we only had enough time for 3 people to audition. Then in the end you took over and talked about stuff and notes. Well I don’t really know what else to say except have a nice weekend!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Test Back


Well today we got our tests back and I wasn’t too happy with my score. At least I still have a decent grade in your class and will do better on the next one. Well today that was all we did was we went over the test. I made some dumb mistakes on the test and I should have gone over it more. Who knows maybe I would have done better. Some of the questions confused me, but I know that’s what you wanted. You wanted to make some questions tricky and it worked. Well I don’t know really what else to say because that’s the only thing we did today. The only other thing I could say that I personally did in class today was sing. Oh and I have to email you that I finished the pyramid game! I shall do that after I finish typing this blog. Oh well we don’t have class on Thursdays so you’ll see my next cool blog on Friday!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Pyramid Game


Well today was a really frustrating western civ class. We had to play this pyramid game and it would never end! We would die or something would happen to us. It would never end and you would have to keep doing it over and over again. I was partners with Hanna and we did it at least 10 times. I didn’t like that game. I mean it was a fun western civ class, but the game wasn’t. The first people to finish it got a 20 out of 20 and the second people got an 18 out of 20. Then like 3 groups or something who finished next got 16 out of 20 and the rest got 15 out of 20. That was probably me. If you didn’t finish though you got a zero which that one wasn’t me because I finished. Well tomorrow is Wednesday so I’ll see you tomorrow!!

Pyramid Game

Embedded image permalink

Monday, February 17, 2014

Chapter 3 Notes

  • LO1 - describes the way of life of the barbarian peoples of Europe after the Agricultural Revolution
  • Greek-city states were the first to practice citizen participation in government
  • the city-states also traded and colonized along the Mediterranean Sea
  • after 500 BC it enabled them to preserve their independence against the kings of Persia
  • over 3,000 years up to the Persian Empire, civilization had spread from its Sumerian and Egyptian homelands to right across from southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa
  • to lands stretching two thousand miles northwestern which is now called Europe
  • 4000 BC farming and village life had spread throughout the continent
  • by 3500 BC there were peoples in western Europe who could construct ceremonial monuments
  • megalithic- word meaning large boulder
  • archeologists have found traces of them in the soil
  • Stonehenge was a huge open- air monument built by a prosperous farming and trading people wets of England
  • was built in 2000 BC
  • consists of 160 massive boulders that weigh 50 tons each
  • 2500 BC was when Indo European Peoples moved into Europe
  • European peoples had traditionally worshipped that turned to Gods of fatherhood and thunder
  • when a leading warrior died all his belongings would go with him in his grave
  • the warriors wife would be buried next to him
  • tribes- groups of villagers or farmsteads
  • tribes formed loose alliances under warrior kings or queens and together they would battle comrades
  • tribal groupings fought for metals, slaves, and other items that brought prestige the their possessors
  • these groups were mostly temporary
  • people who spoke Indo-European were most likely skilled in farming,  metalworking, trade, and warfare
  • those people were called barbarians
  • barbarians was from the original word barbaros meaning non-Greek
  • 2500 BC when tribal groups and the way of life that emerged in Europe
  • 1000 AD 2000 years ago the European peoples came into contact with civilization

Friday, February 14, 2014

Informative Sentences

Short Answer A: Name and describe three technological innovations or inventions of the ancient Egyptians.

   The Egyptians had created more than just three things. They created the calendar which is our calendar today, with 365 days on it. They invented the written language, back then they used hieroglyphs. Believe it or not the Egyptians also created eye makeup.


Short Answer B: Describe three important features of the Egyptian pyramids.

The pyramids were covered in marble. The pyramids were so big they could take up 13 acres of land. Each block on the pyramids weighed 5,000 pounds! The blocks were cut very precisely when making the pyramid.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

essays

ESSAY A: Describe the social hierarchy of the ancient Egyptians

       The hierarchy of the ancient Egyptians was like the list of the most powerful groups. First, at the top, was the Pharaoh. The pharaoh was the religious and political leader. He had two titles known as "Lord of Two lands" and "High Priest of every temple". The Pharaoh owned all the land, made laws and collected laws. Then below the pharaoh is the government officials. The government officials consist of the nobles, and the high priests. They assisted the pharaoh and were very respected in ancient Egypt. They were known as the "White Kilt Class." Then below the government officials we have the soldiers. The soldiers protected the Pharaoh and his kingdom/palace. They had wooden weapons, bows and arrows, and they got to ride in carriages.
       Then below the soldiers we have the middle class groups. The middle class is the scribes, merchants, and the artisans. The scribes told stories, wrote poetry, kept records, and describes anatomy and medical treatment. The merchants used the money/barter system, and there payment was bags of grain. The artisans were the people who carved statues and reliefs. They all had different jobs like craftsmen and sculptors. There were some artisans that painted scenes in everyday life. Then we have the lower class which is the farmers and the slaves. The farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions, and benefited from the irrigation of the Nile River. Last, but not least we have the slaves. The slaves helped the wealthy with whatever they needed. They usually helped with the household and child raising duties. That is the hierarchy of ancient Egypt.

ESSAY B:  Discuss the importance of the Nile River in the lives of Egyptians.

      The Nile River was very important in Egypt. The Egyptians life is basically centered around it. The Nile was there major provider for life for the Egyptians. The Nile was used for bathing, transportation, irrigating and it was drinking water. Every July the Nile floods, and every October it leaves rich soil. It was tough when it flooded because it would take away all there crops, but they would plan ahead and not plant in July. They would plant after October because of the soil. It helped them plant there crops much better. The Egyptians also built sailboats and the Nile was the way to increase transport ability. The Egyptians would also go on the sailboats and hunt for fish. The river also protected Egypt because by the time people would start swimming they would immediately get tired. The Egyptians would just stand at the shore and throw spears at there enemies. The Nile was a very important part in the lives of the Egyptians.
     
     
     

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Test and Probably No School


So today we were supposed to have a test on the Egyptians and that stuff, but we got so into talking about this snow storm that we didn’t have enough time to take it. That was like one reason we didn’t take it and the other was that you wanted all of your classes to take it all on the same day. Therefore this test will be on Monday. The whole class time though we did talk about this snow storm and this cyber day thing. I really don’t agree with it because if we don’t have to make this day up so it’s not fair to give us all of this homework. I mean I know we have missed other days too, and you guys want us to catch up on things, but I got more homework yesterday then I have all year. Well I’ll see you either Friday or Monday!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Studying

Today in Western civ we kind of just studied the whole time. You weren’t here today so we were in room one twenty four or something like that. That was pretty much all we did. We read your blog an you said that we could use this class to study for our test tomorrow. I hope I do well on this test because I need to keep my grades up. Well I don’t know what to say anymore because we kind of just sat there today and there was nothing exciting because we just sat there! Well we did some studying too of course and some other homework, but that’s it. So I hope JC does well in the academic questionnaire thingy. Sorry I don’t know much about it. I just know that you get asked questions. I remember in Human Geo when you asked us some of the questions they asked you. Alright well bye!

Monday, February 10, 2014

5 Aspects in Life in Egypt


Well today in western civ we took notes on Egyptian life again. It was notes on the five aspects of Egyptian life. It was a power point and we watched some videos on how they mummify someone. It was really weird and there were a lot of layers to make a mummy. Then I also found out that today we don’t have a test tomorrow it is now on Wednesday and I am happy because it is an extra day of studying. Otherwise we took notes today on pyramids, daily life, Gods and goddesses, geography, and I don’t know what the other one is, but I will find out. I learned that in daily life of a pharaoh that the pharaoh is on top then it goes the government officials such as the nobles and priests, soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers, and then the slaves and servants. We then learned about what each of them do. We took other notes and things, but we didn’t have that long of a class because we had a two hour delay!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Egyptians


Well today we found out that we have an upcoming test on Tuesday. It’s on the early Egyptians and I should probably start studying now so I can get a good grade on it. Well otherwise today all we did was take notes. The notes were on hieroglyphs and hieratic writing. We also learned about the calendars and sailboats and how they used sailboats to get across the Nile. The Egyptians had created the calendars to keep track of the seasonal cycles. That is what our calendars are like now. Then we also learned about papyrus. Papyrus is a type of ink that they used back then to write scripts. Papyrus was made from mashed Nile reeds. Papyrus was also stores in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of ancient Egypt. Well that’s all we did today was write notes. So I hope you have a great weekend and I hope you enjoyed this blog.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Egyptians and Pharaohs


 Today in western civilization we took notes, and we also got assigned seats. It’s kind of sad I liked not having assigned seats, but eh who cares I like the seat I got today anyway. This time I am in the back, so let’s see what happens. Anyways we took notes on Egypt and the Egyptians today. It was mainly talking about pharaohs and what their lives were like, and what they believed in. They believed in things like afterlife. People would prepare their tombs and then they would put treasures and things that they wanted to take to their afterlife. They don’t know what it is going to be like, but they believed that the things they put in there would go up with them too.  There was also a weird fact that they had many wives, but some of them were there sisters. That’s weird to have your sister as a wife. Well tomorrow let’s see if you’ll see another blog from me because the weather is supposed to not be good tonight.

Monday, February 3, 2014

LO3

LO3 Land of the Pharaohs

  • LO3 contrasts the ancient civilization of the Nile with that of the Tigris- Euphrates, and discuss the defining features of Egyptian life
  • Egypt stretches along the lower reaches of the Nile's four thousand mile course from Central Africa to the Mediterranean
  • this country is divided into two sections called the ancient Egyptians the "Two Lands"
  • upper Egypt is a narrow strip of fertile land, five hundred miles length and 12 miles in width, and flows across North African desert
  • Lower Egypt is a pattern of waterways, formed by the Nile
  • 3100 BC was when the "Two lands" were unified under a single king
  • pharaohs- a name derived from the Egyptian word for "palace" which they used to mean "the king"
  • maat- universal stability and harmony
  • the Egyptians believed that it was she whom the gods and goddesses had appointed to conduct the rituals and sacrifices that won their favor and made sure that they did their work of upholding the universe
  • Egyptian society was organized in such a way as to be under the pharaoh's control and responsive to his will
  • people brought and sold, inherited land, houses and goods throughout the Two Lands
  • the pharaoh had many wives
  • Hatshepsut- was the king a little after 1500 BC
  • women as well men were entitled to benefit from the pharaohs rule
  • "Great ones of musical troupes" meant directing the worship of the gods with music and song
  • there are no records of women's expectations of men, but men were expected to respect the women in their families
  • in 1800 BC a book of "wisdom" was written
  • on tomb carving of married couples, the wife is usually depicted smaller compared to her husband than she would naturally be, and it is placed on the left, the humbler side
  • the Egyptian priests and rulers believed that one god had created all others
  • Akhenaten(pharaoh of New Kingdom) took this idea so far that he tried to abolish the worship of other leading deities
  • He failed in the "religious revolution"
  • Old kingdom inspired a great new idea after 2000 BC that local administrators who now held power independently of the pharaoh came to expect that they would also live independently of him after death
  • it was now believed that every person, possessed a life or soul after the body died, and preserving the body and putting comforts in the tomb would help it in the life to come
  • hieroglyphs- in 3100 BC carvings and paintings intended to honor the pharaohs 
  • hieroglyphs were actual pictured of real life or mythical creatures and objects
  • the Egyptian name for hieroglyphs was "the writing of the words of god"
  • hieratic- priestly script
  • demotic- popular script
  •  most Egyptian writing was done with ink on papyrus
  • by 2500 BC the Egyptians had adapted sail boats to travel the open sea to the Mediterranean's eastern shoreline
  • the Mediterranean then became a highway
  • Egyptians god-king must have a stone tomb as a resting place for all time
  • pyramids- the masterpieces of practical engineering
  • king khafu who ruled in 2650 BC
  • great pyramid measures 476 feet in height and 760 feet on each side of the base
  • the pyramid consists of 2.3 million cut blocks each weighing 5,000 pounds
  • temple buildings were usually constructed of horizontal beams held by columns
  • in 1530 BC the temple of Amon at Karnak had begun it ended in 1300 BC
  • it was the largest building ever constructed
  • covered ground area about 400 yards by 110 yards by 10 acres
  • the roof of the main hall was on 134 columns
  • the columns are 70 ft high and 12 in diameter
  • on tombs they were rules like the left foot usually was forward and wigs and beards were treated in a standard stylized lifestyle
  • in 2200 BC week pharaohs allowed local officials to gain independent hereditary power in the regions that they controlled
  • Hyksos- semitic immigrant tribes
  • the end of the New Kingdom was in 1100 BC
  • 525 BC Libyans, and the Nubians
  • 333 BC province of the empire of Persia
  • 30 BC ruled by the greeks and then conquered by the Romans
  • the last great temples of the Nile were built after 250 BC

Friday, January 31, 2014

LO1 notes

  • LO1 was about the trace of key developments of prehistory, from the emergence of our human ancestors to the beginnings of village life
  • The basic features originated in prehistoric times
  • There appeared complex social and economic structures in Southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa
  • in 1200 BC an international region of civilization came into existence
  • It took thousands of centuries of developing physically and completing a series of successful responses to the environment before human beings were at last able to take the first important steps toward civilization
  • The era ended with a rise of civilized societies producing permanent written records
  • excavations of fossils indicate that the earliest humanlike species probably appeared in East Africa
  • 20,000 years ago, most likely in southwestern Africa, there appeared a human species that seemingly possessed more of these features than any other
  • the earliest and longest prehistoric period is called the Paleolithic age 
  • this era began the earliest human types
  • stone tools became stronger, sharper, and more specialized
  • in 8000 BC they advanced in southwestern Asia and northwestern Africa
  • Neolithic Age was when metals replaced stone as the principal tool material
  • in Paleolithic age humans lived as hunters, gatherers, fishers, sheltering in caves
  • they combined into small bands of 20 to 30 people to find food, and protect themselves
  • most food bands needed to survive was plants
  • women were mainly responsible for gathering plants and eating
  • agricultural revolution was a whole series of discoveries
  • bread, beer, wine, cheese, edible oils, woven cloth, leather, pottery for cooking, and storage are the things we take for granted today were used by the early famers of this region
  • 6000 BC was where the first agricultural villages appeared in Southwestern Asia
  • polytheism was the belief in countless human like gods and goddesses
  •  agricultural was accompanied by a lasting shift in pattern of relations between men and women
  • it made men main suppliers of food
  • and it made them do other jobs so women could have more children, and take care of the house and other duties
  • the Americas separate agricultural revolutions based on local crops such as yams, rice, corn and potatoes
  • "cradles of civilization are the river valleys of the southwestern Asian land of Mesopotamia   

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Law Codes

3 of Hammurabi's Law Codes one, two, and three
1. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.
2. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.




3. If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death.
 
I don't really know what the law's really mean. I am a little confused so I don't really know how to react.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Before Civilization and the Earliest Cities


Today in western civilization we learned about the Prehistoric Era, but not just that we talked about a lot of other things too. We took notes today, and just talked about north and South America, and other things that have to do with western civ. I learned that the Paleolithic age was the earliest prehistoric age and it was the Old Stone Age. The Neolithic age was the New Stone Age and was marked by advanced tool making and beginnings of agriculture. We also talked about the agricultural revolution which populations rose due to increased ability to care for young children. Then there are hierarchies was when the status of women was lowered as women were confined more too domestic duties. Then we talked about the earliest cities in Mesopotamia, which was Sumer. Then our class was cut short because its grandparent’s day so then our class ended early and we couldn’t continue, but we will tomorrow.

Friday, January 24, 2014

First West Civ Blog


     Well this is my first blog for my western civ class I am taking second semester! You get to have me again! Well today we had another two hour delay so that means another short class. In western civ today we made a new blog for this class which is where this blog will be going. Then we emailed the link to you and then are blogs are all set up. I also did some designing to my blog. It’s now really pretty. Then you just talked to us about the year, and how you don’t want us to get a bad grade, and other things. You also talked about how you wanted us to get a copy book for notes. Last semester I just used loose-leaf, but I should probably get a book this time so I can be more organized. Well I’m looking forward to a great semester and have a nice weekend.