Mummies?

So today we talked about how Egyptian culture was like. We learned about Upper and Lower Egypt and how they were untied by Narmer. The Egyptians thrived off of the Nile. It flooded once a year, so the land was very fertile. This also means that towns were at risk of destruction. They also invented their own set of writing and the modern-day calendar.

Egypt

Today in Western Civ we took our quiz. It wasn't really that hard, I think I got one or two wrong. The first side was definitely easier than the second side. There were like 2 on the back that I didn't really know but other than that I think I did well. After that, we started taking notes on Egypt. I learned that the Nile is the main source of Egypt's success. It brings water to Egypt which carries silt into the soil which helps with crop production.

Quiz tomorrow!

So tomorrow we have a quiz and I think I'm going to do good. I know I always say that but this semester I'm really going to try because I want to improve my grades. I'm really going to try and study tonight. I already know most of this stuff from 6th grade so this is just like a review for me. We reviewed in class by watching a video that I watched in middle school so that was fun. We also watched some videos on the John Carroll youtube then we watched a video of a girl, who used to go to school at JC, audition for American Idol so that was cool.

Quiz?

So today we found out that we had a quiz. I think it should be fairly easy because I already knew this stuff from before but I say that every time and end up doing bad so who knows. I plan on making a Quizlet from my notes tonight and I'm going to study today and tomorrow. We also reviewed in class today and I knew pretty much everything except for the two questions I got wrong so ill has to be sure to study those topics extra tonight.

An Eye for An Eye

Today in class we went over the powerpoint and we got into talking about Hammurabi's Code. We took out our computers and started looking up some of the laws. Some of the laws were very interesting. For example:

•  "If a man's wife, for the sake of another, has caused her husband to be killed, that woman shall be impaled"
•  "If a man has committed incest with his daughter, that man shall be banished from the city."
• "If a man has stolen a child, he shall be put to death."

These laws are just some of the ones that stuck out to me because they are very strange but only specific. It really makes you think about if these things happened often. We also talked about hoe influential these laws are. A lot of todays societies laws are based off of these laws

Hammurabi's Law pg 34

Hammurabi's code is a set of 282 specific laws dealing with everything affecting the community, including family relations, business conduct, and crime.

first day of western civ

For or first class of western civ we got to pick our seats which was fun. We started off class by getting textbooks and taking notes on Mesopotamia. Then Mr. Schick told us that our homework is to answer two questions:

1. define these terms

• Fertile Crescent- curved shaped of rich land between Tigris and Euphrates 
• Mesopotamia- the first Asian civilization
• City-state- city with surrounding territory that forms an independent state
• Dynasty- series of rulers from a single family
• Cultural Diffusion- the process in which a new idea or product spreads from one culture to another
• Polytheism- the belief in more then one god
• Empire- a central group of states under the same influence 
• Hammurabi- extended his kingdom and conquer all of Mesopotamia 

2. The three environmental challenges that were faced were unpredicted flooding and little rain, no natural barriers for protection, and limited natural resources. 

LAST DAY OF HUMAN GEO :(

So today was out last day of human geo. Since its the end of a semester and we switch to Western Civ, the classes switch up. Im in the class with a bunch of people which isn't a bad thing but I do really like the class we have now. Brenna's not in my class which sucks but I have other friends that I don't have classes with so that's fun. All in all I think Human Geo was pretty fun and im excited to see how Western Civ goes.

day ?

I wasn't in school yesterday because I was sick

Test Prep

Today we started  reviewing for the test we have tomorrow. We went over all the major things we need to know for it. I think I'll do pretty good on this test because its pretty straightforward. After we reviewed, we watched teen jeopardy and tried to guess the answers to the questions. Surprisingly most of us got the answers right. I feel good about the test tomorrow and I hope that it will bring my grade up a bit.

The end of GGS

So today we finished the Guns, Germs, and Steel video. we learned that most of the 14 domesticated animals were form Asia, the Americas, or Europe and Papua New Guinea has none. They have pigs that were brought to them when the Europeans came but that was it. We talked about how the Fertile Crescent has a lot of these animals and also good land to farm in, making it fit for human civilization. about 1,000 years after civilization in the Fertile Crescent, the land was so overused it was unfit to sustain human life and the people who lived there had to move somewhere else.

GGS again

Today in the video Jared Diamond figured out the thing that makes civilizations great. It is pure geographic luck. Most major developed countries have been fortunate enough to have terrain that is well suited for farming and access animals that can help with the work load. In under developed countries like Papua New Guinea, there isn't access to copious amounts of nutritious food. Then we talked about domesticating animals. Sheep and goats were the first ever domesticated animals. People used them for food, labor, and milk.    

GGS

Today in class we continued to watch the Guns, Germs, and Steel video. We learned about how the Papua New Guinean people are still hunters and gatherers on the inside of the island, but on the outer parts it is more civilized. We learned about how the women chopped down trees and harvested sago from them for food. We also learned about the first civilization after the Ice Age, named Draa. Here people grew barley and wheat in there houses so they wouldn't be effect by inclement weather. There was also a dog!! it was super cute and a good way to start class.

First Day Back

So today was our first day back after break. We looked at our exams and i didn't do bad, but i also didn't do good. I definitely could have done better if I studied more and I hope to do well on the finals. after that we watched this video on Guns, Germs, and Steel. Its a book written by Jared Diamond in 1977. Jared was a professor at UCLA and is a biologist and a specialist in human physiology. He travels to Papua New Guinea to watch birds. A person named Yali came up and asked him a question. He asked, "Why do you white men have so much cargo and we New Guineas have so little?" This question sparked the idea for his book.