The Mystery of the Pyramids

• Khufu

  • Second king of Egypt

  • Built Pyramid of Giza

• Sneferu

  • First king of Egypt, father of Khufu

  • Built Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid

• Djoser

  • Built earliest known pyramid

  • Built the Step Pyramid

• Nile River

  • A river in Egypt

  • Provided water for crops and essential for trade

• Narmer

  • Pharaoh in Egypt

  • "Unified" Egypt through the conquest of Lower Egypt

• Mummification

  • The process of body preservation

  • Gives insight into values and beliefs regarding the afterlife

• Sled

  • Theory: Cedar slabs of wood used to move large blocks of stone

  • Not proven

• Mediterranean Sea

  • Where the Nile emptied into

  • Vital for trade routes

• Temple

  • A religious building

  • Believed to be the residence of gods, became increasingly extravagant

• Tomb

  • Highly decorated and furnished compartments in pyramids

  • Furnished with the dead's belongings and objects for the afterlife

• Theories of Construction

  • Jean Pierre Houdin

    • Internal spiral ramp theory

  • Ramp theory

    • External ramp spanning perimeter of pyramid used to move stones

  • Notch

    • A notch found 270 ft up to support turning stones at the corner

  • Plumb Bob

    • A weight on a string used to align walls correctly

  • John Romer

    • Famous Egyptologist who helped develop construction theories

• Sediments

  • The soil, silt, and other material accumulated on the bank of the Nile

  • Nutrient-rich, fertile, and used for farming

• Afterlife

  • The Egyptian version of heaven

  • Influenced the construction of tombs and pyramids

• Limestone

  • Main construction material of the pyramids

Origin Narrative

• Enuma Elish

  • babylonian creation story

  • Marduk and Tiamat fight for control, marduk wins

  • as they fight the world is created

• Abrahamic Religions

  • adam and eve featured as first humans

  • features one god who creates the world over 6 days

  • includes introduction to sin

• Aboriginal stories

  • indigenous australians

  • “dreamtime” ancestors shaped land, animals, etc.

  • emphasis on connection to land

• Star child

  • indigenous

  • spiritual connection between celestial beings and humans

  • ancestral wisdom emphasized

• Big bang

  • scientific explanation

  • point of origin where particles collided

  • universe is ever-expanding

• Hero twins

  • Hunaphu and Xbalanque go to the underworld defeating deities

  • triumphs symbolize cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth

  • triumphs emphasize triumph over chaos

• Corn god

  • strengthens connection between land and man

  • stories emphasize planting/ harvesting rituals

• Ganga, shiva, brahma

  • Ganga is a river personified as goddess

  • with help of Shiva and Brahma Ganga flows to earth

• Ex nihlo

  • “creation from nothing”

  • diving ability to creater everything from nothing

• World turtle

  • cosmic turtle that holds the world on its back

• Aztec

  • 2 deities sacrifice another to become the sun

  • emphasizes sacrifice, and cyclical nature of life

• Mayans

  • humans formed from maize by gods

  • interconnectedness between land, humans, and gods

• Egyptians

  • Atum created world through self- procreation

  • cyclical nature of creation/ destruction

  • importance of sun

  • divine kingship emphasized

Early Humans/ Agricultural Revolution

• Surplus

  • an excess of food

  • used to support the growth of cities

• Agriculture

  • selective breeding

    • breeding two species with desirable traits

    • then used for work

    • specific behavioral habits formed

  • domestication of animals

    • some of the first symbiotic relationships

    • similar to selective breeding

  • domestication of plants

    • observation of desirable plants

    • those plants then replanted in a way to create surplus

• Birth of cities

• Migration

  • push/ pull factors

• Otzi

  • naturally preserved body found in the alpine region

  • died while carried advanced/ valuable technology for the time

  • gives insight into how people of that time lives

• Survival in the mountains

• Hominid

  • Homo Sapiens

    • most recent known hominid species

    • modern humans

    • language, symbols, advanced cognitive functions

  • Homo Habilis

    • second known hominid species

    • associated with use of tools

  • Homo Erectus

    • third known hominid species

    • spread out of africa, adapted to diverse environments

    • more advanced tool making

  • Neanderthal

    • fourth known hominid species

    • adapted to cold weather/ environments

  • Australopithecus

    • the first known hominid species

    • walked upright, smaller brain size compared to later species

• Artifact

  • something found used for historical purposes

  • used to give insight into time period

• Archeology

  • the profession of uncovering artifacts from the ground

• Carbon dating

  • the process of using the carbon an artifact contains to determine how old it is

• Olduvai Gorge

  • significant archaeological site

  • provided crucial info on earliest human developments

• Tools

  • an object used to help perform an action

• Weapons

  • a tool used for combative reasons

• Cognitive revolution

  • collective learning

    • the ability to spread knowledge through people generationally

  • flint knapping

    • the formation of stone tools by chipping off bits of stone till desired shape is created

  • language

    • symbolic/ system of communication

    • vital for evolution/ culture

  • tools

    • used by lots of species

    • refined and improved upon by humans

  • weapons

    • used and refined by humans

    • similar to concept of tools

• Out of Africa theory

  • humans originated in africa and once hominids evolved into homo erectus , left africa

• Foraging

  • gathering berries/ naturally grown food sources

  • more efficient than hunting

• Nomads

  • people who moved along with their food source

• Specialization and craftsmanship

  • occurred more and more as humans evolved

  • done mainly with tools, but evolved to be all crafts

• Social class

  • a way of categorizing people by their means

  • typically people with less currency were treated as less than

Mesopotamia

• Cradle of Civilization

  • the earliest advanced civilizations

  • mesopotamia

  • ancient egypt

• Babylonian Empire

  • refers to a series of historical empires centered around babylon

  • important due to impact on law through hammurabi’s code

• Assyrian Empire

  • An empire that existed around the same time as the babylonian

  • known for extreme violence and brutality

• Akkadian Empire

  • one of the earliest and most significant empires in early mesopotamia

  • short lived but incredibly important with impacts on modern day life

• Sumerian

  • the creators of cuneiform

  • had urbanized city-states

• Sargon

  • founder of the Akkadian empire

  • known for bringing some of the first laws to civilization

• Gilgamesh

  • king of Uruk

  • known for his role in “the epic of gilgamesh

• Enkidu

  • befriended Gilgamesh

  • right-hand man to gilgamesh

  • half god half huma

• Ashurbanipal

  • last king of assyrian empire

  • known for his extensive library

• Polytheism

  • the belief in multiple gods

• Ziggurat

  • a simple building believed to be inhabited by the gods

  • symbol of city-states power

• Battering rams

  • military siege device used to break down walls

• Iron age

  • period marked by widespread use of iron tools

• Irrigation

  • manipulation of water for the purpose of agriculture

  • Necessary to support large city states

• Cuneiform

  • the first written language

• Scribe

  • individual trained to record and write things down

• Hammurabi’s Code

  • the first law code

  • known for its “eye for an eye” policy

• Fertile Crescent

  • a strip of land with silt from rivers with fertile soil

• Empire

  • political unit with diverse territory comprised of one authority

• Behistun Inscription

  • carving on a rock in many languages used to help decipher old languages

• Lugalzagesi

  • sumerian king conquered by sargon

  • early example of empire

• Siege towers

  • Mobile structures used to attack fortified positions

• Curved Shields

  • defensive weapons in mesopotamia

  • Provided protection against projectiles

• Engineers

  • individuals responsible for designing such structures

• Ur-Nammu

  • founder of third dynasty of Ur

• Sumerian Religion

  • Shamash

    • Shamash is the ancient Mesopotamian god of the sun, justice, morality, and truth

  • Innana

    • Sumerian goddess of love, fertility, and warfare

  • Ishtar

    • Sumerian goddess of love, war, and beauty

• The Istar gate

  • ancient babylonian gate decorated with painting of gods

• Assyrian violence

  • Mass deportation

    • done to prevent revolts and weaken resistance

  • forced resettlement

    • moving conquered peoples into new territories

    • similar to mass deportation

  • impalement

    • method of execution involving stabbing people through with large stick

  • burning people alive

    • used to set example

  • flaying

    • skinning people alive

  • mutilation

    • disfigurement of bodies

• Sumerian Achievements

  • Global trade on secured roads

    • contributed to economic prosperity

  • numbering system

    • used to record trade

  • time measurement

    • reflects modern time measurements

  • public libraries

    • collections of clay tablets

    • provided generational knowledge

  • chemistry/ welding

    • most basic form was pottery glazing

  • metallurgy

    • the manipulation of metal for the purpose of tools/ art

  • hydraulic engineering

    • sophisticated irrigation system comprised of levers and pulleys

  • archives

    • keeping track of legal/ administrative documents

  • beer and wine making

    • done by fermenting yeast

    • done as a way of sterilizing dirty water

  • epic poetry, laments, hymns, etc.

    • based off cultural beliefs

    • main entertainment

  • mass schooling

    • done to maintain functional bureaucracy even decades later

  • school for administrators

    • ensured skilled class of scribes, administrators, ets.

  • pottery making

    • done as both forms of art and functional objects

    • traded

  • wheel and heavy chariots

    • transportation, pottery production

    • heavy chariots used so they couldn’t tip

  • mills (textile, pottery, brick)

    • Technological advancements in milling contributed to economic and industrial development

Maps

(thank you emma)