...All about My Travels through the Egyptian Civilization, Early Japanese Civilization, and the Early 20th Century Deana Mole January, 24, 2014 Hum/205 Mr. Longstreth If you could learn about any three cultures, what would they be? This question was asked of me at one point in my career as an art historian and author. I have written a new textbook about the three periods I most enjoyed investigating and learning about. In this book, I hope to give you information on them and encourage you to dig even deeper to learn more about them. The three periods I have chosen for this book are; Egyptian Civilization, Early Japanese Civilization, and Early 20th Century. These are all very different but as you will see as you read the book that even though they are different they have similarities. All about My Travels through the Egyptian Civilization, Early Japanese Civilization, and the Early 20th Century Chapter 1 Egyptian civilization developed around 5000 B.C.E. During this time, Egypt was divided into two sections, Lower and Upper. Lower Egypt was actually a narrow strip of land located on either side of the Nile River. It ran for 700 miles from the first waterfall in the south to the Nile Delta. (Benton, J. R. & DiYanni, R., 2012, p. 17) Lower Egypt was in the northern part and was on the fertile land of the...
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...well as the religious and other daily values which ancient peoples believed in. To compare the Ancient Egyptian civilization to the civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia is surely going to be a task which will not be easy, especially since it is my personal believe that both of these grandiose civilizations cannot be compared to one another. Comparing the Ancient Mesopotamian Civilization to the Civilization of Ancient Egypt is not really possible once you think about the difference of years between the beginnings of each of these Civilizations. Mesopotamia is considered to be at the least 5000 years older than Ancient Egypt. The earliest civilized form of Human development in Mesopotamia is known to Historians to have occurred between 10500-3500 BC (Mayan Archeology), whilst Historians believe the Ancient Egyptian Civilization to have started between the years of approx. 5500- 3100 BC, which is what is considered the Pre-dynastic Period. (Experience ancient) While Ancient Egypt started to develop Mesopotamia already made big progress in forms of Farming, building the first settlements and later cities across Mesopotamia, starting cultures, different civilizations such as the Sumerian civilization, empires, and even inventing the first Ledis 2 known Human writing system. Mesopotamia is considered to be the start of all civilization, (Worldology) and once we consider all the developments and inventions which happened during the timeline...
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...changing. Early human societies did not have the amazing technological advancements that we are privy to in today’s society. Early societies had to rely on the earth and environment for a stable, profitable foundation. There is an area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that once was the pinnacle of human society. In fact, this area is now known as Iraq; the birthplace of the world’s first civilization known as Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is from Greek origin. It is translated to “Land between the rivers”, and these rivers were the main factor in the development and success of this thriving civilization. The biblical location of what many refer to as the Garden of Eden was located in Mesopotamia. These two rivers gave life to many civilizations in many ways. The Kingdom of Assyria, which is derived from the ancient city of Assur, was born from the banks of the Tigris River. The rivers flow from the north and run parallel to each other. Mesopotamia’s soil was so enriched over the years by the layers of silt left by the flooding and eventual receding of the two rivers making the soil left after the flooding perfect for crops. The flat plains of Mesopotamia proved to be very fertile thanks to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The hot, dry land of Mesopotamia was fertile due to the rich soil and with the use of irrigation crops were flourishing along with the people. The two rivers formed the foundation of the civilization, but the intuitiveness of this early civilization...
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...The Nile River was a God to worship, the water was not only vital for survival but also it was a great part of the three empires (Egypt, Sumer, and Indus) have contributed symbolicy to the modern age with-in a variety of ways. This shows that the 3 empires couldn't live without the River. One of the most important similarity of the 3 Empires is had development of written records. First they recorded important events ( like religious texts, wars, and how long people lived) are important to the 3 culture. The Sumer culture wrote on a system called cuneiform. The cuneiform had many symbols and wedges. Alike, in Egypt the people used hieroglyphics which was mostly pictorial and symbols and also stood for sound and ideas. The Indus culture had...
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...The Civilizations and Cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt Mesopotamia has been called the first civilization, forming around 2500 BC, but there was also another civilization being formed around the same time; the Egyptian civilization was formed by 3000 BC along the Nile River. Both civilizations were strongly influenced by geography, natural resources, and social class. The development of two great early civilizations were guided by the geography, natural resources, and social classes but these broad categories branched off in different directions for each civilization. Geography had a large impact on the successful development of these two civilizations. Both largely depended on nearby rivers for their success and were called the river civilizations. Mesopotamia translates to “land between rivers” which is exactly what it was. It was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These rivers provided for the Sumerians to develop an extensive irrigation system. They were also able to use the flooding of the rivers to their benefit, and all of these developments lead to them having things to trade which they also used the rivers to do. Goods were able to move from place to place along the river along with ideas. Similarly, the Egyptian civilization was strongly dependent on their river, the Nile, and they would have not made nearly as much advancement without it. When the Nile flooded it helped farming and agriculture by providing silt, helping the soil. Their irrigation...
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...Besides Mesopotamia, a second civilization grew up in northeastern Africa, along the Nile River. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C., benefited from trade and technological influence from Mesopotamia, but it produced a quite different society and culture. Because its values and its tightly knit political organization encouraged monumental building, we know more about Egypt than about Mesopotamia, even though the latter was in most respects more important and richer in subsequent heritage. Basic Patterns Of Egyptian Society Unlike Mesopotamia and the Middle East, where an original river-valley basis to civilization ultimately gave way to the spread of civilization throughout an entire region, Egyptian civilization from its origins to its decline was focused on the Nile River and the deserts around it. The Nile focus also gave a more optimistic cast to Egyptian culture, for it could be seen as a source of never- failing bounty to be thankfully received, rather than a menacing cause of floods. Egyptian civilization may at the outset have received some inspiration from Sumer, but a distinctive pattern soon developed in both religion and politics. Farming had been developed along the Nile by about 5000 B.C., but some time before 3200 B.C. economic development accelerated, in part because of growing trade wi,h other regions including Mesopotamia. This economic acceleration provided the basis for the formation of...
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...From the early beginning Egypt was a land of contrasts. There were crop-laden fields and empty deserts, hot, sunny days and cold nights, but the most noticeable difference was that Ancient Egypt was split into two kingdoms which the Nile helped dictate. To the south was Upper Egypt where the Nile flowed north out of the mountains and to the north was Lower Egypt where the river spreads into the delta before emptying into the Mediterranean. The Nile did more than dictate Upper and Lower Egypt it was also a powerful influence on the lives of the Egyptian people. It was used to bathe, get water, and help in the growing and distribution of crops. With the abundance of things the Nile did there...
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...to hunt or defend themselves, existing about two to four million years ago. These early human-like creatures were bipedal, meaning they walked upright on two legs, enabling them to make journeys on foot. In 1959, a new form of hominid was discovered in Africa labeled the Homo habilis or “handy human”. These hominids were believed to have a brain fifty percent larger than that of the Australopithecines. This allowed them to become more sophisticated in finding food and hunting in Africa. The emergence of the Homo Erectus began about 1.5 million years ago. The Homo Erectus were the first hominid to migrate to Europe and Asia from Africa. Describe the...
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...All of the Civilizations have helped in such a great way, just in a couple of years. They made a big change in our society that till this day we still talk about what they have done to make our world a better and brighter place. Also, they have dissimilar things and similar that still made a great impact to us. The common similarities that Egypt, Sumer and Indus had was their written records. They would record events that were meaningful such as wars and religious texts. They discovered a system called cuneiform. The system had an amount of wedges and symbols, that was useful to them. Not only that but they also developed a written language called Harappan. It was difficult for them to translate this ancient language to other people that didn't know about it. Therefore, all 3 of the civilizations used written language. Additionally, another similarity that the 3 civilizations had was their belief system. Egypt, Sumer and Indus cultures were more likely found upon polytheism. What that means is that they belief in many gods. The Egyptian culture belief in over 2,000 gods, all of these gods had...
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...the world takes place, according to the Maya Long Count calendar. 2600 B.C. Maya civilization begins. Olmec figurine 2000 B.C. The rise of the Olmec civilization, from which many aspects of Maya culture are derived. Village farming becomes established throughout Maya regions. 700 B.C. Writing is developed in Mesoamerica. 400 B.C. The earliest known solar calendars carved in stone are in use among the Maya, although the solar calendar may have been known and used by the Maya before this date. Mayan Calendar 300 B.C. The Maya adopt the idea of a hierarchical society ruled by nobles and kings. 100 B.C. The city of Teotihuacan is founded and for centuries is the cultural, religious and trading center of Mesoamerica. 50 B.C. The Maya city of Cerros is built, with a complex of temples and ball courts. It is abandoned (for reasons unknown) a hundred years later and its people return to fishing and farming. Teotihuacan 100 A.D. The decline of the Olmecs. 400 The Maya highlands fall under the domination of Teotihuacan, and the disintegration of Maya culture and language begins in some parts of the highlands. 500 The Maya city of Tikal becomes the first great Maya city, as citizens from Teotihuacan make their way to Tikal, introducing new ideas involving weaponry, captives, ritual practices and human sacrifice. Palenque 600 An unknown event destroys the civilization at Teotihuacan, along with the empire it supported. Tikal becomes the largest city-state...
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...strip of land. This is the only spot where Africa touches another continent; otherwise, it is surrounded by water. The Mediterranean Sea separates it from Europe in the north; the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden lie between it and the Arabian Peninsula to the east. Two vast bodies of water—the Indian Ocean on the eastern side, and the even larger Atlantic on the west—surround the remainder of Africa. A Why Africa is important One of the greatest civilizations of all time, Egypt, was in Africa. Perhaps the only ancient civilizations that can be compared with it are those of Greece and Rome, which were influenced by it. Egypt, of course, has had its own chapter in this series; and Carthage, in North Africa, is also covered elsewhere. The focus of this chapter is entirely on Africa south of the Sahara 283 Map of Africa. XNR Productions. The Gale Group. Desert—that is, sub-Saharan Africa—as well as on the desert itself. That desert would have an impact on African history right up to the modern day; so, too, would the African civilizations of ancient times. There was the kingdom of Kush, which developed its own form of writing and briefly ruled Egypt; the kingdom of Aksum, an important trading center; and the Bantu peoples, who developed ironworking and spread it, along with their languages, throughout the southern part of the African continent. The origins of humankind Though there is much dispute regarding how humankind began, paleoanthropologists (pay-lee-oh-an-throhPAHL-uh-jistz;...
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...1)What does the study of humanities involve? What is the relevance of humanities in architecture? 1.The study of humanities involves academic disciplines that study human culture and history. The humanities include ancient and modern languages ,literature, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. We learn about distant cultures or past cultures. Through the exploration of humanities we learn how to think creatively and critically to reason and ask questions. These efforts preserve the great accomplishments of the past help us understand the world we live in and give us tools to imagine the future. 2.What are the broad divisions of human history? Write a brief on each. Prehistory (meaning "before history", or "before knowledge acquired by investigation", from the Latin word for "before," præ, and historia) is the span of time before recorded history or the invention of writing systems. Prehistory refers to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it can refer to all the time preceding human existence and the invention. The term "prehistory" can refer to the vast span of time since the beginning of the Universe, but more often it refers to the period since life appeared on Earth, or even more specifically to the time since human-like beings appeared.[4][5] In dividing up human prehistory, prehistorians typically use the three-age system, whereas scholars...
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...The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Will Durant referred to it as "the first link in the European chain." The early inhabitants of Crete settled as early as 128,000 BC, during the Middle Paleolithic age. However it was not until 5000 BC that the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared, marking the beginning of the civilization. Overview What the Minoans called themselves is unknown. The term "Minoan" was coined by Arthur Evans after the mythic "king" Minos. Minos was associated in Greek myth with the labyrinth, which Evans identified with the site at Knossos. It has sometimes been argued that the Egyptian place name "Keftiu" (*Káftiu kftiw) and the Semitic "Kaftor" or "Caphtor" and "Kaptara" in the Mari archives refer to the island of Crete; "On the other hand some acknowledged facts about Caphtor/Keftiu can only with difficulty be reconciled with Crete," observes John Strange. In the Odyssey, composed centuries after the destruction of the Minoan civilization, Homer calls the natives of Crete Eteocretans ("true Cretans"); these may have been descendants of the Minoans. Minoan palaces (anaktora) are the best known building types to have been excavated on the island. They are monumental buildings serving administrative...
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...Art History October 07, 2012 Art of Ancient Egypt – Chapter 03 The antiquity and continuity of Egyptian civilization were legendary, the period of roughly three thousand years during which Egyptian architecture, painting, and sculpture remained essentially the same. The main purpose of Egyptian art was to serve the needs of the royalty, especially the king and his retainers, both in this life and the next. Egyptian art reflected an idealized world, the ideal of the human figure developed early among the Egyptians, with body parts sized according to a set of standard proportions (Hartt 72). The poses of these figures are rigid, both feet planted firmly on the ground, with rigid knees, and the left leg placed slightly in front of the other. Egyptian art also incorporated certain fictions in order to express a larger truth, as an example, the beautifully shape of the pharaohs will mostly show the image of the ideal leader of Egypt, even if he/she is not exactly like that in reality, the message that the sculpture will pass is the power and magnificence. The great age of mature ancient Egyptian civilization can be divided into three periods: Old Kingdom - in this time period the Sphinx and Great Pyramid at Giza were built; the royal statues emphasize the majesty and divinity of the pharaoh. A curious detail about the colors used in sculptures is that usually to differ male from female, the artisans would utilize brown(men) and yellow(women), emphasizing that men were mostly...
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...Compare and contrast essay: Ancient Egypt and Greece The ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek civilizations are two of the oldest known civilizations in our history. The Egyptian civilization, based in the eastern part of North Africa, is believed to have started around 3150 BC and continued till the end of the Pharaoh rule in 31 BC. The ancient Greek civilization is believed to have been in effect from 1100 BC till about 146 BC. Many similarities and differences existed between these two civilizations, as even though they co-existed during a certain timeframe (1150 BC to 146 BC), they were located in different geographical areas. Because of these differences in geography, both these civilizations were subjected to different kinds of exposure, which included contact with other civilization and cultural inheritance. In the political sphere, we find that the Egyptian civilization had stronger emphasis on central authority, while the Greeks had a more decentralized structure, where powers were distributed over the cities and the states as well. As far as art is concerned, we find that the Egyptians were more involved in creating great monumental and gaudy structures, while the Greeks were more involved in creating smaller, more literary pieces of art. One of the biggest reasons why these two civilizations had these differences is due to their geography. The Egyptians had easy access to large stones that they could bring in to their country and use them to erect such monumental...
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