Today in Human Geo class Phil and I taught the class. We did a good job and had fun doing it. Then Mr.Schick took over and we continued with notes.

The earliest cities: Mesopotamia (2 of 4)

Sumer

- A Pantheon of Sumerian gods and goddesses emerged, with many of the deities representing the natural elements of the world

- The world's first (surviving) epic was the sumerian "Epic of Gilganes", which told of great flood

- Sumerians first divided the hour into sixty minuets and the minute into sixty seconds, they also organized a calendar based on mooncycles

- The Ziggurat was a Sumerian temple built on top of a "mountain" of earth

The earliest cities: Mesopotamia (3 of 4)

Civilization in Mesopotamia

- King Hammurabi of Babylon created a series of laws known as "Hammurabi's Code"

- Hammurabi's laws included "an eye for an eye" and regulations of marriage, divorce, and punishments fo rall sorts of crimes


3 Hammurabi laws

1. If any one steal the minor son of another, he shall be put to death- This is crazy because if you screw up you can die.

2. If any one break a hole into a house (break in to steal), he shall be put to death before that hole and be buried- This is also crazy becasue instead of going to jail like you would today you die.

3.If a man betroth a girl to his son, and his son have intercourse with her, but he (the father) afterward defile her, and be surprised, then he shall be bound and cast into the water (drowned)- I think this is one of the worst because the father is risking his life.

http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm

Today in West Civ class we took notes.



Western World= Europe and North and South America

Before civilization: The Prehistoric era (1 of 2)

Prehistory- Before things were written down

The Origins and "ages" of Human Beings
- 200,000 years ago a human species emerged in Southwest Africa
- 14,000 years ago, a world wide human race existed
- Earliest prehistoric age is the Paleolithic age (old stone age)
- Neolithic Age (New stone age) was marked by advance tool making and the beginning of agriculture


Before civilzation: The Prehistoric era

The Agricultural revolution
- Also known as the Neolithic revolution, this was a shift from itinerant hunting/gathering to more permanent settlements on agriculture (beginnig in Southwest Asia)

- Populations rose due to increased ability to care for young children

-Hierarchies appeared in village life, the status of women was lowered as women were confined more to domestic duties

-Invention of the wheel and plow made is possible to produce enough food for storage

-Villagers were polythesis, worshipped multiple nature, human, and animal gods had own Hierarcy on what job they had

The earliest cities: Mesopotamia

Sumer

-Sumer occupied the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

- Population increased drastically due to new irrigation techniques

- Cities and towns were founded, some with as manyas 40,000 inhabitants

-More adequate food storage allowed for diveristy in professions, priests, tradesmen, artisans, politicians and farmers

-Kings emerged, as did family dynasties and the concept of the "city state"

- Sumerians invented te earliest form of writing, known as "cuneiform"

Today was the first day of the new semester. I had some new kids in my class. Mr.Schick explained to the new kids how the class is going to work adn what we are doing in West Civ. I'm ready for the rest of the year with Mr.Schick and ready to learn!