Religion in Mesopotamia

All ancient civilizations have a religious system - a set of beliefs, usually in a god or gods, together with forms of worship. We can learn a lot about what a civilization valued by learning about its religion. Click on the link below to learn more about religion in ancient Mesopotamia. Read the story and write a summary in your notebook of how and why humans were created according to the myth, then answer the two questions below the link.

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/story/sto_set.html


1. Was creation planned or accidental? If planned, why? Who is responsible for creation?

2. What is the purpose of this creation story?

Using Food to Understand Time

How do we determine what year it is? In 525, a man named Dionysius Exiguus came up with the dating system that we still use today. He was a Christian and decided to keep track of years based on his religion. He chose the birth of Christ for the first year and called all time after it Anno Dommini (AD), which means "in the year of the lord." The time before the birth of Christ is referred to as Before Christ (BC).

Some historians today use different terms for these time periods, though the years are the same. They refer to the BC era as B.C.E., which stands for Before the Common Era. They refer to the A.D. era as C.E., which stands for the Common Era.

Today we are going to learn how to place events in chronological order on a timeline using both BC and AD dates. As a class, we will create a timeline of the history of food. To get started, go to the food timeline web site below. You will need to research one food from the BC era and one from the AD era. Write the name of the food and the of date its discovery on one side of an index card and a brief summary of what you read about it on the other side. We will use your card to construct a timeline as a class.

http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Early Humans: Adapting to New Enviroments

When early humans migrated out of Africa they entered new environments, with different landscapes, climates, plants, and animals. In order to survive, they needed to adapt to these changes. today, we are going to examine the archaeological evidence to discover how early humans adapted to their new environments. Your task is to determine what early humans needed to survive and how they got what they needed from their environment.


Use the link below to complete your classwork:

Interactive video: http://becominghuman.org/node/interactive-documentary

Article: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/humanorigins/human/tools.php

A Day in Ancient Athens

What was life like in Ancient Athens? Click on this link below to find out. Choose one character and follow them throughout their day, then respond to the question below.

http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/athens/story/sto_set.html

Answer the question in the comment box below. Make sure you click on the 'Post Comment' button when you are done with your answer.
Who did you choose and what did your character do today?

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