Preview

Western Civilization Reflection Paper 1

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
698 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Western Civilization Reflection Paper 1
05/31/13 Chapter 1 Reflection Paper 1 In chapter one, the Sumer culture is discussed at lengths including their religion of several Gods from the “natural world” and their technology and innovations. I particularly find it interesting that despite the Sumer’s lack of mineral, they were still able to make innovations and weapons using traded copper. The Sumer people may not have had access to various resources but they are still to be thanked for technology such as the seed drill. It is very useful of the Sumerian people to be so innovative and creative despite their lack of resources.
Also in chapter one, the civilization of Ancient Egypt is explored. In contrast with the Sumerians, the Egyptians did not have futile resources as their lands were renewed each year when the Nile River flooded. Although I was already aware that Alexander the Great ruled Egypt for quite some time, I still find it fascinating that Ancient Egypt thrived for so long under this sort of government and rule. Ancient Egypt witnessed several rulers all with the title of pharaoh. How the original pharaohs claimed their spot as ruler is not entirely clear, which I find interesting. What was known, however, was that the pharaohs played a larger role than just Egypt’s ruler; they embodied everything that Egypt stood for. Egyptian culture is responsible for several technological innovations such as hieroglyphs. These hieroglyphs are still, to this day, not fully understood. I find it difficult to believe given how many historians and archaeologists have studied them. These hieroglyphs are apart of one of the first written languages. Although I was already aware of this, it continues to fascinate me. In Ancient Egypt, women had rights as their own person, while not able to hold office; they were still allowed more rights than in societies to come. I find it interesting that women were given rights in this ancient society that some women in other societies would never receive.
Also in Ancient

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The author’s goal in writing this book would be to inform people about ancient women focusing more on Egypt and sounding areas. Women were not very popular in ancient times; therefore people know less about them compared to men. Because of the lack of information many people argue about the status of ancient women, Pomeroy wrote this book to provide as much information about women as she could to inform her readers. Pomeroy also tends to focus on the women who achieved great goals in life as to say that even women in ancient times did great things and were not just treated as dirt.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Spanish colonial America and Tokugawa Japan led the world in silver production from 1500 to 1750. The global flow of silver had several effects on social and economic life in various areas of the world. It created a growing inequality in social structure and caused the standard of living to go up. Also, it caused a significant inflation of prices, it destroyed the Spanish economy, and it allowed other European nations not only to afford Asian goods, but make profit off of them by reselling them to other nations.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victory Stele of Naramsin

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Neolithic revolution brought a fundamental change in the daily lives of the Mesopotamian people. This time period (2900 to 2350 BC) saw the Sumerians transform the valley between the Tigris & Euphrates into a dozen or so city-states (figure 2). These competing city-states were controlled by different rulers who honored different gods and goddesses. The art of this time period reflected reverence of gods who reside above the world of humans as depicted on the chiseled steles, lyres decorated with lapis lazuli and cylinder seals recovered from the temples of Sumer (Kleiner 18-20). This ancient civilization is known for its development of urban civilization, writing, agriculture, and farming. Their revolutionary ideas moved us from prehistory to history with the creation of wedge-shaped signs (cuneiform) that formed the basis of written language (Kleiner 18).…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    in 1880, Europeans controlled 10% of Africa; by 1914, controlled all except Liberia & Ethiopia; the Berlin Conference established the rules among European powers for carving up Africa…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Western Civilization: Exam

    • 5278 Words
    • 72 Pages

    Western Civilization, Chapters 14-17 Exam Study online at quizlet.com/_88jqf 1. 2. 3. 4.…

    • 5278 Words
    • 72 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crucible of Civilization is an occurrence, under pressure that causes changes or progression. In regards to the Crucible civilization, The Greeks deserve the name. Look back at many civilizations we’ve studied, The Greeks are unique. The Greeks changed the world. Just like many other civilizations, The Greeks experienced trials and tribulations. Next month, the Olympics Games will be held in Brazil. This is one of the many legacies that make people refer to the Greeks, as Crucible of Civilization. Although countries may have rift among them, yet during the international Olympics countries compete against each order in the spirit of sportsmanship. In fact, the word Olympics originates from ancient Greek.…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hyksos

    • 3863 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Historians and archaeologists have studied ancient Egyptian civilisation for more than 200 years. Although many fascinating discoveries have been made, not all is known about Ancient Egypt and therefore some aspects of its history are based on surmised interpretations and occasionally incomplete factual evidence. When discussing the role, contribution and significance of the ruling queens of Ancient Egypt, it is important to note the bias that authors/scribes placed on most historical documents of this ancient period. Women, especially those of the Royal court and family, do appear in many Egyptian documents and inscriptions. However, only men in Egyptian society could become scribes and therefore male bias can make it difficult to investigate precise details of the lives of women. Through the study of documents, inscriptions and tombs, combined with the latest scientific techniques a picture of the life of the Egyptian women can take shape.…

    • 3863 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In most civilizations, including Mesopotamia, women’s equality was lesser than men’s. Men could own property, sell land, and act as political leaders. However, these privileges did not apply to women. In Mesopotamia, their legal status was much lesser than men’s as were their rights. This however was not the case in Egypt. Women were allowed to own property, sell land, and in some occasions act as political leaders. Their legal status was equal to men and they were held much higher than women in Mesopotamia.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mesopotamia Vs Egypt

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Chapter 2 1. How can the term CIVILIZATION be culturally biased? 2. How did Egyptʼs geography and climate influence religion and the outlook of the people? How did climatic events taking place from the fifth to the third millennium BCE affect the growth of Egypt? 3. Compare and contrast the development of commerce in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Why did their styles differ? 4. Account for the differing status of women in Mesopotamian and Egyptian society. The definition of civilization is a “certain kind of development of a human society. A civilized society is often characterized by advanced agriculture, long-distance trade, occupational specialization, and urbanism. Aside from these core elements, civilization is often marked by any combination of…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Based on evidence in The Instructions of Ptah-hotep and The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, information can be inferred from a number of different aspects involving the way of life in Pharonic Egypt. These texts offer an insight into the world in which these ancient Egyptians lived. Through a complex and diverse system of government, these people were able to maintain a stable and successful civilization for many years. They had profound ideals of behavior that, when applied to their way of life, proved to be very influential. They adopted their beliefs and traditions that were passed down from generation to generation. They were also part of a complex hierarchal system of government that allowed…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Egyptian civilization is considered one of the longest lasting civilization in the world history. It had what was needed to be an ancient civilization. The Ancient Egyptian civilization produced the first government to rule an entire nation. The Pharaoh was the ruler of Ancient Egypt, both politically and religiously of upper and lower Egypt. Although, there were “officials” who helped rule the villages there was a ruler of the entire nation. In ancient Egypt, most cities were located near the Nile River in advantage of the water for agriculture and other uses. Also, this helped the trade to be more efficient and less expensive. For example, the Nile River helped in the transportation during the Bronze Age. Religion is also an important characteristic of the Egyptian civilization. The ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses. These Gods were worshipped in temples run by priests. Also, the Egyptians believed in “Afterlife.” The most famous writing system of Ancient Egypt is Hieroglyphics. This system of writing used pictures and symbols, this way they could record information about religion and government. This writing was used in stone monuments and in tombs. The Ancient Egyptians built structures the world have ever seen. These structures such as the Pyramids of Gizeh demonstrated the skills and tools of Ancient Egypt. There had to be mathematicians and engineers to help built these structures. This help us understand the intelligence of the Egyptian civilization. In addition, they had unbelievable skills in medicine. They created technique to repair bones and even do skull surgery. Last but not least, it is proven that when building the different structures not all people were slaves. Some individuals were paid to help. This shows how there were different classes in Ancient…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Western Civilization, defines and helps us understand the important aspects of the term civilization and how it is used. "The peoples of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Greece created Western civilization by exchanging ideas, technologies, and objects through trade, travel, and war. Building on concepts from the Near East, Greeks originated the idea of the West as a separate region, identifying Europe as the West (where the sun sets) and different from the East (where the sun rises)" (Hunt p. 4).…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After selecting your topic and the two civilizations you will compare and contrast, your next step in developing your research paper is identifying excellent Web resources where you can find the information you will need later when you develop your paper’s thesis statement and outline.…

    • 894 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the time of the Old Kingdom to the time of the New Kingdom, Ancient Egypt was a society dominated by men. Much of the history of Egypt is expressed through the perspective of Egyptian males. This leaves the perspective of the other half of the Egyptian population, females, unexplored. When women of Ancient Egypt are discussed it is often just the women of power or royalty who receive attention. This leaves many people unaware of the role of the average women in this society. Achieving A reversal of this unawareness is done by explaining the role of the average Egyptian woman in the family, the legal rights of women, and the role of women in the temples.…

    • 891 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Where would Western civilization be without the “long” 19th century affects on the unconstrained and continuous progress it made in peoples lives? The industrial revolution was key for major inventions that would help boom the economy. For example, the steam power’s advantage was its efficiency in mass production and the only resources needed were water and heat. This is one of the many new inventions to help increase production at a faster rate and be more cheap. Labor laws were very poor when the industrial world was creating its start. There was a constant battle between the company owners and the working class for better working conditions. While working conditions improved so did the working class voice on their rights. Beforehand the…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics