I think The Epic of Gilgamesh, was a pretty interesting story, based on the fact that it had many different meanings to it. There was a lot to do with a certain girl who was supposed to break Enkidu down, to make him a little more human, rather than an animal who he lived with his whole life. He was as such as a counterpart to Gilgamesh, someone who could be as a companion to him because they had almost equal power of each other. The girl was basically used to bring Enkidu to Gilgamesh so they could fight and see how has more power.
I interpreted part of this story as a little degrading to women because the girl was only used for her body and her sex. Her feminine touch and her womanly instincts were the only thing that were of usefulness to the story. I think that this just adds to the nature of women not being respected in our society now, as well as back then. Throughout generations and generations, women have had the lower hand in society, not only in jobs but the way people look at them. I think that this story simplifies of how society does not respect women in the way they should be.
Another way I interpreted this story was men who wanted to fight and conquer themselves. A lot of the time Europeans went around the whole world conquering land that they did not own even when people were there already. It shows how power hungry they were just to be in rule or to be powerful, more powerful than anyone else. That is what Enkidu displays when he is forced to see Gilgamesh, in an effort to see who is more powerful.
Overall, this story can be interpreted in so many ways and different aspects but it connects greatly towards our world history.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Chapter 2 First Farmers, The Revolutions of Agriculture
Chapter two has a lot to do with agriculture and the first farmers. Agriculture is one of the most important things to ever happen in our world. Agriculture does not only benefit ourselves, but it keeps us alive with healthy vegetables, fruit, and meat to live off. Agriculture has made our world a different place.
I find this subject very interesting because back when my parents lived in the Fiji Islands, they owned many acres of land which they farmed off of. They grew sugar canes, something that is very popular in Fiji. Agriculture first started about 12,00 years ago which was called either a Neolithic or an Agricultural Revolution. When people discovered the meaning of agriculture, it transformed their lives through the globe. Many things started to happen such as the formation of different landscapes to enhance more growing. Many of the farmers became picky on what plants and vegetables they actually wanted or did not want to grow. The domestication of animals became smaller varieties, only choosing certain animals such as chicken, pig, and cows. All these factors were huge in agriculture because it showed human beings a new way of life. I think this was huge because many humans even lost their hunting and gathering skills. Something that has been vital in peoples lives for centuries had suddenly disappeared all because of the simple task of agriculture. The more food that came in meant that more and more people would come in. Which then led to more exploitation to land.
In my opinion, agriculture is obviously a necessity in our everyday lives now. I think that its good and bad in its own ways but has taken over our globe. Before, people would hunt and cook their food for their families. Now, everything is handed to us. If we want lettuce, we go to Safeway and get lettuce. If we want chicken breast, we go to Safeway and its handed to us. What if society never came through an agricultural revolution? Would our world still be as advanced as it is now? Would our population be different, or any less than it is now? These are some major questions I think of when I think of agriculture. Without this simple revolution, our world could have been very different. It amazes me because since we have such easy access to agricultural goods, we exploit exploit exploit and exploit. We have come to an understanding of unlimited goods. Something that could have never happened without the agricultural revolution.
I think that it is important to respect what we have and not take it for granted, because the rate that we are going, we will end agriculture forever. The agricultural revolution was huge, and without it, virtually none of us would ever exist.
I find this subject very interesting because back when my parents lived in the Fiji Islands, they owned many acres of land which they farmed off of. They grew sugar canes, something that is very popular in Fiji. Agriculture first started about 12,00 years ago which was called either a Neolithic or an Agricultural Revolution. When people discovered the meaning of agriculture, it transformed their lives through the globe. Many things started to happen such as the formation of different landscapes to enhance more growing. Many of the farmers became picky on what plants and vegetables they actually wanted or did not want to grow. The domestication of animals became smaller varieties, only choosing certain animals such as chicken, pig, and cows. All these factors were huge in agriculture because it showed human beings a new way of life. I think this was huge because many humans even lost their hunting and gathering skills. Something that has been vital in peoples lives for centuries had suddenly disappeared all because of the simple task of agriculture. The more food that came in meant that more and more people would come in. Which then led to more exploitation to land.
In my opinion, agriculture is obviously a necessity in our everyday lives now. I think that its good and bad in its own ways but has taken over our globe. Before, people would hunt and cook their food for their families. Now, everything is handed to us. If we want lettuce, we go to Safeway and get lettuce. If we want chicken breast, we go to Safeway and its handed to us. What if society never came through an agricultural revolution? Would our world still be as advanced as it is now? Would our population be different, or any less than it is now? These are some major questions I think of when I think of agriculture. Without this simple revolution, our world could have been very different. It amazes me because since we have such easy access to agricultural goods, we exploit exploit exploit and exploit. We have come to an understanding of unlimited goods. Something that could have never happened without the agricultural revolution.
I think that it is important to respect what we have and not take it for granted, because the rate that we are going, we will end agriculture forever. The agricultural revolution was huge, and without it, virtually none of us would ever exist.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Chapter 1- Extra Credit (Class Notes)
Hello everyone :) Since I am missing class this Wednesday and Friday for soccer, I am writing another blog for extra credit notes to make up for my absences!
Class Notes-
I. First Migrations
A. Homo sapiens were first found in eastern and southern Africa around 250,000 years ago and
lived there for about 150,00 years.
B. Homo sapiens then created a human revolution in which they taught themselves a number things
such as hunting, fishing, and the use of stone and bone tools.
C. About 100,000 years ago, the beginnings of migration started in Africa, where homo sapiens
began migrating all over the world.
a. Human migrated into Eurasia about 40,000 years ago where they mostly migrated in the
Middle East.
1. The main discovery here was the development of new hunting technologies and
habits.
2. Also early forms of writing and cave paintings were discovered.
b. The first place humans migrated was Australia nearly about 60,000 years ago.
1. This was the first way that humans used floating devices such as boats to travel to
get to Australia.
2. This was the development of more than 250 different types of languages.
3. Communicationa and exchange networks such as singing, dancing, and rituals.
c. Human migrated into the Americas about 30,000-15,000 years ago.
1. There were many different types of cultures in the Americas.
2. They started hunting huge animals such as mammoths and many of people learned to
adapt to different environments assuming that the ice age was coming to an end.
d. One of the last places that humans migrated into was the Pacific which included islands such
as the Phillipines, Solomon Islands, Bismarck, and Madagascar about 3,500 years ago.
1. They took agricultural techniques with them.
2. This created a huge environmental impact on the land, where animals and plants
became extinct.
II. Human Societies.
A. Most societies were small where there was about 25-50 people in each group.
B. Most bands were small and nomadic depending on where they could survive and get food.
C. Many different rules came from Paleolithic societies:
1. Men did most of the hunting and gathering, while women stayed home and cooked and
cleaned for families.
2. Distinguished the rights and wrongs of cheating and made it clear that incestry was not
allowed.
III. Different types of Paleolithic Societies
A. San and Chumash societies were very conservative and kept their culture/ways the same when
they continued into modern times.
B. San men would use 28 different types of hunting tools to catch adequate food for their families.
C. San women would cook and clean and were mostlty dependent on nature.
D. San Societies were very equal amongst men and women.
E. San belief system was polytheistic.
F. Chumash societies were larger than San but lived in houses.
G. Chuman solved many problems such as food shortages and violence.
H. Chuman were more advanced than San in all ways such as living, hunting, eating, and
traveling.
Class Notes-
I. First Migrations
A. Homo sapiens were first found in eastern and southern Africa around 250,000 years ago and
lived there for about 150,00 years.
B. Homo sapiens then created a human revolution in which they taught themselves a number things
such as hunting, fishing, and the use of stone and bone tools.
C. About 100,000 years ago, the beginnings of migration started in Africa, where homo sapiens
began migrating all over the world.
a. Human migrated into Eurasia about 40,000 years ago where they mostly migrated in the
Middle East.
1. The main discovery here was the development of new hunting technologies and
habits.
2. Also early forms of writing and cave paintings were discovered.
b. The first place humans migrated was Australia nearly about 60,000 years ago.
1. This was the first way that humans used floating devices such as boats to travel to
get to Australia.
2. This was the development of more than 250 different types of languages.
3. Communicationa and exchange networks such as singing, dancing, and rituals.
c. Human migrated into the Americas about 30,000-15,000 years ago.
1. There were many different types of cultures in the Americas.
2. They started hunting huge animals such as mammoths and many of people learned to
adapt to different environments assuming that the ice age was coming to an end.
d. One of the last places that humans migrated into was the Pacific which included islands such
as the Phillipines, Solomon Islands, Bismarck, and Madagascar about 3,500 years ago.
1. They took agricultural techniques with them.
2. This created a huge environmental impact on the land, where animals and plants
became extinct.
II. Human Societies.
A. Most societies were small where there was about 25-50 people in each group.
B. Most bands were small and nomadic depending on where they could survive and get food.
C. Many different rules came from Paleolithic societies:
1. Men did most of the hunting and gathering, while women stayed home and cooked and
cleaned for families.
2. Distinguished the rights and wrongs of cheating and made it clear that incestry was not
allowed.
III. Different types of Paleolithic Societies
A. San and Chumash societies were very conservative and kept their culture/ways the same when
they continued into modern times.
B. San men would use 28 different types of hunting tools to catch adequate food for their families.
C. San women would cook and clean and were mostlty dependent on nature.
D. San Societies were very equal amongst men and women.
E. San belief system was polytheistic.
F. Chumash societies were larger than San but lived in houses.
G. Chuman solved many problems such as food shortages and violence.
H. Chuman were more advanced than San in all ways such as living, hunting, eating, and
traveling.
Monday, September 5, 2011
WW Prologue, Intro to Part 1, Chapter 1
When I stop to think about our world, and how the people in our world were created, it amazes me at how far we have come from the first people to walk this earth. Homo sapiens first walked the earth 250,000 years ago in southern and eastern Africa. This was the home to "human revolution" which shaped the way people lived along with their behaviors. Human beings started to shape out different environments in Africa such as forests and deserts. Early humans taught themselves different technological innovations such as stones and blades along with the creation of hunting and fishing. They used different types of body ornaments such as beads and pigments to show social and symbolic behavior. All these different aspects of life that human beings taught themselves has now become the base of what we use in our everyday lives. Its amazing how things evolve slowly one after another whether they are human beings or activities of human beings. They evolve after each other creating a world of technologically advanced societies.
Human migration first led to the Middle East about 40,000 years ago. And soon after into Australia about 60,000 years ago. The Americas were the latest settlement somewhere between 30,000 to 15,000 years ago. The last phase of human migration was the Pacific. After all these migrations, outcomes of these were the first human societies. These were the Paleolithic societies which only contained about 25-50 people. From these societies shaped out rules such as men hunted for food and woman were to cook and clean and take care of the family. They also shaped out rules of incest and adultery which were clearly prohibited. In our day in age now, almost 80% of people strongly believe in those rules and follow them day to day. Its amazing how we still abide by the rules that we made 100,000 years ago as it is our everyday life now. Its amazing that things like this can carry on generation after generation.
The first humans in my point of view have shaped our everyday lives. They have made a solid foundation for us and it continues now and will forever.
Human migration first led to the Middle East about 40,000 years ago. And soon after into Australia about 60,000 years ago. The Americas were the latest settlement somewhere between 30,000 to 15,000 years ago. The last phase of human migration was the Pacific. After all these migrations, outcomes of these were the first human societies. These were the Paleolithic societies which only contained about 25-50 people. From these societies shaped out rules such as men hunted for food and woman were to cook and clean and take care of the family. They also shaped out rules of incest and adultery which were clearly prohibited. In our day in age now, almost 80% of people strongly believe in those rules and follow them day to day. Its amazing how we still abide by the rules that we made 100,000 years ago as it is our everyday life now. Its amazing that things like this can carry on generation after generation.
The first humans in my point of view have shaped our everyday lives. They have made a solid foundation for us and it continues now and will forever.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
First Blog of World History I
Hello there :)
This is my first blog for this class!
Cant wait to see what everyone has to say this semester! :)
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