Roman Aqueducts

     Aqueducts are referred to as an advanced artificial channel or passage to transport water from another. This could be across a valley or over a river. It is exceptionally impressive because of the engineering and the process of how it is made. In historical perspective, it is believed that Assyrians started building aqueducts even before the Romans. They dug tunnels and called these “qanats.” This technique is then spread by the Assyrian ruler Sargon II in 800 BC. It supplied water in the ancient cities of Medes and Persia. Consequently, through North Africa, this technique proliferated to Spain then America. The building of Roman aqueducts is governed by Sextus Julius Frontinus, the water commissioner, in 97 C.E. He was a zealous public servant of Rome. He worked hard to know every details in building the aqueducts. The building of aqueducts is a sign of Romes increasing power and advancing technically. It is claimed that wherever Rome went, aqueducts went with them.

     Indeed, Roman Aqueducts are made up of combination of stones, bricks and volcanic cement. The waterway ran below ground. They dug channels where it is possible and convenient. Gravity plays a big role in maintaining the continuous flow of the aqueducts. This is the reason why the path of water is carefully calculated; they built a steady gradient aqueducts. It is neither too steep or too shallow for the steady flow to be maintained. If it is steep, the water will flow too fast, while if it is shallow, the deposits will build up and it will not flow properly. The idea of aqueducts fulfill the needs of the growing city. They built these waterways to supply drinking water, for sanitary purposes, public fountains, and baths.

The Egyptian Civilization

   

      The longest river flows from south to north and is responsible for creating fertile soil, which we all know, the Nile River. It floods in the late spring which deposits of silts that enhances the soil. This land is later called the “Black land” because of its dark silt color. In this land, crops grow very rich that produce generous harvest. The Nile River splits into two branches: Upper and Lower Egypt. The Upper Egypt is in the south, and the Lower Egypt which forms the delta, a triangular-shaped, is in the north. The flooding of Nile impacts the life of many in Egypt. It gives a surplus of food to them. The Nile River ,not only enriches crops, but it serves as barrier which protects from invasion and provides security. This also grants a way of trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia.

     During the Old Kingdom in 2575- 2134 BC, there is a centralized government. The two branches are ruled by one king. The Upper and Lower Egypt are made into a single kingdom. The king is expected to rule with Ma’at, it means to rule with truth and justice. It is believed that the kings are divine beings sent from the gods to rule the earth, so the people in Egypt act in harmony with the orders of the kings. The kings’ tasks are: to maintain unity of the two branches, to control trade, and to operate food distribution. The Nile River, then, is an important key to the development of Egyptian civilization.

The Development of Writing

My goal since I was growing up is to acquire learning and writing is part of it. Writing provides me a form of expression, communication, and education. Ever since the development of writing, all humankind have been benefited from it. Writing is developed in 3,000 B.C and is believed to have started in Mesopotamia. According to Dr. James Clarkson, senior lecturer in Classics at the University of Cambridge, the early people in Mesopotamia used clay because it was easy to form, to shape, and to mark on. They, also, used it for counting purposes. In 5,000 B.C, they started using cuneiform, distinguished by its “wedge-shaped” marks. It was a more advanced way of writing using clay because of the use of basalt. In ancient Egypt hieroglyphs, the combination of logo graphics and alphabetic sets, has evolved. They used papyrus, a plant which brought to us the idea of paper, brush and ink. Hieroglyphs is said to be “a simplified form to form the basis of alphabet; the origin of Hebrew and a lots of different alphabets” (Clarkson). Another alphabet is the Greek. It is consisted of different vowels or signs. It is argued that Greek alphabet to be the closest alphabet to the modern one, yet it stops on letter “T.”  The Greek alphabet is borrowed by the Romans and translated it to Latin letters; all in capital letters which eventually refined to a modern alphabet.

The development of writing gave the early people the opportunity to keep records which is carried through generation to generation. It is interesting to know the history of writing because it gives information on how it was discovered. Because of writing, it enables me to acquire knowledge, to record information, most especially, to share this blog to you.

Work Cited:
Clarkson, James. “The Story of How We Got Our Alphabets.” BBC News. BBC, 18 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2013.

Emergence of Civilization

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Not too long ago after the Neolithic revolution, civilization emerged. As the population became complex, many cultures came into being and cities were settled. There are three main components that make up civilization these are: cities, monumental architecture, and writing. At least 10,000 people make up a city. In that city political, social, cultural, etc. were established. Monumental architectures was also sign that civilization was emerging. It was a form of cultural expression and proved that the early people were innovative. And lastly, writing. This was used mostly by the individuals who were in the hierarchy such as kings, priests, and merchants to keep records. This was developed through taxation. But why did civilization occur?

Many people tried to identify the causes of civilization, but they have different studies about why it occurred. Some scholars claimed material forces like gathering food which gave way of specializing labor and development of larger communities. This led to creation of  bureaucratic control to civilization. Also, historians asserted religious forces moved people to work together on organizing activities. While other scholars doubted that early people were incapable of discovering early civilization. The reasons to why it occurred may left unclear, but what is important is that early civilization explains how things came to be.

Turning Point in the History

Neolithic Revolution (10,000 BC-4,000 BC)

In 8,000 BC, the neolithic people developed the cultivation of fields and domestication of animals. But how and why the did neolithic revolution occur? According to the Population Pressure Hypothesis, the population increased when the climate was warm, which then resulted in a scarcity of the food source. The expansion of population made the neolithic people adapt in a new way for their survival. The decrease of food made the neolithic people think of different options to have a steady food source, so they started planting grains, mainly wheat and barley , to secure their supply of food. They also started taming animals; this gave them source of meat, milk, and wool for clothing. The change enabled the Neolithic people to stop hunting for food and get settled in their communities (Duiker and Spielvogel 9). The Neolithic Revolution introduced the development of agriculture; it is the most important change to the human history. 

During the Neolithic revolution, it is believed that agriculture started in the Middle East, and later spread to other areas of the world. The shift from hunter-gatherers to farmers led them to develop better tools and weapons. They began to make pots for cooking, baskets for storing food, and stone tools for cultivating the fields. This change, though, had a consequence for both men and women. It developed a division of labor. In Paleolithic age, both men and women had to hunt food for their survival. But during Neolithic age, men were in charge of the farming and herding which they played a dominant role as the head of the family. While women stayed in the villages and were responsible for household chores such as  weaving, cloth, making cheese, and caring for the children (Duiker and Spielvogel 11).

The Neolithic revolution is very important to the human history because it led to the development of technology. The dominant role of men in the Neolithic revolution brought us the idea of patriarchy that once dominated in our society. But most importantly, it is agriculture that is the most essential contribution to us. This affects me personally because without the development of farming and the domestication of animals I would be one of the hunter-gatherers who lives in a nomadic lifestyle. The Neolithic revolution has an impact on my life and to the entire human race. Really, then, the Neolithic revolution was a doorway to civilization.

 

Work Cited

Duiker, William J., and Jackson S. Spielvogel. World History. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.