The Phoenicians traded throughout the Mediterranean Sea and
beyond. They were the most skilled sailors of their time. The first
ships relied on rowers and did not have sails. They also lacked
rudders for steering. By about 700 B.C., though, the Phoenicians
had made advances. They added long steering oars in the back
and a single sail, which could catch the wind and move the ship
forward. Captains came to rely on the sails, though rowers had to
work when the weather was calm or when the wind was not
blowing from behind the ship.
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS
1) What is the advantage of having a sail on the ship?
2) What is another advancement created by the Phonecians that
we still use today?
The excerpt below describes farming in ancient Egypt.
Farmers in ancient Egypt developed a system of watering their fields
using the water from the Nile River. They built dams and dug ditches or
canals to move the water into their fields. The farmers also built
reservoirs in which they collected water. They raised water from the
pools into the irrigation ditches with a shaduf, a weighted pole with a
bucket on one end. The bucket was filled with water and then swung
around and emptied into the irrigation ditch. This technology continues
to be used in many parts of the Middle East to increase the amount of
arable land.
1) According to the excerpt, what technology is being used?
2) How did this technology contribute to later societies?
This document provides information about Egyptian pyramids.
Pyramids were built as a final resting place for the ka, or spirit, of
the pharaoh. The embalmed body of the pharaoh was placed in a
special room within the pyramid. Also in the room were gold,
jewels, chariots, statues, and other objects the pharaoh might
need in the afterlife. Pyramids were built of huge blocks of stone
that were moved into place by groups of peasants and other
workers. The government organized and directed these
armies of workers.
Source: Bech, Black, Krieger, Naylor, Shabaka, World History: Patterns of Interaction, McDougal
Littell, 1999 (adapted)
1)Why were the pyramids built?
2) How were the pyramids built?
We know about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt because of the
written records that were left. These records were kept in
hieroglyphics, a system of writing that was based on pictures.
Unlike Sumerian cuneiform writing, hieroglyphics represented ideas
or objects but could also stand for sounds. They could be carved
into clay or stone but could also be written onto papyrus,
the first paper which was developed by the Egyptians which made it
easier to keep records.
1) How was hieroglyphics different then cuneiform?
2) What invention did Egyptians develop which made keeping
records in hieroglyphics easier?
To the King my lord, thy servant Arad-Nana . . .
To reduce the general inflammation of his [the patient’s]
forehead I tied a bandage upon it. His face is swollen. Yesterday as
formerly I opened the wound which had been received in the
midst of it. As for the bandage which was over the swelling,
matter was upon the bandage the size of the
tip of the little finger. Thy gods, if they can restore unto him the
wholeflesh of his body, cause thou to invoke, and his mouth will
cry; “Peace forever! May the heart of the king my lord be good!”
He will live seven oreight days.
—letter from an Assyrian physician, c. 600s BC
1. What type of technology is discussed in this letter?
2) How might this technology affected life in Assyria?