Name _________________________________
Project due: Monday, October 1st.
Create a Civilization
Now that we know the characteristics of the beginning major civilizations, it’s time to create our very
own civilizations. Your group is going to create your own civilization from the ground up. Please use your
history textbooks, SCOS, and reputable sources as references to check the accuracy of your information.
All information should be located on your project so the people viewing it can learn about your
civilization. When researching for your civilization keep in mind the ancient civilizations we have
covered, use them as models for how you develop your made up civilization.
Requirements
*Population-How many people live in your civilization? Hint: between 500-10,000
would be a manageable number. Figure out what your civilization’s population is like. Describe the basic
make-up of males and females, children, elders and how each group is regarded. What kind of roles do
males and females have, etc.
*Geography- Pick a location to build your civilization. You can pick any place on Earth,
but make sure that you can explain these two things about your location:
How will this location be advantageous for defense against attacks? This aspect of the project will
interrelate when you create your map. So you will need to make sure that whatever location you
choose, it is portrayed accurately in your project. For example, if your civilization exists in present day
Russia, then you need to make sure that you portray it as a cold climate, and what kind of lifestyle exists
in that type of climate.
1. How will this location sustain crops and livestock?
2. How will this location be advantageous for defense against attacks?
*Map-After you have chosen your territory for your civilization, then you need to map
out your territory. You should draw an aerial map of your civilization that shows where
the following things are:
1. market
2. temple
3. town square
4. villages (houses)
5. farmland (see stable food supply for specifics)
6. roads-(names)
7. government buildings (palace, court, capital)
-each one needs to be clearly labeled and the key should be used for clarity.
-Make sure that the Map is detailed with rivers/oceans/forests /mountains depending on your
civilzation’s geography.
-Map should be no larger than a 18x24 poster board.
-Your map should be colorful and descriptive…the landscape should be drawn out clearly, so that I can
see how everything is laid out.
*Name-Come up with a name for your civilization. Give a brief explanation describing how your group
came up with that name, and its meaning.
Primary Source You must provide a primary source on the due date (Oct 5th)
•
Primary Source Artifacts can include but are not limited to:
o
Clothing
o
Pottery
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Jewelry
o
Letters
o
Paintings
o
Cave art
-The primary source artifact that you choose must relate to your civilization. If for example, you are
modeling your civilization after Ancient Mesopotamia, then you should research the different
artwork/jewelry/clothing that was used at the time, and use that as a guide for how you can create your
primary source artifact.
*Flag-Design a flag that your civilization could carry into battle. Your flag can be drawn
on paper or you could chose to make it from cloth. Be creative with this; you can pick a variety of
designs and colors to showcase your civilization. It should be detailed and representative of what your
civilization stands for. The Flag should be no larger than an 8x10 posterboard.
*Stable food supply-name at least 3 crops you are going to grow and at least 2 animals
that you are going to raise.
*Specialization of labor-describe at least 5 jobs that people would need to do in your
civilization. Include the job title (scribe, farm hand, and canal digger), job description (what
will the person be expected to do in this job?) and salary (what will they receive for their work?) Make
sure to differentiate between jobs that women would perform, and ones that men would be expected
to do.
*System of government-you need to decide what type of government your civilization
will be using. You have 4 choices:
1. Monarchy-government in which a royal family rules the nation (King-Queen)
2. Oligarchy-government in which a small group of “important” people rule a nation
3. Democracy-government in which people make important decisions for their own nation; this is usually
done through representatives
4. Theocracy-government in which a God or gods rule through people because the whole
country shares the same religion; this is usually done through priests.
After choosing a form of government answer these questions:
1. Why did you choose this type of government?
2. How will the government run in a manner that helps the civilization?
*Social Levels/Classes-Create a flow chart that illustrates the social classes of your Civilization. You can
divide it up by jobs, age, or any other way a society might be subdivided.
You need at least 3 different tiers in your flow chart. Your flow chart will also explain why you put each
group in their position.
------What is the name of the civilization?
o
What does the community look like?
o
What are the rules of society?
o
Who is in charge?
o
System of government-you need to decide what type of government your civilization
What happens when someone breaks a rule?
Details about Civilization
o
How will this location be advantageous for defense against attacks?
o
What type of people live there
o
Symbols for expression
Alphabet
Art
Social Levels/Classes
Music- Write a song/rap -about your civilization. You will make a video recording of you performing your
song. Your song/rap video must be 1:30 to 2:00 minutes in length. You will post this video on YouTube
and upload it to the playlist apworld24. More directions to come, about posting the video. Include some
of these topics in your song:
-name of civilization
-population
-geography
-names of some crops
-names of some animals
-type of government—important people
-names of gods
Laws- Come up with at least 10 laws that your society will have to follow. Make sure
you include a punishment to match each law. Devise a plan to inform every person about
the laws (tablets, statue). A good reference for this part of the project would be the Code of
Hammurabi. Keep in mind that in some cases, even though the rules were basic, punishments tended to
be severe…try to be accurate in portraying how someone would be dealt with if they committed a crime
at that time.
Short Paper: Each person in the group will write a short, 1 page paper, drawing comparisons between
the civilization that your group created and two ancient civilizations that it compares to. This paper
should sufficiently compare and contrast your civilization to two ancient civilization by drawing
comparisons between the social classes, government, types of jobs, food planning(whether it be
farming, hunting, etc.) These are just a few areas you can focus on…if you want to focus on the
geography, or religious beliefs you can do so, just make sure that you can compare/contrast in the 1
page limit. Make sure that you cite specific examples so that you can you can prove how they are similar
and different. Your paper should have a clear thesis statement in your introduction paragraph, a topic
sentence for each paragraph, ample examples, and a properly formed conclusion that pulls everything
together.
Grading : Rubric with details describing how the project will be graded.