NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
Date:________________
Civilization Creation Project
This overview can be found at www.tellezworld.wikispaces.com
Overview:
Civilizations and empires have come and gone throughout our World History. Each
Civilization is unique and the impacts each had on the world are as diverse as the civilizations
themselves. In groups of four to five, you will have the opportunity to create a civilization from
scratch. Your civilization will be based on the same five characteristics that all civilizations are
based on: 1) advanced cities 2) specialized workers 3) complex institutions 4) record keeping 5)
advanced technology. Your group goal is to create a presentation of your civilization that
demonstrates all five of these characteristics at work in your civilization (group part worth
50% of your grade). Also, each person in your group will focus on one of the five areas and
write a two page essay on that characteristic (50% of your grade). Below you will see a
description of what your individual essay must include. Also below you will see each of the five
characteristics broken down into what sort of things you want to create for your civilization as
well as some websites to begin your research. The idea is to look at historical examples of your
characteristic and use them to create it for your own civilization. Your civilization can be
presented in any format such as a documentary video, PowerPoint presentation, poster boards,
or whatever you can come up with (as long as it is approved by Mr. Tellez). YOUR INDIVIDUAL
ESSAY AND GROUP PRESENTATION ARE DUE ON WEDNESDAY 9/26 (Thursday Workers) and
THURSDAY 9/27 (Tuesday Workers). DO NOT FORGET TO NAME YOUR CIVILIZATION!
The Five Characteristics of a Civilization (50% of your grade):
1. Advanced Cities:
The city has been and still is the focal point of all civilizations. Your task as your
civilizations’ city expert is to create an advanced city where your civilization can expand and
become a dominating world power. This section is for the person in the group who is either the
artist or an expert at designing on the computer. In the presentation you will include a detailed
map of your advanced city and you will walk the class through each part of the city, what its’
function is, and what makes your civilization’s city unique from the others. Below is the
minimum of what your city design must include as well as some sites to get you started on your
civilizations city planning process.
Page 1 of 6
NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
Date:________________
City Must Include:
Food Sources (Farming), Raw Materials (Building Materials), Luxury Goods (for example
Gold or Wine), Unique Housing to you Civilization, Religious buildings representing your
civilizations religion, Government Buildings that reflect your government, Military Buildings and
Defenses, Scholarly Buildings such as Schools and Libraries, Markets to trade goods, roads and
pathways, and finally some sort of building or buildings that are unique to your civilization.
Some Websites to Get You Started:
1. A Look at some Ancient Greek Cities: http://www.sikyon.com/index.html
2. A look at some unique cities with unique architecture:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-13-incredible-snapshots-lost-ancient-cities
3. Examples of Ancient Cities: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/categories/ancient-cities
4. A site discussing how to draw a fictional city: http://www.ehow.com/how_2101149_draworiginal-fantasy-maps-fiction.html
5. Parts of City Design: http://www.carfree.com/design/
2. Specialized Workers:
As cities developed and became advanced cities with centers of trade, a multitude of
craftsman, artisans, and specialized workers were created to meet the new needs of civilization.
Your task as your civilizations labor expert is to develop a unique set of specialized workers for
your society. Every Ancient civilization developed workers who became experts in their field,
for example the Phoenicians were expert ship builders while on the other hand Mesopotamians
were expert metal workers. Your task is to create three different kinds of specialized
workers/artisans for your civilization. What will your people become experts at? What sort of
goods will you produce with these workers to trade on the global market? Your part of the
presentation will involve describing each specialized worker, what they make, how they make
it, and why you chose to specialize in what you did. You also need to include some sort of
illustration, either of your worker at work or of the finished products. Do not forget about your
individual written portion. You may want to collaborate with your advanced technology expert
because you might have a worker that produces a product that was created through advanced
technology.
Some Websites to Get You Started:
1. http://www.slideshare.net/LagARM/egypt-presentation-presentation (go to section on
workers)
2. http://history-world.org/indus_valley.htm (Indus River Valley History, go to section on workers)
Page 2 of 6
NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
Date:________________
3. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/08/25/pm-survey-shows-world-shortage-ofspecialized-labor/ (article on the role of specialized workers today)
4. http://www.history.com/ (on the History Channel Website, you can search any of the civilizations we
have discussed and find information in their histories on specialized workers)
3. Complex Institutions:
As work became more specialized and advanced cities grew, there was a growing need
for institutions that would maintain order, safety, and happiness among such large populations.
Complex Institutions were meant from the start to accomplish this goal and the very first two
put in place were government and Religion. Your task as the complex institution expert, is to
outline how these institutions will look and function in your new and emerging civilization.
Your Government Must Include (at minimum):
1. A leader, what will your leader be called and how will he be chosen?
2. Explain what kind of power the general population will have in your society.
3. Who will control the military and how will it be used?
4. What are your top five laws and punishments?
5. Create an illustration symbolizing your government or leader or both.
Your Religion Must Include (at minimum):
1. What will your religion be called and what role will it play in your society (affect on the
people)?
2. What is the name of your God or Gods and what are they Gods of (if there are multiple)
3. Is your religion and government connected? Why or why not?
4. A image or illustration symbolizing your religion.
Some Websites to Get You Started:
1. http://www.history.com/ (search any civilization to find information on government or
religion)
2. http://worldhistorysite.com/r&fCivI.html (a history of government)
3. http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html (map showing spread of religion)
4. http://www.skotos.net/articles/playing18.phtml (history of theocracy)
Page 3 of 6
NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
Date:________________
4. Record Keeping:
Early civilizations quickly discovered that as they grew in size, they also grew in
complexity. In order to sort out the jumbled mess that is an early civilization, there must be a
clear record keeping system. Everything from trade and the economy to laws and history must
be recorded. Your task as the record keeping expert is to develop a system of writing for your
civilization and then put it to use with some of your day to day needs.
Your Record System Must Include (at minimum):
1. An entire alphabet side by side with the English alphabet so we can translate your language.
2. A sample of your civilizations writing showing its use in conducting trade
3. A sample of your civilizations writing showing some of your important laws (see complex
institution expert)
4. A sample of your civilizations writing of your own choosing (story, song, history, etc.)
Some Websites to Get You Started:
1. http://www.ancientscripts.com/cuneiform.html (history of cuneiform)
2. http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/hieroglyphs.html (history of hieroglyphics)
3. http://www.historian.net/hxwrite.htm (history of writing)
4. http://www.history.com/ (The History Channel Website is a great search engine)
5. Advanced Technology:
Last but not least, your civilization will be remembered in the history books for the way
it changes the world for generations to come. This change will come in the form of technology
which will be used and adopted by civilizations for centuries to come. As your civilizations
technology expert, you will design a series of inventions that will propel your civilization
forward and beyond.
Your Advanced Technology Must Include (at minimum):
1. One example of technology from your civilization that will affect transportation (how it works
and an illustration)
2. One example of technology from your civilization that will affect warfare (how it works and
an illustration)
3. One example of technology from your civilization that will affect living/living conditions (how
it works and an illustration)
4. One example of technology of your own choosing (how it works and an illustration)
Page 4 of 6
NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
Date:________________
Some Websites to Get You Started:
1. http://library.thinkquest.org/J002046F/technology.htm (Egyptian Technology)
2. http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/harappa-mohenjodaro.html (history of the
Harrappan that discusses technology)
3. http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/inventions.html (Mesopotamian Inventions)
4. http://www.history.com/ (Great Search Engine)
Individual Essay (50% of your grade):
Now that you have created everything involved with your characteristic of your
civilization, you will now look at your characteristic more in depth. In 1 ½ to 2 pages, you will
write about and research the following elements of your characteristic.
1. What role does your characteristic play in your civilization? What is its purpose and
function? What sort of impact does it have on your society? (8 Points)
2. Provide three examples of your characteristic in civilizations in history AND explain
the impact on those culture’s societies. For example if your characteristic was record
keeping then you one of your examples might be cuneiform in Sumerian cities. (18
Points)
3. Where do we see your characteristic at work today in American society? What
impact does it have on your everyday life today? (8 Points)
4. Why in the end, is your characteristic one of the five essential characteristics of
having a civilization? (8 Points)
5. What is the one lesson you have learned from this project that you will never forget
and why? (8 Points)
*Above, you will see the point values for each of the five essay components.
Notice that the examples portion is worth significantly more than others.*
Civilization Creation Rubric
Group Portion (50 Points Total)
Portions/Part
0-2 Points
3-4 Points
5-6 Points
Page 5 of 6
7-8 Points
9-10 Points
Totals
NAME:_____________________________ Period:_________
1. Advanced
City
One or none
of the
portion’s
components
are present.
No clear
evidence of
team
collaboration.
2. Specialized
Workers
Same as that
for
“Advanced
City”
Same as that
for
“Advanced
City”
Same as that
for
“Advanced
City”
Same as that
for
“Advanced
City”
Even though
disjointed at
times, the
group at
some levels
demonstrated
an ability to
create a
cohesive
presentation.
3. Complex
Institutions
4. Record
Keeping
5. Advanced
Technology
Additional
Points for
Outstanding
Presentation
Cohesiveness
Some of the
portion’s
components
are present
but not all.
The
presenter is
confident on
some but not
all of his
points. Little
effort of
collaboration
with the
team
Clear Project
portion with
the majority
but not all of
the required
components.
Demonstrated
that the team
all had the
same goal in
vision in
mind, an
overall clear
and unified
presentation.
Page 6 of 6
Date:________________
Included all
the project
portion
components
and
demonstrated
a firm
understanding
of the subject.
Not only
demonstrates
a firm
understanding
of the
component
and includes
all of the
components
but has gone
beyond the
minimum
requirements
and
demonstrated
an extreme
effort.
Demonstrated
an excellent
team effort
and it is clear
throughout
the
presentation
that the team
is on the same
page.