Lesson Purpose
The mysterious pyramids of Ancient Egypt, the Great Wall of China, and the beauty of Machu Picchu (an old Incan city in Peru) are all impressive remnants left behind by some of the world's ancient agrarian civilisations. But not every civilisation has left behind such noticeable clues. In fact, many artefacts from agrarian civilisations fade away with time. But the clues that remain become important windows to the past. Researchers in a variety of disciplines such as history and archaeology use both written record and historical artefacts to pose, analyse, and answer questions about the past. As you will see, written record is of particular importance. Unlike other species, writing gives us the ability to preserve and pass on large amounts of information from one generation to the next. With this ability comes incredible power.
The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To understand the similarities and differences between the lifestyles of hunter-gatherers and farmers; 2.) To understand what scholars from multiple disciplines know about agriculture and civilisation and the information they can derive from them using an integrated perspective.
The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To understand the similarities and differences between the lifestyles of hunter-gatherers and farmers; 2.) To understand what scholars from multiple disciplines know about agriculture and civilisation and the information they can derive from them using an integrated perspective.
Activity 1 - Social Status, Power, and Human Burials
Activity Objectives
This activity provides you with an opportunity to start thinking about the impact that farming can have on the way humans live and relate to each other. It will also allow you to think about the kinds of questions archaeologists and historians might ask when they must rely upon artefacts rather than written evidence to learn about the past. Activity Tasks
|
|
Activity 2 - Intro to History
History is the study of the past, but it is more than the simple memorization of dates, names, and places. Historians learn about the past by collecting evidence and asking questions in order to build a better understanding of the past.
|
Activity Objectives
In this video, Professor Bob Bain describes the discipline of history. It’s important for you to understand how historians use evidence to re-create the past. Activity Tasks
|
Activity 3 - "Recordkeeping and History"
Activity Objectives
It’s important for you to learn about how writing allowed for a significant acceleration in collective learning because it enabled humans to save and share information across generations. Activity Tasks
|
Activity 4 - What do you know? What do you ask?
Activity Objectives
Historians study very different kinds of evidence from that studied by geologists or chemists, and their questions about evidence can be very different as well. Historical evidence poses some new but very interesting interdisciplinary challenges. In this activity, you will decide what kinds of questions scholars from different disciplines might ask about a piece of evidence that is clearly chosen from the discipline of history. Activity Tasks
|
Activity 5 - Migrations and Intensification: Crash Course
Activity Objectives
Crash Course Big History Episode #7. In this video, John and Hank Green talk about how humans migrated from Africa to the rest of the Earth. Some results of these migrations were increased populations, more innovations, and a huge increase in collective learning. This video should help you understand how the agrarian era began, and also how migration can increase complexity, change culture, and most of all, increase knowledge around the world. Today, migrations are still a catalyst for these types of changes, and it’s important to understand the effects of the movement of people around the globe. Activity Tasks
|
After early humans migrated out of Africa into other parts of the world, farming societies popped up all over the Earth. These agrarian societies were able to support many more people than in the days of foraging, and the increased number of people increased collective learning around the world. Increased collective learning led to more innovation, the spread of knowledge, and even more people. However, this increase also led to humans depleting their resources and causing cycles of population decline and rise due to the limited carrying capacity of the Earth and the increased complexity in the world.
|
Activity 6 - The Driving Question Notebook
Activity Objectives
At the start of the unit, you looked at the driving question without much to go on. Now that the unit is almost over, you will revisit the driving question. This time, you should cite specific passages and evidence from the content in the unit that provide insights into answering the driving question. Activity Tasks
|
Activity 7 - The Origin of Agriculture in Africa
Activity Objectives
This reading helps you gain an understanding of agriculture’s delayed origins in sub-Saharan Africa. You will learn the answer to this important question: Widely known as the cradle of civilization, why wasn’t this area of Africa also the site where agriculture was first developed, rather than the Fertile Crescent? Activity Tasks
|
Activity 8 - Little Big History: Research Questions
Activity Objectives
For this activity, you will explore the questions you might answer in researching your Little Big History project. This is an important step in the process and will keep you focused on completing the task and working toward completing your Little Big Histories. Activity Tasks
|
Activity 9 - The Rise, Fall, and Collapse of Civilisations
Activity Objectives
In this activity, you will explore the rise, fall, and collapse of civilizations. In particular,you will examine three theories of why civilizations collapse. This will help you understand that civilizations don’t always end for the same reason, and that multiple viewpoints can be taken for explaining the ending of civilizations. Understanding how to analyse the end of civilizations is an important skill for students of history and historians, and can also help to forecast how modern societies might end. Activity Tasks
|
Investigation 7 - Was Farming an Improvement over Foraging?
Investigation Objectives
Your job in this investigation is to develop your own ideas about quality of life and apply these ideas to what we know about the lives of hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists. You will be using a variety of different texts and images to compare these contrasting ways of life. Some of the sources you examine will offer very direct opinions. Other sources will require you to think about how they relate to the question. In the end, we hope you will be able to use the evidence provided and your own visions of what makes a good life to form your own view. Investigation Tasks You will create either a PowerPoint presentation or poster on the question: 'Was Farming an Improvement over Foraging?', using evidence of hunter-gatherer and farming lifestyles. Complete the following steps to finish your investigation:
|
Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities
1. A short intro to methods, materials, and questions that make up the discipline of history.
2. The written word was invented independently and at different times by four distinct groups around the world: Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, and Mesoamericans.
3. Need to brush up on your ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics?
2. The written word was invented independently and at different times by four distinct groups around the world: Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, and Mesoamericans.
3. Need to brush up on your ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics?