Lesson Plans Provided by Andrea at Epic Homeschool Mentoring

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Week 4: Writing and Toilets 2500 BC

Ancient History Resources for Homeschool and Personal Study. This weeks topics: Rulers, Skara Brae, Harappa Culture, Cush and the Paleo Japanese

Ancient History is studied through the collection of archeological evidence, written records and oral stories or myths. Just because evidence shows a particular belief or custom was common at a particular time does not mean that everyone in that civilization shared that belief. When you study the topics for this week, you can either go deep on one topic for the week and skip the others or you can do a new topic each day. This outline is just a suggested pace, you can go slower or faster as needed. This outline is intended to provide you with a place to start. You will still need to do your own research.

Priest/King Statue found at Mohenjo-Daro

Homeschool Topics for Week 4

Rulers

Skara Brae

India: Harappa Culture

Africa: Cush

Paleo-Japanese

Discussion Questions

Rulers

Ku-Baba Queen of Kish
Ku-Baba is the only Queen who ruled in her own name. Other women were queens only because they married kings. Not much is known about her, but the fact that she held a position of power challenges modern ideas of male dominance.

Sargon the Great
Sargon united the various Mesopotamian cities. But people in those cities considered him a foreigner and rebelled. His exploits are celebrated on the Nippur Inscription. I like the braided hair on the head attributed to Sargon. His grandson had a Ox-head helmet in his victory Stella and I like to think about these kinds of details when I research ancient leaders. The Ox was a symbol of strength in the Semitic alphabet and Sargon was apparently Semitic.

Enheduana, Priestess of Moon-God Nanna
Enheduana wrote forty-two hymns that were used in the temple. The moon was an important reference point for telling time and the elite controlled their world with these calculations. Most writing was unattributed but Enheduanna's hymns bear her name. Read some hymns here
Proverbs from Ki-en-gir
Read ancient Sumerian proverbs here

Skara Brae

Skara Brae is an ancient village of about ten houses sunk into the ground for shelter from the weather. Additional buildings may have been eroded by the sea and some may still be covered by soil in nearby fields. Artifacts found at the site include necklaces made from animal teeth and bone, or pins of walrus ivory, awls, needles, knives and shovels. The houses that have been excavated have toilets which is very unusual for the age of the site. 

India: Harappa Culture

Mohenjo-Daro is the ancient city that shows the best of the Harappan civilization. The city shows evidence of civil engineering and urban planning. There is one well for every three houses. Each house is part of a network of sewer drains that remove waste. A granary and a public bath are unique features of the city. Check out some artifacts from the Harappa Culture.

Lothal is an ancient Harappan city with the earliest known mud brick wharf. The city was a prosperous port that traded in gold, copper and precious stones. Artifacts have been found proving that the level of science and engineering in this civilization. See photos of Lothal here.

Africa: Cush

The domestication of the donkey was a major economic advantage that the Africans contributed to world civilizations. Donkeys are seen in ancient drawings and figurines carrying two containers that are often bag-shaped. Donkeys can carry a heavier load for longer than a horse or cow. Donkeys facilitated trade of commodities through the known world. See ancient donkey figurines explained by archeological experts here. 

Paleo-Japanese

The Jomon culture was a civilization where hunter gatherer peoples found it profitable to stay in one place and started making pottery that would have been hard to carry around if they were nomadic. The Jomon people apparently domesticated the first peach tree. Folk stories of Emperor Jimmu are believed to originate in this period although no one is sure if Jimmu was a real person or not.

Resources:

Books (all links go to Goodreads)


Free E-Books

Videos

Japanese Mythology: The Godly Ancestors of Jimmu, the First Japanese Emperor


Who was the World's First Author? A TED-Ed presentation about Enheduanna


Activities

1. Make a drawing of a donkey caravan or add a donkey to your blank notebook with the black paper referred to in week 1.

2. Using clay, make wedge shaped marks making a message.

3. Make a peach pie or peach cobbler

4. Learn about the phases of the moon. How does the moon relate to months of the year that have different numbers of days. Why do humans always see one side of the moon and never the other side of the moon? Make a moon calendar to mark on which day the full moon rises.

5. Compare the status of women in Sumer to today. Would you describe the ideal woman the same way they did? (See this article on women in Mesopotamia)

6. Weave a plastic sleeping mat. Instructions in this YouTube video


Image Credit: National Museum, Karachi / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain