Reminder: thesis due Monday

You asked for a concrete example of a specific, debatable thesis based on the Narmer Palette. Here you go:

Although commonly interpreted to represent the unification of Egypt under pharaoh Menes, the Narmer Palette would be better understood as a strong reminder to subsequent dynasties that unification required the favor of the gods, forceful conquest, and submission of all to a single ruler.  Accordingly, the pharaoh's divine status was not sufficient to gain the allegiance of all. 

Old Kingdom Pyramids

When we study the pyramids, does it matter if we focus on the pharaoh or the workers who built them?

Accompanying article, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lehner-giza.html

http://www.timemaps.com/history/ancient-egypt-2500bc

Class distinctions in ancient Egypt

Scribe (record daily life of all the other workers, accounting, accounts of battle, copying other texts, writing texts). THEY CONTROL THE HISTORY, WHAT WILL BE PASSED ON.

* always work to be done

* control over your daily life and the product of your labor

* power of others, others pandering to you.

* better work than being a suffering soldier 

* hold more respect for your life than another 

* this is not manual labor, you are not physically depleted with scribe work

* preferable to washerman , pot maker, cobbler, watchman, merchant ship crew, carpenter, tax collector, field workers, soldiers, and peasants.  

* mobility (you can climb up the ranks) 

*it is a higher in the hierarchy 

Social hierarchy 

Pharaoh 

Scribe - closer connection to the pharaoh, meaning the more power and influence you have, more possessions, more property, power over the other classes (e.g.,, peasants), own slaves.

Soldiers - a means to an end, lesser "identity" than a scribe, a pawn of the pharaoh 

washerman , pot maker, cobbler, watchman, merchant ship crew, carpenter, tax collector, field workers, soldiers, and peasants.  

Laptops for Monday!

Please bring your laptop, if you have one, to class tomorrow.  I will also have some heavy books of Egyptian and Assyrian artifacts in Egypt and Iraq for those of you still searching for a suitable pairing with your OI artifact.

Your best friend for citation purposes is http://www.citationmachine.net/chicago/cite-a-book

Examples of Artifact Citations

“Egyptian Clay Model of Cattle.” In Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects (New York: Viking, 2010), pg 44.

“Model of a River Boat; Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 11-12.” Chicago Institute of Art. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/127874

"Winged Bull Relief; Neo-Assyrian, Sargon 2." Oriental Institute.  

            https://oi-idb-static.uchicago.edu/multimedia/7976/D.%20020004_A7369_050_HDR.1920x1200.jpg

World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s.v. "Assyrians depart for battle via chariot," Photos/Illustrations, Ridpath, John Clark, Ridpath's History of the World, 1901, accessed November 9, 2015. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/.

Examples of Secondary Source Book Citation (with explanatory text)

Chadwick, Robert. "The Assyrians." In First Civilizations Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt,  
            77. 2nd ed. Oakville, Conn.: Equinox Pub., 2005. Chadwick argues that Assyrian kings 
            including Assurnasirpal II used "war propaganda" . . . "to strike fear and terror" in opponents.
            Such propaganda and actual tortuous acts were intended "not only to punish those who had  
            revolted, but to frighten the leaders of other cities and regions". 

Examples of Secondary Source Article Citation 

Davis, Paul K. "Assyrian Army." In World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed November 9, 2015. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/.

Step 1 Artifact Search: Fall Quarter Research Paper Begins!

Here is the link to the handout from class today, with the hyperlinks to the galleries at the Oriental Institute as well as the articles from National Geographic, etc. regarding the endangered or destroyed cultural artifacts. All requirements and due dates are contained in this document.

Today, we began STEP ONE which requires you to (1) decide to pursue either Assyria or Egypt, (2) find an artifact you want to explore from the Oriental Institute, and (3) find a complementary artifact from Egypt or Iraq (either in a museum or in situ).  You may search the Oriental Institute from the comfort of your home using the below link and keyword search OR you may walk over there (address 1155 E. 58th).  It is closed on Mondays, open Wednesday only from 10-8, and open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10-5.  When you need to explore the underlying kingdom and time period, you should use http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Authentication/LogOn?returnUrl=%2F.  I gave you the username and password in class. 

http://oi-idb.uchicago.edu/ (Oriental Institute at University of Chicago)

Here is a book published by the Oriental Institute which contains countless Egyptian artifacts, along with secondary source material. 

http://www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MUS_Egyptian_Museum.htm (Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo) There are also a number of books which contain the collections of artifacts from the museum in Cairo.  See for example this Google Books search: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Egyptian+Treasures+from+the+Egyptian+Museum+in+Cairo+

Narmer Palatte

Visual Detective Questions to Analyze An Artifact

Directions: Look closely at the Narmer Palatte. Using the questions below, examine its various parts as well as a whole, and answer as many of the below questions WITHOUT ANY OUTSIDE RESEARCH. (Notice a few of these questions would be impossible to answer without outside research.). The goal is to figure out what the Palatte depicts, based solely on its pictorial symbols.

• Where was the artifact found?  How was it found?  With what other artifacts was it found?  How can I use the other (outside) artifacts found with this artifact to interpret it? 

• Of what is it made in terms of materials?  What is the origin (place) of those materials?  What do those materials suggest about the culture that produced it? 

• What is its size (and relative sizes within the composition)? 

• If a scene, or consisting of separate parts, what is its layout or overall organization? 

• What are the unique stylistic features? What specific details are represented? 

• What is its purpose?  Who used it? How did they use it? Why did they use it? 

• (For artifacts depicting people/animals,) what actions do the people seem to be undertaking? Who are they? What do they represent? Is any status or rank differences evident? 

• How would you describe the life ways of the "people" based on their depictions? 

http://www.ancientegypt101.com/images/narmer_palette_2b.gif  

Mesopotamia Unit Assessment on Friday, October 23

Today's unit assessment is made up of two parts.  The first part is worth 25 points, comprised of the geography exam on the Middle East (1 point each for countries and capitals and 2.5 points for landmarks) for a total of 25 points.  The second part is worth 75 points, comprised solely of your FINAL version of your essay on Mitchell's translation of Gilgamesh and Kramer's article on the Sumerians.  Remember Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, which was an ancient city of the Sumerians.