Bronze Age Aegean

 Aegean Civilizations

(Minoans, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans, and Hebrews)

MINOANS OF CRETE

Palace of Knossos. Ancient Greece, http://www.ancient-greece.org/images/ancient-        sites/knossos/, 13 February 2014.

Minoan Bull Leaping Fresco.  Boundless,

 https://www.boundless.com/art-history/aegean-civilizations/the-minoans/painting--2/, 13 February 2014.

This fresco, part of the Palace of Knossos in Crete, Greece, was painted about 1400 BCE. It offers one of many depictions of the ancient practice of bull-leaping.

Phoenicians - "Carriers of Civilization" 

The First Great Navigators

Creators of our alphabet

Phoenician Alphabet

Phoenician, http://www.phoenician.org/alphabet.htm, 14 February 2014.

   

Phoenician Ship Coin. Wild Winds, http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/phoenicia/tyre/t.html, 14 February 2014.

  MYCENAEANS OF GREECE
The historical time and places 
of The Iliad and The Odyssey

Lion’s Gate at Citadel of Mycenae. 

Great Buildings, http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/lion_gate.html, 14 February 2014.

 The Eighth Grade ancient history scholars are exploring the historical settings for Homer’s epics.  As they read the Odyssey in English class, they are following Heinrich Schliemann on his search for Troy and Mycenae and Sir Arthur Evans as he “recreates” Knossos.  They are discovering the ties between myth, legend, place names, and history in these cultures, the root cultures of ancient Greece.

The Mask of Agamemnon, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MaskOfAgamemnon.jpg, 27 January 2021.

Ancient Hebrews         

Hebrew scroll. Photos,  http://www.photos.com/images-photo/torah, 14 February 2014.

Menorah, Dreamtime, https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/menorah.html, 12 February 2010.

   

Hinduism and Buddhism Basics

 Prepare for the in-class essay test 

You will write a comparison essay that will explain key information about these two religions and explain how they are the same and how they are different. You will have a word bank to use as you write your essay.

Use to study:  H. & B. Review Chart
                       Your outline notes and textbook
                       Categorizing Practice
                       Venn Diagram
                       The videos below

THANK YOU, MRS. ST.GERMAIN!

We appreciate all of the information she shared with our class about Hinduism and growing up in Nepal.  She made everything much clearer and really helped us understand!

Hinduism Interview

 

Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization

                                    

Eighth Grade Ancient History Scholars are exploring the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro on the Indus River.  Perhaps one of them will decode the unreadable Harappan script and unlock this fascinating culture.
Check out these links and videos they have been using to explore the Indus culture.

Simple Information - BBC Bitesize            
Slide Shows: Harappa.com

MR. NICKY!

Creating Cuneiform Clay Tablets and 

Indus Valley Cylinder Seals

After examining a replica of a Babylonian school boy's practice tablet, the students created their own cunieform tablet or cylinder seal. Using the earliest known complete alphabet system, called the Ugaritic alphabet, the 8th grade ancient history scholars used these fourteenth century BCE symbols to write a message about Mesopotamia on clay.  Ask an eighth grader why it was like reading license plates! They are not ready to give up their laptops.

The ancient history scholars also create Indus Valley cylinder seals - examples of which are key pieces of evidence that the Mesopotamian and Indus Valley civilizations traded with one another.