Natural Features

How do natural features such as rivers, lakes and mountains help unite people or keep them isolated from each other?

- Natural features of the land can do so much for a civilization, either make it or break it. Natural resources can unite people because when people need resources they will try to use them to their benefit. So they can sometimes unite at the source of what they need. Yet saying that, when people need something and there is not enough of everyone, conflict can be made. Though sometimes when there is a problem that needs to be resolved people, through trying to solve a problem, are united. However, similar to the idea of uniting at a source, sometimes people react differently. Instead of uniting people it can split them apart, fighting can be created and sides can be taken because some people might have different views on how something should be done. Sometimes these features can isolate people but this isolation can actually be beneficial. An example of this is a desert, the desert may actually cut off the people from connection but it can also help them from evading civilizations. While people try to attack a city that is surrounded by desert it is not really a wise choice since the desert is quite hard to cross. Yet being surrounded by desert can also be bad for the inhabitants in the city because it can be hard to transport water and trading is cut off.

Another way natural features can unite people or isolate them from each other is that there is a difference when you have a civilization that is near a river rather than when you have one near a mountains. A civilization that is near a river is going to unite people more because of the fact that trade will be easier along a river, and since a river is a good resource there will probably be a few plentiful cities to trade with. An example of this is ancient Egypt in which the river Nile played a big part in trade and the communication of Egypt with other cities. Yet when you have a civilization that is near, or between mountains, communication and trade is not going to be as easy. The civilization is going to be very cut off from trade and uniting with people is going to be very hard. Natural features can be very influential on the actions of people, be them good or bad.

A trip down the Nile

The boat slowly rocks back and forth as we glide down the river Nile.

The breeze pushes us slowly along, my black hair is mussed by the wind, like an invisible hand, and the soft linen of my dress swirls around me. As I lift my hand to my neck and fondle the blue stone of my necklace, I hear the cries and orders of the servants.

Yet, at the head of the boat and surrounded by beauty, I am too occupied to acknowledge them.

I see the rich, black silt from the recent summer rains, and the farm plots that spring up all

over the banks of the Nile. We glissade past a lone fisher boat, and the man waves at me, his skinny hand moving in the wind similarly to that of the papyrus reeds. We are travelling north to Giza in Lower Egypt, and on the lengthy Nile the trip seems endless. The gentle movement of the boats makes my eyelids feel heavy and I fall into a peaceful sleep.

There is a soft voice talking to me, and as I rise, I see Hapi, the god of the Nile. He is

singing to himself the ancient prayer of Hapi. I look at him apprehensively, trying to show utmost respect. Yet he simply smiles at me and walks away, leaving in his trail the rich earth, which draws so many to our great Nile. Only then do I notice I am lying in a field of wheat, on the banks of the Nile, and see my boat pass me quite quickly. I panic, am I stuck here? Nonetheless with the sweet smell of grass, the lovely music of the waves nearby and the warm breeze, I can not help but to fall asleep again.

Suddenly, I awaken for the second time, and find myself where I started, at the bow of the boat. Only now it is darker and the surroundings are more familiar to me. Turning my head I see one of my servants hurrying towards me, and she says in a tired voice, "Princess, I have been looking for you everywhere, we have arrived!"

5 questions in mummies

Imagine you were a Archaeologist searching for the possible site of where an important mummy may lie, what questions must you ask yourself to maybe see if the sight location is possible for mummies:

1. If the climate arid? Often easy to preserve bodies in a climate that is arid.
2. Does the religion practice embalming the corpse?
3. Does the culture believe in the afterlife?
4. Is the climate cold? Possible that a mummy was frozen beneath the ground.
5. Is their any history of mummies found in this area?
6. Particular weather patterns or ceremonies?
7. A religious leader that I am able to talk to?

<---- A picture of the sarcophagus of King Tut

More questions on Mummies

Questions:

In what parts of the world have mummies been found?

Mummies have been found in places like northern Chile, England, northern Europe, northwestern China, Egypt (This is where most people associate mummies with) , Australia, Alaska, Austrian-Italian border (A very well-known mummy named Otzi was found here) and Japan (Buddhist monks that starved themselves and were preserved by candles) .

In what types of places ( physical geography and climate) have mummies been found?

The types of physical geography that mummies have been found in includes mostly places that have good environments for preservation, often places that are cold or layer quite quickly or quite dry, or a place in which the culture believes in embalming and so forth.

<--- Giza Pyramids, Egypt

How did Ancient Egyptians preserve their dead?

When I person would die their brains, digestive organs and lungs were all removed and put in little storage jars named, Canopic Jars, so that they could all be preserved separately. Then salts were put in the body and along with the dry desert air of Egypt, the body was dried. After being washed the body was then rubbed down with a substance, which was pine tree resin and then wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen. This process took about 70 days in all. The mummy was then placed in a case which was brightly decorated by a various artist. The tomb that the mummy was placed in was also decorated with things that symbolized the mans life. Sometimes the mans prized possessions would also be placed in the tomb, this was all for the preparation for the afterlife of the being.

<-- Canopic Jars

Why do you think ancient Egyptians took such care to embalm their dead if the desert could do the job for them?

Ancient Egyptians did not just let the desert do the work for them because the actual process was less about the actual preserving and more about the religious belief. The wrapping of the mummy, placing him in a case and removing the organs, were all done to prepare the corpse for the afterlife. They believed that maybe the brighter and more splendidly decorated the mummy case was the more chance the person had of getting to the afterlife. Many cultures have this belief that preserving the body isn't simply just to preserve it but to also have this hope that they can bring this person peace to the soul.

Word List from Article / Board Questions

New Words:
Cadavers: A dead body, especially a human body ready to be dissected;corpse.
Primal: First or original.
Transgressions:Violation of the law.
Cryonics:The deep-freezing of a human body in hope that revival would be possible in the future.

Questions from Board:

Define the word "Mummy"

A mummy is a dead body of a human or animal which is preserved by the Egyptian method of embalming, or a body that has dried and preserved by nature. The word "Mummy" has an Arabic origin which means " a body preserved in wax or tar", the original reason Egyptians wanted to mummify people is because they believed in life after death and wanted to prepare them.

According to current scientific beliefs what are some reasons people were intentionally mummified?

Some reasons that people were intentionally mummified is because the people were striving to extend human life, also some people thought that freezing bodies or preserving them would lead to the possibility that they could later on revive the person and maybe the preparation for life after death.

What are features of the natural environment can cause bodies to be mummified?

Some reasons that bodies are unintentionally mummified is outcasts that were executed

for wrong-doing and then left to die in weather conditions that were perfect for mummification

also maybe victims of sacrifice that also fell victim to being left in weather conditions that were

good for mummification. Many places with snow or ice and bogs have preserved people and mummified them .

First Empires Poster

This is the First Empires poster I created with my group, the Empire that we got was Ancient Persia. I worked along side Eliza and Phillip.