Midterm Short Answer Responses

1. Neolithic to Paleolithic: Compare and contrast the Neolithic Era to the Paleolithic Era
The Paleolithic and Neolithic culture can be compared in many ways, because the
Paleolithic Era was the gateway to the Neolithic Era. They also contrast because the
Neolithic people transitioned and advanced the skills of the Paleolithic people to become
more settled agrarian people. The Paleolithic culture was factorized by hunting and a
gathering lifestyle for humans. During this time there diet included wild meats, fish
vegetables and fruits. They lived in caves and had rock and wood shelters. They stayed in
large groups and sharing food among family members. The tools they used were flint
axes cutters and scrapers which they obtained from nature. Towards the end of the
Paleolithic age art was painted on cave walls showing everyday life. A very big transition
from hunter-gather to agricultural economies began the start of the Neolithic age. During
this time food was gathered from the wild but they also planted wheat and barley, raised
sheep, goats and pigs for food. They began to build permeant homes out of mud-brick,
giving rise to towns and later cities and states. Tool making continued to develop. They
developed methods for drilling and simple decoration. The Neolithic art consisted of
plastered walls decorated with murals carved reliefs and also shrines. In conclusion we
can see that the Paleolithic and Neolithic culture used the same skills and tools, but in
different ways. We can see how we evolved.
7. Be able to contrast Greek and Roman mythology.
When you think of two great empires, ancient Greece and Rome should come to
mind. The empires were influenced by each other greatly, which spread the culture
around the world. The Romans adopted many ideas from the Greeks. The Roman and
Greek empires both had a polytheistic religion. They shared the same goddesses but had
different names. Such as Athena her Roman name was Minerva. Despite the names,
temples ceremonies and processions still happened in honor of the gods. In daily life
people felt the need to praise and please the gods. They had rituals or sacrifices. Early
Romans wanted to achieve harmony with the gods, while Greeks felt religion was only
there to explain nature, emotions and to give benefits in life. The Greeks had oracles, any
person or thing serving as an agency for communication such as Hercules the movie we
watched in class. Romans had religion to unify a state, though Greece had religion to
better understand why things are the way they are.

9. Know the importance of Alexzander the Great and his contributions to the Hellenistic
world.
Alexzander the Great was the architect of the new era and he was the man who
became eventually known to history. His father was Phillip II who lived in Thebes and
had come to admire Greek culture. Later he hired Aristotle as a tutor to be his young son
Alexzander. When Phillip gained the throne in 359 B.C, he built a superb and powerful
army. Through threats, bribery and diplomacy he formed alliances with many Greek city
states. Others he conquered. He later brought all of Greed under his control. He then
wanted to conquer Persia, but then his dream was crushed when he was assassinated at
his daughters wedding. Phillips queen maneuvered for her son to take the throne.
Alexzander was only 20 years old. He won his first victory against the Persians. There
after all his victorys and fails Alexzanders empire soon crumpled following his death,
he had unleashed changes that would ripple across the Mediterranean world and the
Middle East for centuries. His lasting achievement was the spread of the Greek culture.
Alexzander had encouraged a blending of eastern and western culottes when he had
married a Persian woman. The cities of the Hellenistic world employed armies of
architects and artists Temples palaces and other public buildings. During the Hellenistic
age scholars built on earlier Greek, Babylonian and Egyptian knowledge.
2. Compare and Contrast the jobs of an archaeologist and an anthropologist.
About 150 years ago, scholars began studying the period of prehistory. They
hoped to learn the origins and development of people and their societies. Today this is
called anthropology. Modern anthropologist specializes in certain areas of their field. For
example some study the bones of our ancestors to understand how human physical traits
have changed over time. Other anthropologist focus on the characteristics of human
culture refers to the way of life of a society, which includes its beliefs, values and
practices. Archaeology is the study of past people and cultures through there material
remains. There remains include buildings and artifacts such as tools, weapons, pottery,
clothing and jewelry. Archaeologists find and analyze artifacts to learn about life
conclusions about the beliefs, values and atieviteiws of our ancestors. However most
archeologists agree that the story of the past is never fully known.

5. Know your religions. Be able to compare and contrast the major religions that we have
covered in chapters 1-5

In chapter one which is Foundations of Civilizations it elaborates on the

Paleolithic Era and Neolithic Era. Most of the ancient people were polytheistic, which
means they believed in many gods. People appealed to sun gods, river goddesses and
other gods that they believed controlled natural forces or human activities such as birth or
war. In the early religions, priests and worshippers sought to gain the favor through
complex ritual such as ceremonies, dances, prayers, and hymns. To ensure divine help,
people built temples and sacrificed animals, crops or sometimes other humans to the
gods. Sacrifices and other ceremonies required the full time attention believed that of
priest, who had special trait and knowledge. To differ to move on to Chapter 2 which is
Ancient Middle East and Egypt? In chapter 2 the Sumerians like most ancient peoples,
the Sumerians were polytheistic just like the early ancient people. These gods were
thought to control every aspect of life, especially the forces of the nature. Sumerians
believed that the god and goddesses like ordinary people. They then had a ziggurat built
in each city state. The Sumerians believed in afterlife. In the east the Egyptian
Civilization religions shapes life in Ancient Egypt. In the sun drenched land of Egypt the
chief god was the sun god. During the Old Kingdom the Egyptians worshipped a sun god
named Re. Vie the Middle Kingdom; Egyptians associated Re with another god Amon.
The pharaohs whom Egyptians viewed as gods as well as kings were believed to receive
their right to rule. Most Egyptians related more to the food Osiris and the goddess Isis
whose story touched human emotheinssuch as love and jealousy. Egyptians believed that
Osiris and Isis had promised them eternal life after death. Belief in the afterlife affected
all Egyptians from the highest noble to the lowest peasant. The Egyptians believed that
each soul had to pass a test to win eternal life. First the dead soul would be ferried across
a lake of fire to the hall Osiris. Then the dead persons heart would be weighed against
the feather of truth.