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Jason Newel

History 134

Professor Kimberly Lark

6/15/2017

Portfolio Reflection
What can I do with my knowledge of ancient history to influence and improve our

society? With my knowledge of how civilizations advanced through technology and how

technology is changing the world today shows me that it is important for the betterment of the

society. It is important as a historian of the ancient world to use history to my advantage. History

of ancient civilizations gives me example of things that have worked and things that have failed.

This can range from law and government to arts and sciences. Some other things that we can

learn from history are education methods, religion, traditions, economies, businesses, and how

civilizations policed their people. It is important to know these aspects of history because we

currently use these aspect and factors in todays world. Knowing what has failed in the past can

keep our society away from making the same decisions and help keep us from going through

issues that have occurred before. Winston Churchill described the benefit in knowing history

when he said, Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

Technology is always changing in ways that benefit all aspects of society. Without

technological advances the human kind would still be living like Neanderthals. Technology is the

greatest impactor in quality of life. Every civilization has grown and tuned their technology to

the needs in their lives and culture.

In Mesopotamian civilization, technology had a big influence in the future of many

civilizations that came after. Module 2 talks about a lot of inventions created by the

Mesopotamian civilization such as the plow, wheel (used by porters), chariot, and maps. These
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technologies will be used for many years to come and created a more efficient way of dealing

with issues in society. There are other inventions or ideas that the Mesopotamians created such

as the concept of time, math, cuneiform, agriculture, and irrigation. This helped advance to

Mesopotamians and create a society that is more efficient than others during that time period.

This gave the Mesopotamians an advantage and is part of the reason they were around for such a

long time.

The Minoan Civilization also had a lot of great achievements when it comes to

technology discussed in module 4. They have accomplished many innovative technologies such

as plumbing, structure development, language, lighting, and air flow. The Minoans created a lot

of aspects in plumbing that are still used today such as subterranean sewers, water drainage

systems, water supply systems, and sophisticated waste disposal methods. This is very important

for a society because it fulfills the needs that people need such as disposing of human waste. This

created a healthier society and a new way of waste disposal that can be used and altered by future

civilizations. Another huge advancement in technology is with architecture in categories such as

light control, airflow control, seismic structure resistance, strategic building locations. This is an

important part in developing a society that can last for a long time. Even in todays world

architecture and design is constantly changing and adapting to be as efficient as possible. The

Minoans used this technological advancement to build larger communities and offer more

opportunities for growth.

Architectural technology has been an advancement in many civilizations. Module 9 talks

about how the Roman Empire did not invent things such as sewers, the alphabet, or roads but the

developed them. Just like how the Minoan Civilization built new types of architecture that was

more efficient, the Romans built structures that have never been done before. They created
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bridges, aqueducts, amphitheaters, roads, and sanitation systems. By doing this they also created

new techniques that were used to create these structures such as the ones used by gladiators.

Technology is the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be

embedded in machines which can be operated without detailed knowledge of their workings.

Technology started with the human species conversion of natural resources into simple tools. It

is important for societies to advance in their technologies because it has a huge impact on people

daily lives. It is important to learn about history and the ways that people have built up their

civilizations through technological advances. We learn from history and find ways that can help

give present humans ideas of how they can improve technology. Also we learn the importance of

technology and that it is necessary for civilizations to grow. Technology has greatly increase in

the past twenty years and will keep going forever. There is no end but the importance is that

history has taught us how to grow and the best ways to live in an efficient society.

Before taking this class I knew the importance of learning history. I know that history can

keep you from making the same terrible decisions that have been made by people in the past.

This class taught me that there are many more aspects of history that can benefit people living in

the present. There are so many aspects in history that people may never know of. Now that it is a

lot easier to document history it will be a greater influence on the people living in the future.

This makes me feel that even though many people dont think that history is important, it will

slowly increase and be essential in peoples lives and the decisions they make.
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Work Cited

"Top 11 Inventions of Mesopotamia." Ancient History Lists. N.p., n.d. Web.

"The Minoan Civilization: Proof of Advanced Nature." The Genius of Ancient Man. N.p., 01 Jan.

1970. Web. 15 June 2017.

"KS2 History - What Did the Romans Invent?" BBC Bitesize. BBC, n.d. Web. 15 June 2017.

"Technology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. "Prehistory." Ancient Mesopotamia: This History,

Our History. Life in Mesopotamia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 June 2017.

"Minoan Civilization." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 June 2017.

PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 15 June 2017.