Why Study History?

http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/whystudyhistory.htm

DBQ

DBQ Podcast:

http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/43742056151943113/podcasts/browse.asp?A=399&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=84741

Babylonian artifact

The Babylonian "map of the world." It depict a "bird's-eye" view of the world and shows a flat, round world with the city of Babylon in the center. The text (on both sides of the tablet) shows that the map attempts to depict the entire world. The emphasis on distant places in the text accompanying the map indicates the likely purpose of the map was to locate and describe distant regions. Other textual sources describe the earthly ocean as being enclosed by a double range of mountains, those to the east and those to the west (the "sunrise" and "sunset" range, respectively).

Video: "Cradle of Civilization"

Watch the video about early civilizations at the following link:

http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_4.html

After watching the video, post your comments!!

Discussion - Chapter 2 - Mesopotamia

The object of this blog is to learn from each other. Answer the question in complete sentences or add to a previous post.

Some historians refer to Mesopotamia as the "cradle of civilization." Why is this? What are the characteristics of a civilization? Do you agree that civilization originated here? Why or why not?