HIS112 Flashcards
JOHN REED
he was poet and an activist in the early 1900’s he was a radical leader and helped form the communist party in the USA - he covered revolutionary fighting, and world war I for the metropolitan magazine, he also was an eyewitness to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
PREHISTORY
prehistory ended 11700 years ago. - the main difference between history and prehistory was that there was no writing during prehistory - there were no words. Instead many people at the time etched conscious designs into rocks. Otzi the iceman lived during prehistoric times, and the way we are able to learn more about that time and him - the food he ate and the fur he was wearing helped us identify different things about him and prehistoric times, for example Otzi jacket was stripped. Which means that even during this period humans were imaginative and creative, they didn’t just make the bare minimum - there was some sort of consciousness in their making of items.
HOLOCENE
the Holocene began at the end of 11700 which is the end of the last ice age - we are technically still living in the Holocene today. When the holocene began is when humans began evolving a lot, writing began during this time, as well as the start of agriculture and so on… everything that we have experienced since the end of the last ice age and since the beginning of agriculture has occurred during the holocene…. The metal era, the building of empires, religion, war, trade, discovery etc..
STONE AGE
the stone age has three “periods” to it - it began before 10,000/8,000 BCE this was known as the old stone age or the paleolithic period - this period is still during the pleistocene where there were no words. This is the period where we find the “art” etched into rock rather than writing. After the end of the last ice age, the middle stone age or the mesolithic period which began in 10,000/8,000 BCE and lasted until 4,000 BCE. Finally, there is the New stone age of the Neolithic period this began in 4,000 BCE and lasted until 1,800 BCE. During these periods it is considered to be in the Holocene where writing and agriculture began. All three of these periods where before metal.
CUNEIFORM
cuneiform was considered to be the earliest form of writing, it was a writing style that was discovered in Mesopotamia, which is now modern day Iraq this was during the Neolithic period, as it was developed c. 3400 BCE, the method of writing was the use of a clay “tablet” of sorts and a reed stylus - there were 1000 different combination of these wedges in the cuneiform wedges. Their writing style was considered Logo- syllabic.
ORACLE BONE SCRIPT
oracle bone script was discovered in China during the Shang Dynasty 1400-1100 BCE this period is after the stone age and is during the middle of the Bronze age. Oracle bone script was the earliest known form of Chinese writing and is basically almost 6000 Chinese characters inscribed into various animal bones. 2000 of which characters are still linked with modern script.
PAPYRUS
2,900 BC As humans developed their writing systems as well, writing media made the switch from heavier materials such as clay tablets, bones, or rocks - into lighter materials one of them being papyrus. Papyrus was made from a plant that grew along the banks of the Nile river. The method of making papyrus took a lot of work - you need to harvest the plant, cut the stalks into strips, press or roll them and soak them, pound them into strips, soak again, press and burnish the sheets of papyrus.
PARCHMENT
this was also another method of early “paper” parchment that was tough and lasted long. (The US constitution was made on parchment.) It was made from animal skin. It was created in Iraq with the initial use of sheep skin. - It is made by soaking animal skin (goat, sheep, or calf) in lime and then stretching it on a frame. It is then scraped to remove excess and is then left to dry. - the material is difficult as it is not very flexible, and is sensitive to changes in humidity.
CIA LUN
Cia Lun is regarded as the “inventor” of paper in 105 CE. he lived around c.62-121 CE. this event was important because after he invented it paper was no longer a luxury good, it became an everyday object after that. Paper is made from cellulose fiber which is a plant fiber. Lun was the starting point to the mass production of paper and the reason why we use it daily now.
CONSTANTINE
Emperor Constantine (r.306-37) was the founder and emperor of Constantinople (324CE) which is now called Istanbul in modern day. Constantine was the first emperor who initiated the spread of christianity into the world. - after his death his three sons divided the large Roman empire into three, where his one son Constans takes over the whole western side.
AUGUSTUS CAESAR
Octavian/Augustus Caesar (63 BCE-14 CE) he was related to Julius Caesar. Augustus was a military leader who gained more control eventually becoming the first emperor of Rome. He began his reign as emperor (c.27 BCE) - people called him tsar which derived from “Caesar” - he managed to expand the Roman empire which caused a divide or citizens and “Romans”.
MINERVA SULIS
was a goddess for the Romans. The head of Minerva Sulis was discovered in 1727; it was a gilt bronze head of the goddess. It was found in the Romans Baths which is located in England. - Minerva played a role in that periods Roman religion, where they looked to Gods, and goddesses.
THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
Constans (Constantine’s son) took over the entire western side of the Empire. - the western side faced issues with Barbarian Invasions, they all came from the North through a period of over 60 years, and divided the western empire a lot. Some main ones first came the Visgoths who invaded in 410 CE they conquered the West portion of the empire (where spain is) the came the Vandals in 450 CE who conquered the south portion of the empire (parts of france, Italy and south of that) then finally came Odoacer in 476 who was killed and replaced by the ostrogoths who took over the rest of modern day italy. - these invasions ended the western Roman empire.
JUSTINIAN
Justinian was the emperor of the re-built Byzantine empire and his reign lasted from around 527-65 he was married to Theodora. Re reconstructed the Byzantine empire after the fall of the previous empires. Justinian re established land in what would have been the western roman empire, he was also known for his buildings. Where he reconstructed constantinople as well as the famous Church of sophia. He was very well known for his leadership and had books written about him such as (procopius, buildings)
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Justinian was the emperor of the Byzantine empire which was reconstructed after the fall of the eastern empire, where Justinian re-established land back into the western empire. The Byzantine empire largely covered the previous two empires and was known as an empire of cities as there were some pretty big ones. (constantinople being the biggest.) - the city was extremely remarkable after Justinian rebuilt it. It also became a link between christianity where it later caused christianity to become the dominant religion throughout the Roman empire, though it took it a while.
