M18 - 1

Question 1

How did the San’s living arrangements change from winter to summer?

Answer 1

• During the winter, the San would live in a large group and gather food like nuts and roots together.
• As the season changed and it started to rain, the San would live in smaller groups and they would hunt in these groups.

Question 2

What influence did the patterns of the moon and starts in the sky have on the San’s religion?

Answer 2

• As the San started to predict the seasons and the changes in the moon, they also started to attach religious significance to certain holy days.
• They would mark these days in relation to the changes in the phases of the moon, or to the seasons.

Question 3

Give 2 reasons why the San told stories about the patterns they observed in the moon and stars?

Answer 3

1. Stories were important to help the younger generations to follow the same patterns as their ancestors and so be prepared for the seasonal changes ahead.
2. Stories are also easy to remember and so they can be told and retold.

Question 4

Describe the Egyptian’s lunar calendar.

Answer 4

• It divided the year into 12 months.
• Each month being a complete cycle of the phases of the moon.

Question 5

Explain the problem with the Egyptian’s 365 day calendar.

Answer 5

• This calendar eventually fell out of sync with the seasons because the Earth actually takes 365.24 days to orbit the sun.

Question 6

Explain 1 reason why it was important for the San to know when it was going to be full moon.

Answer 6

• Knowing when it was full moon would help the San to plan their hunting, because when it was full moon, there was enough light to hunt at night.

Question 7

What did a story like the one about the Milky Way teach the San about the stars?

Answer 7

It would have taught them to use the stars for finding their direction when they were lost at night.

Question 8

How were the ancient Egyptians able to predict when the Nile would flood?

Answer 8

• They observed the changing positions of the stars in the sky and used this knowledge to predict when the Nile would flood.

Question 9

What is the name of the calendar that is used across the world today and how does it work?

Answer 9

• Gregorian calendar.
• This calendar measures a year as the period of time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun.
• The year is divided up into 12 months.
• Each month has 30 or 31 days, except for February, which has either 28 or 29 days.