Trixia Dela Cruz HISTCIV A51 Back to Basics

Studying Ancient Civilizations gives you an insight of whats going on in the minds of the people during those times. After learning about how our species became the last one standing, its just appropriate to take the next step by studying about Ancient Civilizations. This time we see our species no longer just merely surviving, but also living. The key term here is civilization or simply put, civilized. We see that these Ancient Civilizations have a government, religion, structures, and subdivisions. They made the most out of what they have and responded to the challenges that they were faced. The way they handled things systematically during those times seems prehistoric for us. But little did we know that the things they did then are similar to the things we now apply in our every day life. One example is the clay tablets used in writing during the Mesopotamian Civilization. Now we have digital counterparts of those tablets. With this example, we realize that were all just going back to basics. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, its the exact opposite. We should learn from the success and failures of these civilizations. There is value in both their rise and downfall for it gives us a reference of the things that worked and the things that didnt. It is up to us now if we will learn from them or make mistakes of our own. What I liked about the Mesopotamia Civilizations is that they were a great example of using the most out of the resources available to them. The concept of the

Natural Levees was innovative at that time. Mesopotamia Civilizations also devised ways so that agriculture would be easier to them. They were the ones who developed the wheel, transportation, trading, codified laws, writing and mathematics. In history, these revolutionary ideas proved that it is a start of a new age of higher thinking. Ever since I was a child, I've always seen Egypt as an astounding civilization. It was nice to know more about it through the discussions. I learned about the dualities that the Egyptians believed in. These are desert and river valley, Upper and Lower Egypt, and life and death. These helped shape the principles and values embedded in the perspective of every Egyptian. Some of the things I learned during my elementary days about this great civilization were debunked. These were the concept of slavery and using the wooden crane to build pyramids. I also learned a lot of things such as the process of mummification and making paper out of papyrus tree. I also learned a lot about the Harappan Civilization and their architecture, culture, and government. I liked how they build walls high enough so that it wouldn't be as hot in the summer. From this example we see that the people are creating ways to make their lives better and comfortable. They build things not out of necessity anymore but for convenience. This, in my opinion, is the reason why we evolve and why our technologies evolve. We always have this sense of building something more convenient and which will deliver faster and better. As a result, we are now living in a fast-paced world whole holding our smartphones. We have all evolved but these Ancient Civilizations influence all of the things we have now and all of the things that we are now. The human mind is truly a wonder.