MarcoGram November 2005 -- Past to Present: How Ancient Cultures Shaped the World

Past to Present: How Ancient Cultures Shaped the World
In the U.S., we usually associate the first Thanksgiving with Pilgrims and Native Americans in the 17th century. However, our forebears in America were merely continuing a tradition begun long ago in another part of the world. Celebrations and festivals to give thanks for plentiful harvests were held by Greeks, Egyptians and Romans in ancient times. What's more, our annual turkey day isn't the only legacy of these early civilizations--far from it. In this month's MarcoGram, students will look at some of the ways our modern world was shaped and is still influenced by ancient cultures. Use the activities below to get started, then scroll down for more links and resources on this topic.

View of Earth from Apollo 17, December 7, 1972, courtesy of NASA

1. The ancient Greeks certainly weren't the first to study the stars. Earlier Mesopotamians and Egyptians had done a great deal of scientific observation of the universe before them. What set the Greek study of astronomy apart from that of other ancient cultures was its application of logical thinking and geometry to stellar observations. In this activity, students will calculate the circumference of the Earth using the same method as the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes.

Eratosthenes and his fellow astronomers realized that the Earth was spherical because they observed that the shadow cast by the Earth during a lunar eclipse was always circular. Around 200 B.C., Eratosthenes heard that in the city of Syene, Egypt, which is on the equator, the Sun shone directly down the vertical walls of a well at noon on the first day of summer. He also observed that in Alexandria, roughly 830 kilometers to the north, the Sun shone at a 7.2-degree angle at the same time on the same day.

Given that a complete circle is made up of 360 degrees, develop an equation that you think Eratosthenes could have used to determine the circumference of the Earth. (7.2/360 = 830/x) Solve your equation. (x = 41,500) Now look up the actual circumference of the Earth (in kilometers) on the Internet or in a reference book. (40,008 kilometers at the poles; 40,075 kilometers at the equator.) How close was your estimate? (Within 1,500 kilometers.)

Learn more about astronomical observations and their applications in:

"How Old Are the Stars?" (9-12) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Pyramids and the Sphinx, photographed by William Henry Jackson, December 1895, courtesy of the Library of Congress (Digital ID: cph 3f06472)

2. Ancient Egypt continues to both fascinate and influence our modern world. Engineering marvels such as the Pyramids and Great Sphinx draw millions of visitors each year, and remnants of this great society still exist today that are more commonplace than the Pyramids, but no less extraordinary.

Most anthropologists and historians believe the ancient Egyptians were the first to utilize iron and glass, conduct primitive surgeries, import and export goods on ships, and use calendars, maps, a fully developed alphabet (known as hieroglyphics) and a decimal system. The ancient Egyptians were also among the first to use an irrigation system.

Explain that irrigation is a means of supplying land with water by using a network of ditches. Ask students what sort of climate they think a place like Egypt must have. (Hot and dry with little rainfall.) What geographical feature is necessary for irrigation to work? (A river or other source of fresh water must be located nearby.) Is irrigation still used today? (Yes.) Why was irrigation an important contribution to our culture?(It allowed for communities to develop on lands that would not otherwise have been fertile.)

Continue exploring the indelible mark the ancient Egyptians left on human culture with:

"Ancient Worlds Workshop: Egypt" (3-5) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society

"Do It with Dominoes" (K-2) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

"Egypt's Pyramids: Monuments with a Message" (3-5) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"Guided Comprehension: Monitoring Using the INSERT Technique" (3-5) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

3. What we use as currency today--coins and paper money--hasn't always had the same value. In the ancient world, people used valuable materials that they could find or produce as currency to trade for goods or services. If you wanted to purchase a coat in the ancient world, you may have given someone decorative beads, grain or a tool as payment. If you want to buy a coat today, you give someone paper money and coins as payment. While currency looks quite different today than it did many centuries ago, it still represents value and we use it in a lot of the same ways.

What are some ways people use money? (Earn it, spend it, save it, invest it, donate it, give it as gifts, etc.) Name some items other than coins and paper bills that represent currency today. (Checks, money orders, credit or debit cards, gift cards or certificates, etc.)

Ask students to imagine that they are going to create an entirely new form of currency for use in the classroom. Encourage students to think as ancient peoples did and use what is readily available and valuable to them (i.e., crayons, scissors, game pieces, etc.). They should consider how it can be earned, what can be purchased with it and where it can be stored. Ask students to set up a "bank" using their new form of currency, and to purchase goods or services from one another. Then, ask them to reflect on the value associated with each student's new currency.

Find out more about money and how it has evolved with:

"Hawaiian Economics: Barter for Fish and Poi" (3-5) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

"The Changing Face of Money" (K-2) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

4. Myths, fables, drama and epic poetry are a few key literary forms that have existed since ancient times. The focal point of many of these classical works, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid and Sophocles' Antigone, is the hero, the central figure blessed with tremendous gifts and, often, cursed by some weakness or tragic set of circumstances. Those same qualities still hold true in the forms that the hero takes in modern literary works.

In your own words, define what it means to be a hero. Think about some heroes in modern literature (Harry Potter, for example). What special abilities or heroic character traits do they possess? What flaws or unfortunate conditions must they fight to overcome? Are they successful most of the time?

Ask students to cast themselves (or someone else they know very well) as the hero of an epic adventure. They should consider what sort of challenges they will face--both internally and externally--and what qualities of their personality would be most useful in attempting to overcome these challenges. Then have students write about their adventure and share their stories with the class. Discuss the similarities and differences among the students' heroes.

Discover more about the ancient literary arts with:

"A Story of Epic Proportions: What Makes a Story an Epic?" (6-8) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes" (9-12) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

"Interpreting Mythology Through Dance" (5-8) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

"Masks and Aesop's Fables" (K-4) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts