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Sumerians, Akkadians, Mesopotamians
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Food surplus allows division of labor. People take an interest in pottery, writing, and other crafts and arts. A food surplus leads to the worlds first civilization.
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In 5000 BC people settled along the Yellow River or Huang He. These people started using the rich soil for farming and livestock.
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Egypts first civilization developed along the Nile because of its rich soil and water supply. With these advantages Egyptians grew many crops.
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The early Sumerians created the worlds first writing system called cuneiform. Cuneifom evolved from symbols called pictographs. It is the worlds earliest form of writing.
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Egypts first dynasty began under Menes, the first Pharoh of Egypt.
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Egyptian religion was a major part of their life and showed how people lived. This includes an emphasis on the afterlife and had many gods.
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Hammurabis Code was one of the earliest set of laws that we know of. It has had a major impact on modern day laws.
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The Harappans were a group of people that settled in India and were some of the first civilization there. The Harappans were very advanced and had indoor pluming and high quality tools.
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The Indian Caste system was a ranking system which included Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudra.
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The Ancient Greeks are one of the most famous people groups in the Ancient World. They are famous for their mythology, trade, and the first democratic government.
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The Hysoks invaded Lower Egypt and made them pay taxes. The Hysoks ruled for 200 years.
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The Minoans were a people group that settled on an island near Greece. They were not Greek because they didn't speak Greek. The Mycenaeans lived and traded near the Minoans, they were considered the fist Greeks.
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Xia Dynasty- 2200- 1500
Shang Dynasty-1500- 1050
Zhou Dynasty- 1050-400
Quin Dynasty- 221- 206
Han Dynasty- 206 BC- AD 220 -
Hinduism is a major religion in India today. It has many gods like Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu.
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During 900 BC the Assyrians took over all of the Fertile Crescent and parts of Asia Minor and Egypt. They were amazing warriors and used iron weapons and chariots.Their rain lasted until about 650 BC.
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Descendants of Aenas, Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, and the founders of Rome. Legend says that they were found and raised by a wolf and later on Romulus killed his brother and later founded the city of Rome and named it after himself.
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Homer was a very famous Greek poet that lived during 750 BC. He wrote many famous works of literature including the Iliad, the Odyssey and many others.
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Ancient Rome is known for their art, churches, many legends, and achievements. They are also very well known for one of the largest empires in the world. By 100 BC they had conquered almost all of the land around the Mediterranean Sea.
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Kush conquered Egypt in 730 BC, they took over under the rule of Shabaka.
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The Phoenicians invented the worlds first alphabet. Over years it evolved into the same alphabet that we have today.
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From when they were young boys the Spartans took training seriously and would train almost everyday. In fact the military was one of the most important aspects of Spartan life.
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The Persian Empire was one of the largest empires in the ancient world. It was successful and strong under Cyrus the Greats rule.
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Persia became one of the biggest and most powerful Empires in the Ancient world under Cyrus the Great’s rule.
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The Ancient Greeks made many revolutionary inventions and developed how we think today. They had many famous philosophers and ideas about how we should live our lives.
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Buddhism is a religion based on finding peace and enlightenment. It was first discovered in 540 BC.
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In 400 BC the Romans were upset with their king, and decided to overthrow him. The Romans decided to
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In 500 BC the people of Athens created the worlds first democracy. The "father of democracy" is Cleisthenes.
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The early civilizations of Africa had many empires that rose and fell including Ghana who became a wealthy Empire by trading and taxing for gold and salt but fell from invasions and overgrazing. Another example is Mali, they had a successful Empire but fell from a weak ruler who couldn’t keep invaders from attacking.
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The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas were all civilizations that lived in Central America during 500 BC -1537 AD. They were some of the earliest dwellers in the Americas. The Mayan Empire lasted from 1000 BC - AD 900. The Aztecs lasted from about 1320 - 1520. The Incas ruled from 1400 - 1530.
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The Warring States period tore China apart so Confucius began to spread his ideas throughout China. Ideas which are still used today.
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Socrates was one of the earliest and most famous Greek philosophers. But his method of teaching made many people angry with him, so they complained to the government. Socrates died by drinking a poison that had been given to him as a sentence of death.
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The Spartans culture and tradition was based on their military strength. From the age of seven, Spartan men would train, even the Spartan women were given more rights than those of Athens.
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Alexander the Great is known for his military strength and the Empire he built that was one of the largest in the world. He conquered land from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to India.
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The Punic wars is many different wars fought against Carthage. This was a period of time when Rome and Carthage were at war.
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Shi Huangdi took over all of the individual states of China and made it all one big China. He also began the Qin Dynasty.
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In 205 BC Emperor Lui Bang began the Han Dynasty. He brought back Confucism and strengthened China's government and social hierarchy.
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During the Han Dynasty silk was discovered. Everyone in China was making silk and China grew rich through the production of silk.
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In about 60 BC Julius Caesar took over the Roman Empire. He ruled for about 20 years until he got murdered by Senators in 44 BC. The Romans liked being a Republic and didn’t want Caesar, so they killed him.
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Rome had one of the largest empires in the world and is one of the most famous cities today. They have a long history of defeating their enemies and enemies defeating them. They are most famous for art, churches and one of the largest empires in the world.
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The Romans were very practical and when it came to gods they didn’t know which ones were real or fake. They didn’t want any Gods to be offended so they just worshiped all of them. They ended up adopting many gods from conquered contries.
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Today you might know this system as the Arabic numeral system, but the early Indians were the first to invent it.
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A game very popular during the Mayans time was a special ball game. In the game using their heads, hips, or shoulders the players had to bounce a hard, heavy, rubber ball to one another and eventually one of the players would knock the ball in to a stone ring to win the game. As a reward, the winners would get cloth or jewels.
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Around this time Jesus of Nazareth was born which in Judea was a big event. Not long after the birth of Jesus, Rome took over Judea and later adopted some of their religions and culture this led to many Romans becoming Christians.
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The Griots were storytellers that told the history of Africa. They did this by memorizing and telling other Griots stories. They shared history orally because there was no written language for them.
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The Gupta Dynasty started in AD 320, this was a time of great art, architecture, and science for India.
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The Vikings lived in Scandinavia, a snowy, cold place surrounded by water. The Vikings adapted to the Geography of Scandinavia and got most of their resources from the sea. They also became expert sailors and used the sea for trading.
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In Europe, the Middle Ages were a time of isolation. During this time the rest of the world had very little influence on Europe. They did not make many inventions or advances but became one of the largest empires in their time. Instead of progressing the Europeans fought amongst each other and had many invasions. During that time they followed the feudal system and were mainly Christian.
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Silent bartering is the procedure in which people trade with our meeting face to face. This was important because it prevented stealing and was peaceful trading.
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The early Japanese organized themselves into clans lead by clan chiefs. Often these clans were made of extended families. Some of the larger and more powerful clans made armies and attacked their neighbors.
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The Islamic Religion spread throughout Arabia with a man named Muhammad. Books or sacred texts that guide Muslims in their religion and daily lives, including the five pillars, which are five acts of worship required for a Muslim. The Muslims also made great achievements in subjects including Maths, Science, Litrature and Arts.
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At first the Japanese isolated themselves from other countries such as Korea and China but were sill influenced by them. This caused Japan to develop its very own unique culture which we can still see in Japan this today.
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In 589, Yang Jian ended the Period of Disunion by conquering the South and unifying China under his rule. Yang Jian became the Emporer of the Sui Dynasty and under his rule they began to build the Grand Canal, linking North and South China together.
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Sui Dynasty- AD 589- 618
Tang Dynasty- AD 618-918
Song Dynasty- AD 960-1279
Yuan Dynasty- AD 1279-1368
Ming Dynasty- AD 1368-1644 -
Muhammad was a famous Muslim prophet. An angel told him to spread the message of Islam, so he did. He began to tell the message and Islam became their official religion.
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One of Muslims guides on how to live is the Five Pillars. Some of the rules are praying and reciting daily, “ There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet.” You must pray five times a day and give to the poor. These are just three of the five rules.
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Gold and salt were valuable trade resources to West Africa. Salt was used as a preservative and to flavor food while gold was used for trading.
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While Charlamane was ruling Europe he was faced with invaders from other parts of the world. The most fierce of the invaders were the Vikings. They were such good sailors that it was hard to see them coming. They would attack parts of Europe and destroy towns, fields, and monasteries. They would kill and take people captive, for many years Europe lived in fear of the Vikings.
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The Chinese used to have to carry around all of their coins with them wherever they went until they invented paper money. This paper was easier to carry with you and it was much lighter than coins.
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The social system used by Europe was feudalism. At the top were the kings and queens, below them were the nobles, and below the nobles were the knights. At the very bottom were peasants and serfs.
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During the Later Middle Ages many world events took place all over Europe, including the Black Death, the Crusades, and the signing of the Magna Carta. The Black Death was a Disease transferred by fleas, it was easily spread and killed one-third of Europe’s population
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Another system of feudalism, similar to Europe’s is Japan’s. The two are alike because the social hierarchy and feudalism is about the same. The only big differences between them are their styles of art. In Europe they focus on religious aspects but in Japan they emphasized nature in their art.
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The popes had the most power in Europe, even though you would think the king had more power, the popes were the ones with the most power. Pope Gregory VII proved this by excommunicating King Henry IV over a disagreement and making the king plead for forgiveness.
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The crusades were a series of wars fought between Christians and Muslims over Palestine. Palestine was a sacred place for Christians and they wanted it back so they attempted many attacks on the Muslims. The word “crusade” means marked with a cross.
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During the Song Dynasty Neo Confucianism was developed. As a way to improve the Government and society of China, scholars came up with Neo Confucianism. Neo Confucianism means “ New Confucianism” it is based on the original teachings of Confucianism but also emphasizes spiritual matters.
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For the medieval Christians the church was a part of everyday live. Many local events took place at the church, such as markets, festivals, and ceremonies. Many people traveled to visit religious sites such as places where Jesus lived and preached.
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On the top of the list of Japanese society were the Shoguns, powerful millitary leaders next is the Emporer who was a figurehead for the shogun. Next is Daimyos who had armies of Samuri.The Samuri would protect the Daimyo and the Daimyo would give him food or land. At the bottom were the peasants, who made up most of Japans population.
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Heresy was a vey big crime during this time, if people were thought to be against the church in any way the punishment could be as severe as death. Heresy is religious ideas that oppose church teaching.
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In 1206, Genghis Khan lead an attack on the Chinese. The Mongols were brutal and there attacks terrorized many people. Later on, after Genghis Khan had died, his grandson, Kublai Khan became ruler of the Mongol Empire and expanded their territory until they had created the largest empire in the world.
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The Magna Carta was a list of 63 demands that the people made their King promise to follow. There was an cruel king named King John, he treated his people badly and they rebelled against him and forced him to sign the Magna Carta so everyone could have rights.
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Turkish Muslims took over the Byzantine Empire around 1250. They created the Ottoman Empire. They took may Christian boys out of their homes and made them into fierce Islamic warriors called Janissaries.
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The Renaissance began with many in Europe becoming wealthy and trading with Asia. This led to an increase in arts and leaning, a “ rebirth” known as the Renaissance. The Renaissance spread all throughout Europe and eventually led to the Reformation of the church. The split in the church created many different branches of Christianity that were spread all over Europe.
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The performing arts were very popular in Japan and there were many performances. One special thing was a type of drama called Noh. These were plays containing music speaking and dance. These plays often ar about the history of Japan.
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During the Renaissance, many advances were made to Science and Math. Some of which are symbols for the square root, positive, and negative numbers. They used this math to design architecture and strengthen buildings.
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The Muslims made a new number system. One we still use today, in fact we call our the numbers 0-9 Arabic or Hindu Arabic numerals.
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Mansa Musa was the most famous ruler of Mali. He was so rich that he cased inflation wherever he went. On his pilgrimage to Mecca he built mosques and schools to promote better education. His son caused the fall of the Empire.
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The Aztecs were polytheistic and worshiped many gods. These gods would control every aspect of life. They belived that their gods needed blood to please them so the Aztecs would attack a city and sacrifice the people so that nothing bad would happen. The Aztecs made about 10000 sacrifices a year, or roughly 28 a Day.
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Before the Renaissance there was the Black Death, with killed 1/3 of Europe’s population. This increased trade because there were more resources for the survivors of the plague, so they traded with Asia and through trade they became wealthy and were able to create art and begin Europe’s rebirth or Renaissance.
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During this period of time in Europe many people were making new discoveries in Science and Exploration. Many of the discoveries in science had to do with our universe. Some people who added to our knowledge of the universe were Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. These people made amazing discoveries about our solar system. An example of a famous explorer during this time is Magellan, who is known for circumnavigating the globe, or traveling all the way around the earth.
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The Incas thought that all of their Emporers were related to their sun god and didn’t die but were still alive. So we ever their would be a celebration they would bring the corpses of previous kings. They were also very superstitious and believed that certain mountains, rocks, and springs had powers. They rarely did human sacrifices but usually sacrificed llamas or cloth.
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Martin Luter was one of the most influential men to the current church. In October, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a list of complaints about the church to the door of the church in Germany. This list of complaints was called the Ninety-Five Theses and caused a split in the church. Those who rebelled against the church with Luther are called Protestants.
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Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the globe, or to travel all the way around the world. He started in Spain and went around the Americas and Europe and traveled around Africa to end up in Spain where he started. He proved that the earth was round by going all the way around it.
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Nicolaus Copernicus was the first person to figure out that the earth wasn’t the center of the solar system, the sun was. Before him everybody believed that the earth was the center of the world. He was the first one to figure out that the sun was actually at the center, making an amazing discovery that changed everyone’s view of the universe.
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The Columbian Exchange was “the exchange of plants, animals, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) and the Old World (Europe). The Americas brought corn, beans, and tobacco to Europe, and Europe brought horses, rice, and sugarcane to the Americas. Many of the things we eat on a daily basis we would not have if it weren’t for the Columbian Exchange.
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From 1642-1800 there was a great time of enlightenment and revolution, people began to realize that not all of the things their ancestors said was true. They began to think that if the ancient Greeks got one or two things wrong maybe there were more so people began to question their beliefs. It was also a time of revolution, people were not happy with the way things were so they decided to change them by rebellion.
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The Age of Reason, also known as the Enlightenment is “the use of reason in guiding peoples thoughts about philosophy, society, and politics.” During this time many scholars used reason and logic to solve problems. They made many great achievements and began to question their knowledge about the world.
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau was famous for his ideas about government and how the King should act. He believed that governments should express the will of the people, that they should rule according to what the people want. He believed that people should give the government authority but it should still reflect what the people want.
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In the 1770s America was under the rule of Britain, they made them pay high taxes and had many laws. Many colonists were angry with them so they decided to go to war and fight for their independence. After a long war, the colonists won and gained independence, in 1776, they created the Declaration of Independence, a document declaring their freedom and stating rules and laws. If it weren’t for them America would still be under the English rule and wouldn’t be the powerful country today.
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In France many peasants were starving and poor while the nobles had plenty to eat and were very wealthy. The peasants were treated poorly and decided to rebel against the nobles. They killed thousands of nobles and got revenge on their landlords. This is a great example of how people were not happy with the way things were and so they decided to do something about it.
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The Rosetta Stone was a stone tablet inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics. It also had text in Greek and later Egyptian, this helped scholars figure out how to read hieroglyphics.
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Created by the Ancient Greeks, Greek mythology is still read around the world today. Many famous Greek stories influence stories or sayings that we use today. (Achilles heel, Hercules, Midas)
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Roman Government is an early example of government today. Some contries have a Republic like Early Rome had, Roman governments are influential to how we make our decisions today.
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Ever since the birth of Jesus, Christianity has only increased in Rome. Many of the countries that Rome conquered had Jews or Christians as a large part of the population and when Rome took over they adopted their culture and religion. All of these are factors of helping Christianity spread in Rome. Even today Christianity is Romes official religion.
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China is very famous for silk, and silk is still used in trade all around the world today.
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One of the most famous mathematicians, Euclid was from Greece. He is most well known for his geometry. In fact a branch of geometry is named after him, Euclidean geometry.
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Out of all their achievements the Muslims made the most advancements in medicine. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t have some medicines that we take for granted today. We wouldn’t have medicines for common viruses or diseases that we have today.
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The Ancient Egyptians invented the world's first calendars which people often still have in their homes today.
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The Ancient Indians were the first to discover metallurgy which makes many of our jewelry, coins, tools and many others today.
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When Mansa Musa went on his pilgramige to Mecca on his way he gave out gold to the people in the countries he visited. This caused inflation which is when the value of money becomes less because everyone has so much of it. All of he countries he visited had inflation and so even today if you go back to those countries their currency value is not as high as it was before Mansa Musa came.
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China brought Buddhism to Japan in 550 AD and Buddhism can be seen in many Japanese sculptures and art. The tradition remains and even today Buddhism is in Japan’s top two religions along with the traditional Shinto religion.
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The Mayans made many advances in science and astronomy. They built massive observatories to study the stars. They came up with an advanced calendars, which at the time was more advanced than the ones in Europe. They also came up with a number system and invented the number zero. Using this number system they made an advanced calendar which we still use today.
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The first universities were created in Europe, these universities were a lot like the ones we have today. Teachers taught groups of students or classes, there were fixed schedules and students took tests. Our modern day universities are based off of the ones during Medival Europe.
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The printing press was created in 1455 by a man named Johann Gutenberg. It used movable type and allowed for them to print pages at a time. This caused there be more books to read and the more books the more people wanted to learn how to read. So everyone wanted to read. If it weren’t for Johann Gutenberg, most of us wouldn’t know how to read or write, and we wouldn’t have modern day printers.
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Galileo was the first to use a telescope to study the sky. If it weren’t for him many of the things we now know about our universe we would have never known. He made amazing discoveries that greatly impacted our knowledge of our universe today. He invented the thermometer to tell temperature which has become a useful tool that many people keep in their homes. He used expirements to test his theories, a method which most universities and schools use today.
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When Marco Polo traveled around China and wrote books about China and brought them back to Europe. The Europeans were fascinated with China and started to trade with them. Trying to find a more efficient trade route with China, Christopher Columbus found a new chunk of land, the Americas. So if it weren’t for Marco Polo and China we wold have not discovered the Americas.
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Saint Patrick came to Ireland as a young boy and worked as a shepherd, eventually he escaped. But later he returned to Ireland and spread Christianity