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HISTORY-I

What werethe Egyptian Pyramids

used for?

There are more than 100 Egyptian pyramids, each built for a different person. Most pyramids were actually pyramid complexes including a main pyramid sur-rounded by a courtyard, a nearby mortu-ary temple, and a small cult pyramid that was to house the king's soul. Some pyra-mids had nearby small pyramids or other kinds of tombs set aside for family mem-bers.

In ancient Egypt, it was believed that death began a journey that brought the person to the next world of the afterlife. The king was mummified and the mummy kept inside the pyramid both for protection and for easier travel to the afterlife. His belongings were kept with him in the pyra-mid so that he might have access to them in the afterlife.

There was a specific reason for the shapes of the ancient Egyptian Pyramids. They believed that the Pharaoh ascended to heaven on the rays of the sun. The sun's rays, which a Pharaoh would use to climb to the afterlife, were symbolized by the shape of the pyramid. The pyramid shape could also have been a monument to Re, the Sun God, who was believed to have created all life.

The location of the pyramids were also important, since the pyramids needed to be located under the stars which were considered the most important. Most pyra-mids were built on the west bank of the Nile because the sun was thought to "die" in the west each night.

The first of the Egyptian pyramids of ancient Egypt was built in 2611 B.C. for

Pharaoh Djoser. This pyramid did not have smooth sides, but instead was com-prised of six step-like levels. The "Bent Pyramid," the first pyramid without steps, was built approximately thirty years later. The angle of its sides were changed about halfway through construction, making the sides appear bent. This pyra-mid was not very tall.

About fifty years later, the largest of the pyramids at Giza was built. This pyra-mid was a true feat of engineering, built of about two million stone blocks, with each block weighing as much as fifteen tons. It took over 80 years to build all three pyra-mids located at Giza.

What is Socialism?

Socialism is an economic concept that advocates public ownership of all resources. The production and distribution of resources with a society are then controlled by members of that society collectively or by the govern-ment that represents that society. Goods are produced and distributed based on need rather than on market forces such as profit-ability, price and consumers' purchasing power. In a socialist economy, workers con-tribute to society based on their ability and receive according to their needs, rather than being paid wages and using that money to purchase what they want. Private posses-sions are limited to personal-use items such as clothes, and there is no need or ability for individuals to accumulate wealth, so there is equality among the people.

Economic Equality The ideology of socialism developed from the notion that capitalism creates inequality in society. Under capitalism, social-ists argue, the wealthy few who own and con-trol the resources and means of production are able to exploit the working masses. These elite capitalists can pay workers less than the value that they contribute, so the capitalists can keep larger profits for themselves to accumulate even greater wealth. The result, socialists say, is a society in which the wealthy are able to oppress the middle and lower classes.

In a completely socialist society, there would be no money. Things such as food, shelter, education and healthcare would be provided to everyone. There would be no pov-erty and no division of classes based on wealth. Production and distribution of goods and services would be managed by the gov-ernment rather than being based on market forces, which can fluctuate and lead to reces-sions in capitalist economies.

Criticisms and Defenses. Critics of socialism say that such a society is impossible to create and sustain successfully. They argue that there would be no incentives for people to work harder — or even hard enough to meet their needs — because they would receive only enough to meet their needs regardless of how much they contribute. In addition, many capable workers would refuse to work at all and still expect to have their needs met. Socialists, however, argue that workers in a socialist society would have much different attitudes from those in capitalist societies because they would not be exploited by their employ-ers. This would create satisfied workers who are more willing to work, they claim.

Another criticism of socialism is that the government would determine the needs of the people in order to meet them. Critics say that this would cause problems because different people have different things that they would consider to be needs — as well as different things that they want, such as forms of leisure and entertainment. If a per-son's own ideas of his or her needs is differ-ent from what the government considers his or her needs, this could create unhappy citizens. Socialists, however, argue that the citizens collectively would be happier because each person would have equal access to everything, whether they are wants or needs, instead of the wealthy elite having greater access to many goods and services and the poor having virtually none.

The history ofAlcatraz Prison

Alcatraz was the name given to the island occupied by one of the world's most famous prisons. Situated in the San Fran-cisco Bay, Alcatraz is one of the three islands discovered by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala, in 1775. It is unclear if Ayala named the current Yerba Buena Island La Isla de los Alcatraces, the name later being transferred to what is now known as Alcatraz, or if the name was indeed given to the current Alcatraz Island. The word Alcatracesmeans "peli-cans" in Spanish. In 1851, the name was officially shortened to Alcatraz, which means "pelican" in Spanish.

Prior to its use as a prison, the island was used as a military site. In the 1850s it began housing military prisoners. This continued until 1933 when it was turned over to the US Department of Justice. Alc-atraz was opened as a maximum security prison. It was designed for the most dan-gerous criminals and repeat offenders.

Many films have been made using Alcatraz as its subject. Most of these films have created a view of the prison that was not actually in keeping with the reality of prison life. Alcatraz had a capacity to hold 336 prisoners but was at no time filled to that capacity. Many of the prisoners claimed that the conditions in the prison were far superior to other prisons.

One of the myths surrounding Alc-atraz was that it was inescapable. Although the waters surrounding the island are extremely cold and full of strong currents, there are no man-eating sharks as usually portrayed in the films. In recent years two 10 year old children actually swam to the island to prove that it could be

done. But, as with every prison, there were escape attempts. In total 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes. Twenty-three of these men were caught, two men were drowned and six men were shot and killed during their escape attempts. There are still five prisoners who escaped who are listed as "Missing Presumed Drowned."

One of the most famous films made of Alcatraz's history was The Birdman of Alcatraz. The film starred Burt Lancaster as real life prisoner Robert Stroud. Once again Hollywood took liberties with the actual story. In real life Stroud did breed and study sparrows and canaries, writing two books about canaries and their dis-eases. However, some of the birdcages and equipment in his cell were eventually discovered to be part of a still for brewing alcohol.

In its time, Alcatraz did house a few other well-known prisoners. These included Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Arthur "Doc" Barker. But the amount of famous or infamousinmates was a very small percentage of the 1,576 prisoners who were housed in the prison over the years. The vast majority of inmates were not famous criminals.

Alcatraz was eventually shut down and abandoned in 1963, the main reason being that it was simply too expensive to run compared to other prisons. At one point Native American Indians claimed it as rightfully theirs and had a strong group of supporters. Alcatraz Island and the prison grounds are now a major tourist attraction with over a million visitors arriv-ing to the island each year.

The Stone Age

The Stone Age refers to a period of time in human prehistory, all the way back from the first primate toolmaking (Homo habilis), more than 2.6 million years ago to about 3500 BC, whenmetallurgy in the form of smelting copper ore was devel-oped. The Stone Age is divided into three segments, the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. The Paleolithic stretches from 2.6 million BC to about 20,000 or 10,000 years ago (varies by location), when the Meso-lithic began. The Mesolithic is the period during the last Ice Age. Artifacts and fossil evidence from this period are scant. The Mesolithic gave way to the Neolithic with the development of agriculture around 8,000 BC. The Neolithic continued until the Bronze Age, which began around 3500 BC. (Again, this varies somewhat with location.)

As the name implies, the Stone Age refers to the time period in which man made its tools from stones, such as flint. "Man" is being used here in the broad sense of the genus Homo, means literally means "man," but not "modern man," associated with the species Homo sapi-ens.

The Stone Age was participated in by at least nine species of the genus Homo: Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, Homo rhodesiersis, Homo antecessor, Homo hedelbergensis, Homo erectus, Homo solcersis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens. They lived in small tribes leading a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, until the very end of the age, when the so-called Neolithicrevolution took place in the Fertile Crescent in modern-day Iraq.

Common products of this time included the mortar and pestle, arrowheads, spear-heads, racloirs (stone scrapers), and most famously, hand-axes. Pottery came at the very end. Bone needles and straw textiles were also made. The oldest representa-tive culture/"industry" is known as the Old-owan, which was further refined in the Acheulean culture. After the basic tools were developed, very little refinements came for thousands of years after.

Things first began to change appre-ciably in the Upper Paleolithic, that is, the most recent part of the New Stone Age, which extended from about 40,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago, when remark-able changes happened in human culture. Advanced darts, harpoons, the fishhook, the oil lamp, rope, and the eyed needle all appeared during this period. Art was rep-resented by Venus figurines, cave paint-ings, and petroglyphs.

The New Stone Age, or Neolithic, continues all the way up until the begin-ning of history, that is, the appearance of useful written records, which began around 3500 BC in Egypt, and spread around the world throughout the next couple thousand years.

The World War I

The spark that set off the thousand fires, which became the blazing inferno of World War I (WWI), also known as The Great War, officially began with the June 1914 assasination of Archduke Franz Fer-dinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne committed by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Fought from 1914 to 1918, World War I erupted because of Europe’s archaic treaty system. These entangling alliances, brought the Central Powers of the time, meaning Austria-Hungary, Ger-many and Turkey, into direct conflict with the Allied powers, meaning France, Great Britain, Russia, the United States, Japan and Italy.

The first skirmish of World War I began when Germany swept through neu-tral Belgium and invaded France. The Allies stabilized the defensive lines in France at the First Battle of The Marne, in 1914. World War I is characterized by infantry trench line warfare with machine guns and other, what was considered at the time to be, modern artillery. This mili-tary style of warfare did not gain much ground and resulted in a terrible loss of human life on both sides. This was particu-larly true at the Battles of Verdun and The Somme, both fought in 1916.

On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was repulsed several times, unable to break the defensive lines established by Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia's dismal failure and enormous losses caused a widespread discontent that eventually led to the RussianRevolution of 1917. World War I was also fought on other fronts, which included the Darda-nelles Campaign against Turkey, Mesopo-tamia, Italy and Egypt, and at sea where

German and British fleets fought the inconclusive Battle of Jutland. A cease-fire occurred on the 11th hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, and all opposing armies began to withdraw their troops from the Western Front. A state of war still per-sisted, however, and World War One did not officially end until the signing of The Treaty of Versailles on June 28,1919. Some historians claim that the signing of this treaty marked not only the end of World War One but also the prelude to World War Two some twenty years later.World War One drastically altered the political, cultural and social order of the day. Old countries disappeared and new ones cropped up, as if from a conjurer’s magic wand. International organizations, such as The League of Nations, were established. Germany was forced to make economic reparations for starting World War One, and France would pay the a dear price for that some twenty years under the murderous regime of a lunatic named Adolph Hitler.

The ghosts of World War One linger still in some areas of France, particularly in the Champagne region, where many of the trench lines were located. Quantities of unexploded shells and other ammunition have remained, and continue to be ploughed by farmers who refer to them sardonically as the “iron harvest.” These shells cause occasional fatalities to this day. According to some estimates, France will not be completely cleared of World War One shells for several hundred years.Too bad the modern world cannot say the same for war.

Babylonians Gods

The Babylonians were polytheists who were heavily influenced by Sumerian culture, creating a complex pantheon of gods, demons, and others. Many Babylo-nian myths were designed to tie into this pantheon in some way, describing the way in which the gods made the world, and providing explanations for the events of life on Earth. Some of these legends and myths have become quite famous in their own right. For example, The Epic of Gil-gamesh, which describes the doings of some of the gods, is a notable piece of Mesopotamian literature. As with most pantheons, the Babylo-nian gods were headed by two gods, in this case Apsu and Tiamat. All of the Baby-lonian gods are descended from this origi-nal pair, with an interesting twist. Accord-ing to legend, these Babylonian gods did a poor job of looking after their children, leading to a revolt which ended when Ea slew Apsu while Tiamat did nothing.

Allegedly, each succeeding genera-tion of Babylonian gods was superior to the last, culminating in Marduk, the god of wisdom, who became the eventual ruler of the gods. Babylonians celebrated the annual death and rebirth of Marduk each year as part of their religious faith. Marduk also ultimately overcame the forces of Tiamat when she was finally stirred to action, and in conquering Tiamat and her forces, led by the god Kingu, Marduk made the world, along with people to live in it.

To name all of the Babylonian gods and their complex relationships would require much more space, but some of the gods are particularly notable or interest-

ing Sin, for example, is the moon god, and the father of Shamash, the god of the poor and travelers. Nintu and Anu are both cre-ating gods, with the ability to make things such as the winds, while Kingu's blood was used to make mankind. Damkina is the Babylonian earth mother, wife of Ea, another god of wisdom who also oversaw the arts. Mummu was another god who became renowned as a craftsman.

The god of air was Enlil, and he also looked after the weather. Ishtar, the god-dess of both love and war, became famous for venturing to the underworld to get her lover back, mirroring a number of other myths from around the Mediterra-nean in which someone makes the sacri-fice of entering the underworld to redeem someone else's life. It is also intriguing to note that while love and war seem anti-thetical in many modern eyes, Ishtar was far from being the only goddess of love and war in the Mediterranean, suggesting that early civilizations in this area recog-nized the intense emotions which could accompany both experiences.

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