AP World HistoryMs. Avar

Unit 1Coursework

History Before Writing:How Do We Know?

Full Name:________________Period #:__________________Today’s Date:______________Due Date: ________________

Instructions: If absent, visit our class webpage for the web quest and find links under Unit 1 – Coursework.

Part 1: Go on a web quest to explore various sources of history before writing as well as view the links to the maps of their region of origin. Record your findings and analysis on this assignment*:

Source 1.1 - Nisa - The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman: Life in the Bush

From which world region is this source?

How useful do you find Nisa's account for understanding the life of much earlier Paleolithic people? Explain.

What evidence of contact with a wider world can you find in her story?

Source 1.2 - Lascaux Rock Art(Europe - from the Caves of Lascaux, Dordogne, France)

How might you tell the story that the painting depicts?

Is the man dead or wounded? Explain.

What message would such a story convey?

Source 1.3 - Female Figurine from Çatalhöyük

From which world region is this source?

Without trying to interpret this statue, how would you simply describe it?

Summarize James Mellaart's view in the 1960s. What features of this statue might support Mellaart's view?

Summarize Ian Hodder's view since 1993. Which features of this statue might support Hodder's interpretation?

Source 1.4 -  Ötzi the Ice Man 

From which world region is this source?

What elements of the description are visible in the reconstructed sculpture (image 4c)?

Explain if you feel the inferences about Otzi's life made by scholars are justified based on the evidence available.

Source 1.5 - Stonehenge

From which world region is this source?

Have a look at the aerial photograph of Stonehenge. How would you describe its major features to someone who had never seen it?

What questions come to mind?

What kinds of additional evidence would be most useful to scholars seeking to puzzle out the mysteries of Stonehenge? Explain.

Part 2: Writing Summary (this will prepare you for a Socratic Seminar class discussion)Write short – but complete - essay responses to the following. Use headings. Staple your own writing to this page.

1. Comparing Sources: Which of these sources seems most useful in understanding human history before writing?Do you find that Nisa's contemporary account offers more or fewer insights than the physical remains from long ago?What are the advantages and drawbacks of each source?

2. Connecting Past and Present:In what ways do these sources retain their ability to speak to people living in industrial societies of the twenty-first century [today]? Or do they have meaning only for those who created them? Which sources do you relate to most strongly? Explain.

3. Reflecting on Speculation:Our understanding of all of these works is highly uncertain, inviting a considerable amount of speculation, guess-work or imagination. Why are historians willing to articulate uncertain interpretations of these ancient sources? Is this an appropriate undertaking for historians, or should scholars remain silent when the evicence does not allow them to speak with certainty and authority? Explain. 

Curriculum Source: Strayer, Robert W. and Eric W. Nelson. Thinking Through Sources for Ways of the World: A Brief Global History, Volume 1: Through the Fifteenth Century, Chapter 1. 3rd Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.