Tag Archives: Egypt

Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Every semester, I assign my students a Digital Storytelling project. The first time around, the students always find it a challenge. This is often the first time they have put together a research project of this calibre using a creative medium. They push themselves, meet challenges, and ultimately find themselves with a brilliant product that they are proud to display. This year, we rolled them out once again. For your review, I am attaching the lesson plan as well as the grading rubric:

Download the instruction sheet in PDF form here: Digital Story Instructions (I grant permission for instructors to use this material for educational purposes so long as they cite me).

Digital Storytelling Rubric can be downloaded in PDF form here: Digital Storytelling Rubric

As always, the students wowed me with their productions. Here are a few samples:

A few key elements that I changed this year was a strong emphasis on Copyright Licenses, especially highlighting the use of Creative Commons Licensed Content. I highlighted this endeavor in a recent article: “How to Find License-Free Content for use in the Classroom.”

If you would like to compare this project with previous versions, see: “My First Attempt at Employing Digital Storytelling in the Classroom.”

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Explore the Pyramids in 3D Online

Giza 3DA new website, Giza 3D, has launched on which you can explore the Giza Pyramids online in 3D. The project was launched by engineering firm Dassault Systèmes under direction of Harvard University and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

What makes the website and project unique is that it is not simply a 3D rendition of the pyramids, but rather incorporates up to date archaeological and historical data into its mapping as well as allows users to explore art work, writings, and architecture in high resolution detail. Users can explore finds (that are now in museums) in their original positioning and have interactive access to research.

To learn more about this project, visit the Giza 3D website and read the in depth article at Discovery News.

Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2011

This month’s Archaeology Magazine highlights the top ten finds of the 2011 Field Season. The list includes:

Accidental Leather Find Sheds new Light on Egyptian Charriots

Researchers recently rediscovered some leather trappings in a drawer at the Egyptian Museum at Cairo. Scholars hope that the remarkably preserved find will help to further our understanding of the machinations of Egyptian War Chariots.

“The trappings should help us to understand more about chariot construction and use, which in turn will be important for our knowledge of ancient Egyptian warfare and elite display,” Susan Harris

To learn more about the discovery, see the article published in Nature.

Earliest image of Egyptian ruler wearing ‘white crown’ of royalty brought to light

Earliest image of Egyptian ruler wearing ‘white crown’ of royalty brought to light.

The earliest known image of an Egyptian ruler wearing the “White Crown” associated with Egyptian dynastic power has been brought to light by an international team of archaeologists led by Egyptologists from Yale University.

Carved around 3200 BCE, this unique record of a royal celebration at the dawn of the Egyptian dynastic period was found at a site discovered almost a half-century ago by Egyptologist Labib Habachi at Nag el-Hamdulab, on the West Bank of the Nile to the north of Aswan.

The site had been partially damaged in recent years, and the Yale-led team — which also included Egyptologists from the University of Bologna, Italy and the Provinciale Hogeschool of Limburg, Belgium — relied on Habachi’s photos (now stored with the Epigraphic Survey in Luxor) and cutting-edge digital methodology to reconstruct and analyze the images and hieroglyphic text inscribed in several areas within the larger site.

Read More: Earliest image of Egyptian ruler wearing ‘white crown’ of royalty brought to light via Science Daily

Calling All “Wannabe” Archaeologists – Help Translate Papyrus Text

One-hundred years ago, archaeologists uncovered thousands of papyrus scraps in a rubbish pit at Oxyrhynchus. Many of those pieces remain untranslated.

Scholars are calling on all arm-chair archaeologists to help them decipher the texts:

As untranslated fragments appear on the website, character-recognition tools will help people match the letters to symbols. Once the letters have been transliterated, the computer verifies whether the manuscript has been translated by an academic. If not, it passes it on to the scholars for further study.

This endeavor has already produced a great deal of success – including the decipherment of a previously undiscovered Gospel. To read more about the project, check out this article in Discovery News. To give a shot yourself, check out the Ancient Lives website (no knowledge of Greek necessary).

The Fall of Zahi Hawass (via Smithsonian)

On the wake of the recent Zahi Hawass story, Smithsonian Magazine has done an in-depth analysis of the man, the politics, and the state of Egypt.

The Fall of Zahi Hawass – The Smithsonian Magazine

It is not as dramatic as the collapse of an ancient Egyptian dynasty, but the abrupt fall of Zahi Hawass is sending ripples around the planet. The archaeologist who has been in charge of Egypt’s antiquities for nearly a decade has been abruptly sacked in an overhaul of the country’s cabinet.

The antipathy toward Hawass in Egypt may be difficult to grasp in the West, where he is typically found on American television, fearlessly tracking down desert tombs, unearthing mummies and bringing new life to Egypt’s dusty past. But in Egypt he has been a target of anger among young protesters who helped depose President Hosni Mubarak in February. Hawass had been accused of corruption, shoddy science and having uncomfortably close connections with the deposed president and first lady⎯all of which he has vociferously denied. Many young archaeologists also are demanding more jobs and better pay⎯and they complain Hawass has failed to deliver. “He was the Mubarak of antiquities,” said Nora Shalaby, a young Egyptian archaeologist who has been active in the revolution.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Fall-of-Zahi-Hawass.html#ixzz1SUm4yKHA

 

Egyptian Archaeologist Zahi Hawass Leaves Post Amidst Controversy

Famed Egyptologist and Minister of Antiquities in Egypt, Zahi Hawass, is no longer serving in his governmental post. Whether he left or was fired is uncertain – sources are reporting both scenarios. The recent unrest in Egypt and the hostility towards the former Mubarak regime made his position tenuous. His close relationship with the Dictatorship made him a more polarizing and controversial figure in recent days.

Hawass is no newcomer to controversy. He has regularly been criticized for his fame-seeking and attention getting antics. His scholarship has also been called into question. His position became even more controversial as his ties to the Mubarak regime were questioned as well as his ability to truly conserve and protect Egypt’s antiquities.

Read more about the controversy surrounding his leaving office in this MSNBC article.

 

New York City & Egypt Tussle over Cleopatra’s Needle

Most visitors of Central Park do not realize that they have a piece of Ancient History in the midst. In the 19th century, Egypt made a gift of Cleopatra’s Needle, one of three identical obelisks, to the Cities of New York, Paris, and London. The obelisks themselves are not related to the famed Queen, but rather were inscribed during the reign of Thutmose III.

Recently, Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s Council of Antiquities (and a controversial figure in his own right) condemned the city of New York for ill-keeping of the artifact – arguing that the heavy pollution and acid rain of the city has eroded the inscriptions and even suggesting that Egypt should confiscate the monument. New York has responded by pointing out the instability of Egypt and recent lootings of its museums and monuments as well as denying the accusation that New York City’s pollution is having any negative effect on the monument.

To learn more about this debate, you can read the article in the New York Times.

Patrick McGovern – the “Beer Archaeologist”

Photograph by Landon Nordeman

Any student of ancient civilization recognizes the importance that alcohol has played on the development of our cultural past. When we all started living together densely (a.k.a. – civilization), food and water became immediate, problematic needs as pollution (generally in the form of human waste) destroyed our resources. Water was generally a dangerous drink (as any traveller to Mexico has discovered) and alcohol was a safe alternative – the fermentation process often killed or prevented the growth of dangerous bacteria and parasites. In fact, in ancient Egypt, a common breakfast was a hunk of bread and a bucket of beer.

One man has made his name on the study of alcohol in the ancient world, specifically the role it played in our own cultural and social evolution – Patrick McGovern. “Dr. Pat” is the world’s foremost expert on ancient booze, but his expertise expands beyond the rate of hops or blended barleys. As an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, he has travelled the world, poured over manuscripts, and excavated the remnants of ancient distilleries, breweries, and wineries in his quest to further understand humanity’s relationship with intoxicating beverages.

To read more about this topic and learn about Patrick McGovern’s work, check out the article in this month’s Smithsonian Magazine.