HIS336 Primary Sources

Early Polynesian Seafaring

Polynesians were the first people to navigate the open ocean. They were systematic in their discoveries of new islands. They created a complex system of wayfinding which took into account many factors including things like wind patterns, currents, star observations, and weather.

Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China

Qin Shi Huang brought an end to the Warring states period and unified China, becoming the first emperor of China. He moved china into a centralized bureaucratic system. He began building his funeral monument at the beginning of his rule, it is known as the terracotta army. The army represents the power the emperor had and the advanced craftsmanship/ technology as construction would have been done using an assembly line.

Comparative Chinese Philosophies

Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism were the three major Chinese philosophies that came into being. The teachings of these philosophies were written by the philosophers of the three schools of thought, reading these teachings gives insight into the different thought processes of the time. The writings are meant to teach the ideas that drive the different philosophies and guide the reader's thought process, not just their actions. Some of the writings are more concrete and could act as rules for believers to follow.

Hammurabi's Code

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the Babylonian Empire and he wrote an early law code. This was not the first time that a ruler created a law code. Hammurabi's Code resembles earlier codes in its style and content, suggesting the laws may have influenced one another or perhaps even derived from a similar source. The statutes could have been a list of amendments to an even earlier and more expansive set of general laws. The laws also could have been a set of judicial precedents derived from real world cases. Other historians have even argued the Code was a piece of royal propaganda created to tout Hammurabi as a great and just ruler. These laws do provide insight into society at that time.

Lady Wenji

Lady Wenji was a Chinese noblewoman who was kidnapped and held captive. She was highly educated and wrote poetry about her suffering throuughout her captivity and her eventual return which forced her to separate from her children. These poems tell the story of how those being used as political pawns felt about their role.

The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

The Art of War is a book that was written in ancient China by Sun Tzu. The text provides advice to leaders on the topic of military strategy. The advice given in the book was popular and well received by many leaders at the time. It gives us insight into the mentality the Zhou Dynasty had towards war and power and the importance of intelligence.

Cyrus Cylinder

The Cyrus Cylinder is covered in a declaration of conquest issued by Cyrus the Great, the king of Persia. The cylinder provides us with the beliefs that Cyrus expressed. The declaration was written about Cyrus' conquest of Babylon. The declaration on the cylinder was a way for Cyrus to foster loyalty in the people he had just defeated. He painted himself as less of a conqueror and more of a savior. Cyrus was clearly hoping to bring the people of Babylon into his kingdom as smoothly as possible.

Lament of Ur

The Lament of Ur was a poem written to mourn the downfall of the city of Ur. The poem was written by a Sumerian at the end of the golden age of Sumer. Ur was destroyed as the golden age of Sumer ended and the lament showed the true despair Sumerians were feeling at the time. The lament was a way to express grief and it also was an outlet for creativity in the face of destruction. While the poetry is mostly emotional, it also is a record of the destruction from the point of view of the conquered and provides insight into the Sumerians' religious beliefs.

Twelve Tables of Rome

The Twelve Tables of Rome were a set of laws written by Roman magistrates, in the early days of the Roman Republic. Some of the laws were influenced by the desires of non-upper-class Roman citizens, because in a republic they held some power even if it wasn't much. The Twelve Tables were a code of law meant to tell Roman citizens how they should act in certain circumstances. The laws created boundaries of what was allowed and what was not and outlined the consequences of certain actions. The laws mostly applied equally to the lower classes as well as the upper classes, but did include barriers between the classes.

Book of Documents (Shangshu)

The book of documents was a set of five pieces of literature that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty designated as the Five Classics of Chinese philosophy. The literature had been compiled by Confucian scholars. Wu's designation of these as classics elevated Confucianism in the Han Dynasty and made these pieces of literature essential reading for scholars and high-born Chinese for centuries to come.

Decline of Mayan Civilization

The decline of Mayan civilization was very rapid and somewhat dramatic. there is some dispute about why it ended so quickly. The first is that it came about due to an increase in warfare which was not sustainable. The second is that a series of droughts were responsible. The third is that there was overpopulation and insufficient resources to provide for the large population partly due to agricultural practices. Finally there is the argument that disruption in hierarchy and less trade led to a loss of unity which cause the maya to decline.

Indus Script

The people of the Indus Valley had a language, Indus Valley Script, which has not yet been able to be deciphered in modern times. There are seals with transcriptions which provide us with an example of Indus Valley Script. The language on the seals has not been translated, so the meaning behind the inscriptions is unknown and we cannot be sure of the purpose behind the seals. They may have been used to indicate ownership or to verify identity. The undeciphered script is a reminder that there is still a lot about history we don't know.

Oracle Bones

The texts that recorded the events of the Shang Dynasty are actually bones or shells called the Oracle Bones. An oracle or fortune-teller would carve symbols on the bones with a hole and then crack the bone and then interpret the direction of the crack to predict the future. The elite of the Shang Dynasty were the ones able to afford these fortune-telling services. So the pictures and then words of the Oracle Bones reflected their concerns. These were often about family and finances but also included dynastic and political concerns. Some excavated bones contained the complete royal genealogy of the Shang Dynasty.

Advice from a Royal Scribe

This advice to a scribe is a document that is from an ancient Egyptian royal scribe to his apprentice. The letter conveys a practical advice to an up-and-coming scribe — as well as warnings about what temptations he must avoid to be successful. Being a scribe was a prestigious job and there was plenty of work. Scribes were critical to the functioning of the complex centralized administrations of the pharaoh, the army, and the priesthood, and in truth very little happened in ancient Egypt which did not involve a scribe in some manner. The letter expresses becoming a scribe is the best option available to the apprentice and the opportunity should not be wasted.