Book Review by Ace & Adele: Mara, Daughter of the Nile

About the Book:

Mara, Daughter of the Nile was written by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Although Mara was first published in 1953, the author first toured Egypt in 1964. She was able to tell the story because her hobby was to study ancient Egyptian history and customs. Although the book was written long ago, it is still a relevant piece of historical fiction. Many of parts of the story such as the people (Hatshepsut and Thutmose) and geography (Egypt and the Nile River) are real; however, the main characters in the story are not. Hatshepsut did lose the crown to Thutmose III in actuality, but how it happened in Mara, Daughter of the Nile is clever fiction.

Plot Summary:

The story is set in Ancient Egypt during the reign of Hatshepsut, who was regarded as one of the more successful pharaohs and reigned longest of any of the other (rare) women pharaohs in history. The life of a fictional slave girl named Mara takes a turn when she is offered the chance for freedom if she will first pose as a palace interpreter in order to spy on Thutmose. On the way to Hatshepsut’s palace she meets Sheftu, and Mara’s life takes another turn. Sheftu’s plan to overthrow Hatshepsut and Mara’s desire to better her odds in getting freedom turn her into a double agent. There is just one problem. It turns out that there may be something more valuable to Mara and Sheftu than what they first thought was most important.

Adele’s View:

Hi all! It’s Adele! My favorite character in this book was Mara because she was a slave who became a countess. It just goes to show that you can become anything, even if you are forced to do something else at first.

I could relate to Inanni, the Mesopotamian princess, because she is in a new land, and I just changed schools. Mara poses as Inanni’s interpreter to spy on Thutmose, but Mara and Inanni have something in common. They are both wise women, and become friends. I did not particularly like Miphtahyah, who was a tavern owner and guardian of Sheftu. Although she was being protective of Sheftu, she snapped at Mara in front of a lot of people.

I liked the way that the author told the story because it was cool when she changed from Mara’s perspective to Inanni’s perspective.

I would recommend this book to adults or to kids who have a strong vocabulary. I would not recommend this to kids under the age of ten because I found this book very hard to read.


Ace’s Turn:

My favorite character in the story was Sheftu because he was sneaky, had great plans, and made witty comebacks. I think I relate to Sheftu because he is smart. He shows this by getting people to do his dirty work. But getting people to do my dirty work is not one of my traits even though that seems like it would be fun sometimes.

I did not particularly like Hatshepsut in the story because she was portrayed as mean, bossy, lazy, and a snob. In this book, Hatshepsut is more interested in her royal status than in her people.

I liked the way the author told the story because he alternated views. Sometimes he wrote in Mara’s perspective, and sometimes he wrote in Sheftu’s and the Princess’s points of view.

I would recommend this book because is a good story, it is written in different perspectives, and the characters were engaging.

Ace and Adele's Question for You:

Have you read any good historical fiction books that you would recommend?

Hanging With Hammurabi

I traveled back in time to Babylon in 1755 B.C. to meet Hammurabi or as he called himself “Strong King of Babel.” Hammurabi created a set of laws called “Hammurabi’s Code.” I went back to see how his code originated. I also wondered if people in that time liked the laws or feared them. Hammurabi’s laws included logical and also harsh rules. He also made many positive changes in Babylon and was a very hands-on leader. Hammurabi was a very good leader, but I think many of his laws went too far.

Hammurabi’s Code included both civil (having to with personal rights and property) and criminal (having to do with conduct) laws. The most well known aspect in Hammurabi’s code was the idea of an eye for an eye. I asked Hammurabi about this. Hammurabi told me that it was a matter of logic and fairness. He gave me the following example: If a house builder built a house and it collapsed and killed the owner, the house builder would be put to death. But if the house collapsed and happened to kill the son or daughter of the owner, the house builder’s son or daughter would be killed. I asked him if he thought this was extreme. He replied no, and that his laws were intended  “to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil-doers, so that the strong should not harm the weak.” Hammurabi listed these intentions in the introduction to his laws.

He called himself the “Strong King of Babel” because his careful planning made the small, Babylon city-state into a large, powerful state. He built city walls, restored temples, and he improved irrigation canals for local farming. One of the things he did was to design straight streets that had intersections at right angles. This made getting around simpler for travel and trade, not to mention making property rights more clear. The other reason he was a strong king was because he was able to defeat and unite Mesopotamia in to one kingdom. Hammurabi explained to me that one of the reasons he was a strong leader was that he personally made sure that things were done right.

Hammurabi liked to take control of things like projects, events, and even the Euphrates River. Hammurabi told me that he wanted to control the Euphrates River because it provided water for agriculture and trade routes for his cargo ships. Many other rulers wanted to control the river, such as Rim-Sin of Larsa. As example of Hammurabi’s strong determination, he actually used the river against Rim-Sin by damming the water and releasing a flood. At other times, Hammurabi would withhold water to be used for crops and drinking. Hammurabi told me that he thought these tactics were necessary and that his willingness to use them made him a strong leader.

Hammurabi took laws from all of the city-states and combined them into one code, or set of laws. His strong leadership, careful planning, and desire to maintain control of his kingdom and people no doubt were reasons that he created such a complete and wide-reaching set of rules. Although many of the laws in Hammurabi’s Code were cruel, just like some of his decisions and actions as a leader, they eventually became the basis of many of our modern laws. Although I think Hammurabi got the job done as a leader and a lawmaker, he sometimes did so at too high of a cost.

Do you think Hammurabi went too far?

By: Ace Wells


Sources Used:

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Journey Across Time. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.

Bauer, Susan Wise. The Story of the World. Virginia: Peace Hill Press, 2006. Print.

Ace Visits The Great Pyramid

When I first found out how to time travel, the first thing I wanted to do was go back and see how the blocks were made and stacked for the Ancient Egyptian pyramids. I decided to go back to 2589 B.C.E. to see how the Great Pyramid was built. I wanted to see it because it is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is the only Wonder still in existence.

I met up with a man who was chiseling a large piece of limestone. I introduced myself and he said his name was Nefertum. I asked him how they got the large stones so smooth and square. I was so surprised when he showed me simple tools including chisels and boning rods that were used to smooth the stone. Just like Machu Picchu, the stones were so skillfully fit that not even a knife blade could fit in between them.

I looked over my shoulder and saw people hauling giant stones up a long ramp to the pyramid. I asked what the ramp was for and he said as the pyramid grew higher, the ramp would grow longer and higher so the workers could haul stones up the ramp to set the next layer. After the pyramid was complete they would remove the ramp.

I asked Nefertum if the workers were slaves because I knew that was a popular myth. He told me that most of the men building the pyramids were skilled laborers. He added that during the annual flooding season of the Nile, the peasants left their flooded fields to help with the building. It was a real community effort!

The Great Pyramid was built by Khufu to be his final resting place. It was built in Giza, which is currently near the modern city of Cairo. Although it was still under construction when I was there, the finished pyramid was 481 feet tall. The Great Pyramid is the tallest pyramid in the world.

I have a question for you. Do you know who is buried in Khufu’s tomb?

By: Ace Wells




Sources Used:


Spielvogel, Jackson J. Journey Across Time. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Print.

Putnam, James. Eyewitness Pyramid. New York: DK Publishing, 2011. Print.

“Into The Great Pyramid.” National Geographic. 2002. Film.

“Pyramids.” The British Museum. n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011 http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html

Who's Your Mummy?

About a week ago, Halloween got me thinking about mummies. I thought about time traveling to South America to 5000 B.C. to see the Chinchorro mummies, but because I am studying Ancient Egypt I decided to go back in time to 2625 B.C. when the mummies were being made there. I was most interested in finding out about how the mummies were embalmed. The embalmers let me watch the embalming process. And I have got to say I was grossed out!

First the embalmers would carefully cut a small slit and remove the stomach, liver, intestines, and lungs through it, setting each one aside. After removing these organs, the Egyptians left the heart in the body because they believed that it was the center of life. The other organs were washed in natron (a salt-like substance), coated with resin, wrapped in linen strips, and stored in decorative pottery called Canopic Jars. The jars were supposed to protect the organs for the journey to the afterlife. A long hook was used to smash the brain and pull it out through the nose. This part was the grossest part. Next I saw them cover the whole body in natron, which was to be left to dry out for forty days. I obviously did not stay there for that long so they told me what would happen later. After it dried out, they would cover the body in oils and spices. Then the body would be ready to be wrapped in linen, which how we think mummies are supposed to look.

Although I time traveled to see an intentional mummy, I have also learned about mummies that are created in natural conditions. Mummies have been found in ice in places like the Italian Alps and Greenland. Even in Egypt natural mummies have been found buried in sand. Natural elements such as sand and ice will preserve bodies by drying or freezing them. I highly recommend watching National Geographic’s Secrets of the Pharaohs (available on Netflix).  You can watch a scientist recreate the ancient mummification process.

Do you have any questions about mummies that you would like to ask?

My Homemade Mummy

By: Ace Wells

Sources used:

"Mummification." British Museum. n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2011
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html

"Mummification." BrainPOP. n.d Web. 25 Oct. 2011
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/mummies

Pottery and Cuneiform in Ancient Mespotamia!

After Adele went back to 10,000 B.C. to the area that would become Mesopotamia, we decided to go back. We went back to 3,000 B.C. because we wanted to see Mesopotamia when writing was forming and pottery was being made. We were particularly interested in writing because we are time travel journalists. We also got interested in learning more about ancient pottery when Gary Rith left an informative comment on Adele’s post. We went to the city-state of Ur, which was the capitol of Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia. Ur was located on the Euphrates River. We got to see Sumerian pottery and clay tablets. The most exciting part is that they let us learn how they made pots and write on tablets in cuneiform. We brought back some samples.

Adele's Cuneiform Tablet

Cuneiform is one of the earliest known forms of writing. It originated in Sumer around 3100 B.C. In its first stages, cuneiform writing was based on pictographs, but for functional reasons, they changed to straight lines. As the pictographs changed into symbols made from straight lines, over time they lost their original resemblance to the objects they represented. Numbers were represented by repeated strokes or circles. In order to write in cuneiform, a reed stick or stylus was used to make impressions in clay.

At first every character represented one word, but many words lacked their own symbols. For these, symbols of related objects were used. In the beginning, cuneiform was written from top to bottom. Then they changed into writing from left to right because their arm would smear the written words below. The signs also changed to being turned on their sides. There were 600 signs in the fully developed cuneiform system.

Ace's Tablet (from L to R):
Fish, Heaven, Water,
Sun, Bird, Barley,
Bread, Day, Hand,
To Walk, Head, Mountain,
Man, Ox, "Ace"

Thank you, Ace, for that wonderful information about cuneiform writing. I have some things to say about pottery! The ancient pottery of Mesopotamia was a lot different than most people think. Some people think that decorations or writing was painted, but most historians know that it was usually etched like this:

Adele's Pottery Etched with a Bird Symbol

Decorating or marking pots with paint may have dated back to around 5,000 B.C. However, when Ace and I were in Ur in 3,000 B.C., they mostly used engravings. Only their ceremonial pots had paintings. Examples of ceremonial pots included their urns. We saw pots engraved with the symbol for crops; for example, the barley symbol might be on a pot that was made to contain that grain. Barley and wheat were grains common to that time and region. Some pots do not even have engravings.

Ace's Pottery

Although the Sumerians had pottery wheels by this time, the pots that we made were coil pots. A coil pot in progress looks like this:

Coil Pot Example

Ace and I had so much fun in the city-state of Ur. Something else we learned about in Ur is that only wealthy boys could go to school. We also got to visit a ziggurat. In Sumer, ziggurats were temples dedicated to the city-state’s most important god or goddess. The one in Ur was the temple of Nanna, the moon deity in Sumerian mythology.

Ace and I had to hurry back home because we saw our Mac battery levels were running low. We did not want to get stuck in the past like Marty McFly. We grabbed our tablets and pottery, and clicked our time portal links. We are looking forward to our next adventure. Meanwhile, do you have any questions about Mesopotamia?

By: Ace and Adele Wells

Sources Used:

"Mesopotamia." The British Museum. n.d. Web. 27 September 2011
"Cuneiform Writing." LookLex Encyclopedia. n.d. Web. 27 September 2011
(Coil Pot photo courtesy of Google Images.)

Movie Review by Ace: Back to the Future

Dr. Emmett Brown's Time Machine

Ace and Adele's Time Machines

Since Adele and I discovered how to create a time machine, I decided to do some research on some other time machines in movies to get an idea of how to improve ours. I watched Back to the Future for the first time. Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985. Many famous stars were acting in this movie including Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly. Crispin Glover plays George McFly, Lea Thompson plays Lorraine Baines, Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff Tannen, and Claudia Wells plays Jennifer Parker. Dr. Emmett Brown aka “Doc” is played by Christopher Lloyd. Back to the Future is a comedy adventure. The film is rated PG13.

Why is it called “Back to the Future”? Keep reading to find out.

At the beginning of the movie set in the 1980s, high school student Marty McFly does not have the most pleasant of lives. The principal at his school thinks Marty is a slacker. Marty also has a nerdy father (George) and a mother with problems of her own. In high school Marty’s parents suffered bullying by peers. The main bully, Biff, is now George’s supervisor at work. One weird character in Marty's life is a scientist named Doc who is working on a time machine powered by plutonium. Accidentally warped back into the 1950s, without enough plutonium to get back, Marty interferes with his mother and father’s history the day they met and fell in love. Marty must now reunite his parents or else he will not exist in the 1980s. Marty also has to figure out a way to get “Back to The Future”, therefore giving the movie its name. Getting back to the future won't be easy though, especially because Biff, now also a teenager, is making matters worse.

Although Back to the Future came out twenty-five years ago, I still really liked it because the topic is current with bullying in schools that we read about in the news. Also, the clothing and hairstyles are very amusing. I think Back to the Future is still relevant today, and is a great movie for adults and teens but has some strong language and themes. Have you seen this movie in the past few years?

By: Ace Wells

Ace Visits Machu Picchu!

Although I am a time traveler (using my Mac), I sometimes go to places in the present time (using a plane ticket). I went to Machu Picchu (which is near Cusco, Peru) last month. It was very fun and interesting, and I plan to go back in past times (around 1400 A.D.) to learn more and see if all the theories are true. Meanwhile, I would like to share with you some of the things I saw and learned.

Me at Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu in Background

The Incas built many temples, towns and homes on the sides of mountains. On most mountains the Incas built terraces that are like giant steps. The purpose of the terraces is for a flat farm area to grow crops.

Terraces

A strange thing about the Incas is that in just 200 years they built tons of temples and towns that would take a long time to make! It seems like long time, but for the work that they did it is not at all. The work they did was amazing. They stacked rocks on top of each other so tight you cannot insert a piece of paper in between them! The rocks they stacked also could weigh up to fifty tons and they moved them miles over mountains and rocky terrain!

The Tightness of the Rocks

The Incas also carved in the rocks so that on a certain day the sun would shine through the carving and cast a shadow to make a particular shape to occur on specific days. On December 22, when the sun was directly above Machu Picchu (noon) there would be no shadows casted. On June 21, a circular shape shadow would occur. They used those dates because December 22 was the time when the sun was in the direct middle of the sky and June 21 because that was when the sun was lowest in the sky. Perhaps they carved these to mark the start of a planting season.

Machu Picchu was the most important temple because it was hidden to the Spanish therefore getting its nickname the Lost City. The Spaniards couldn’t destroy it because it was hidden in the backside of a mountain in a very remote location, far from other temples and villages. Machu Picchu is called the Lost City because the jungle had literally swallowed it by the time that Yale explorer Hiram Bingham III rediscovered it in 1911. When the overgrown vegetation was removed, the complex of ruins was revealed.

Because the Incas were acclimated (used to the height) they would run into the mountains with ease if they needed to retreat, leaving the attackers breathless.

The Incas also believed there were three steps to the world. The under world represented a snake, the puma signified ground level and the condor meant the air or heaven.

Fountain with Three Steps

Incas did not collect and display gold because they thought it was valuable; they only used it because they thought it was the sun god in physical form. But the Spanish on the other hand were the opposite. They took the gold because it was valuable and didn’t respect the spiritual importance.

The Incan cross is a very meaningful symbol. The Inca cross has twelve steps representing the twelve months. The cross also represents the steps of life that the Incan culture believed in. The bottom right corner signified the underworld where you are dead from a life before and being born again. The right upper corner represented growing older. The upper left hand corner signified dying and the lower left corner represented being buried. This supports one of the reasons the Incas believed in resurrection.

Incan Cross

I really enjoyed visiting Machu Picchu. I recommend climbing to the top of Huayna Picchu, which is an 8,924 foot, two hour climb to the very top. The summit of Huayna Picchu has a great view of Machu Picchu. If you have any questions about my trip, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer them. Meanwhile, here are some more pictures that I took for you to enjoy:

The View of Machu Picchu from the Summit of Huayna Picchu

Stone Condor

Temple Where Incas Worshipped Their Sun God

Huayna Picchu

By: Ace Wells

Hello!

Welcome to our blog! As you can see, this is our first post as we travel through time. My name is Adele. My brother's name is Ace. We made an amazing discovery! Our computers can take us through time. We will also use our computers to tell you about it. Go Mac! Today I am typing. Let's begin.

The purpose of this blog is to share with you about our travels through time. We plan to start with traveling to many ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  Our computers can travel to any time or place, so be prepared to join us as we enjoy many sights and meet interesting people.

I enjoy filming, so I am particularly interested in getting to film the people of each time period.  Ace is interested in seeing the ruins. He is also curious about how the ancient people created them without modern technology and resources.

I am also very excited to meet Hatshepsut, the first of the woman pharaohs. Hatshepsut was important because she proved to the world that women could handle leadership just as well as men.  Ace would like to meet some of the Egyptian carpenters because they provided tools to help make the pyramids. He would like to learn how the carpenters broke the rocks into perfect squares to put on top of each other, and how the workers transported the blocks to the tops of the pyramids.

During our travels we will be filming (mostly me!) :), keeping travel journals, doing arts and crafts, writing book reviews, and other exciting projects. Stay tuned to learn how we discovered the time machine and how we use it!

We hope you will enjoy our new blog! 

                                              ~Ace and Adele