Digital Scrapbook Entry #2 - Agrarian Era

Trevor Jones

World History Per. 7

September 15, 2014 

Taxation Throughout the Ages

The earliest forms of taxation recorded was around 6000-2500 BC, from the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Lagash in modern day Iraq, and is still around in society today. This is arguably one of the most important advancements of the agrarian era and has been a tradition for well over four thousand years. Since the invention of taxation, people have been taking liberties at improving/modifying taxation in societies so that it is barely recognizable compared to that of the agrarian era. 

Throughout history, taxes have become more and more complex. We start out in the early to mid agrarian era with taxes as simple as people giving a small percentage of resources to their government. Most often, taxes would be payed by a portion of the crop yield or some other food. These portions would increase in times of crisis or war to about 10% of all goods. These early taxes were used to supply the defense of the city or to trade with other communities. Today, taxes are more involved around reimbursement to the government so they can put our tax-dollars to use with projects and other beneficial things. This being said, it is not the only form of taxation, there are several different types of taxation that each and every adult individual need to pay. Some examples are estate tax, federal tax, luxury tax, and many many more. Each type of taxation has a specific importance that focuses on one area.  

http://www.adsgsoftware.com/Taxation-E-Book,Excise,VAT,Service-Tax,Exim,Adsg-Software-pune.html 

Early taxes were paid on a much more laid back schedule than taxes of today. Because people didn't have coined money back in the agrarian era, ancient households had to pay in kind and payed different taxes throughout the year. Poll taxes required each man to deliver a cow or sheep to the authorities. Almost all of the taxes that we see today are required to be paid with each purchase we make, whether it be food or other material items, a small portion of the money you pay for them goes to the government. Taxes are also payed much more often nowadays. Instead of being paid annually, today they are payed daily, or even more often than that. This being said, today's forms of taxes are still more efficient with paper currency than walking a cow down to the authorities. 

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub365/item1926.html

Now that most people had to pay taxes, this also lead to the creation of tax exemptions. The early form of government in Mesopotamia kept track of who has payed their taxes by putting a mark next to their name on a clay tablet. The experts of early Sumerian civilization have recently figured out that the government can exempt certain people (people of their choosing) from paying taxes by simple etching three signs next to the name of an individual or group. These specific three signs mean "freedom from taxes". We still see similar forms of tax exemption today. Our government can give out taxes to specific businesses or groups (charities, churches, etc.) so they don't have to take away from the small amount of money that they make. 

http://bftaxhelp.wordpress.com/about-property-taxes/history-of-property-taxes/ancient-mesopotamia/

In conclusion, taxation has a very large history and was/is very important for the development of cities and city to city relationships. Having lasted well over four thousand years, taxation was a huge advancement in society and helped make cities what they are today. Taxation has changed a lot over time, but the general idea still stands and will continue to used in different ways for the better. 

Citations

1. Earliest forms of taxation: http://bftaxhelp.wordpress.com/about-property-taxes/history-of-property-taxes/ancient-mesopotamia/  

2. Modern day taxation and examples of them: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Kinds+of+Taxes 

T&R on Irrigation Project

Trevor Jones  9/24

Thoughts & Reflections on Irrigation Project 

Source: Project Developed by Ms. Mitchell 

Reflection on Irrigation Project

I really enjoyed working on this project with a group for a few reasons. I enjoyed this project primarily because it was a break from book work and/or lectures and it gave us a fun way to understand the material. I also enjoyed this project because it showed us the hardships the people of the early agrarian era had with channeling water for their civilizations (even though we only had 15 minutes). This was a great way to test our knowledge on not just history but also our teamwork skills and what we can bring our brains together to create. Overall this was a great project and I hope we can do more like it in the future.   

http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/wetland/canal/canals.htm

T&R on Pig Lovers and Pig Haters

Trevor Jones        9/22/14

Thoughts & Reflections on Pig Lovers & Pig Haters

Source: Marvin Harris 

What are four explanations as to why pork is not eaten in the Middle East? What is the real reason pork is not eaten in the Middle East? How is this an environmental issue?

There are several reasons as to why pork is not eaten in the Middle East. The first reason is that pigs are dirty and can cause disease. Some do not think that this is true because many other animals eaten in the Middle East can cause health problems due to their cleanliness. The second reason is the difficulty of raising them. Pigs like to live in a cool and shady habitat where they can keep their body cool. It is proven that adult pigs can die in direct sunlight and temperatures over 98 degrees so the Jordan Vally is not the ideal place to raise pigs. Thirdly, pigs were sacred and were once totemic symbols of various tribal clans. At first,the reasons for not eating them was many were originally divine, but was no help because other animals worshiped in the Middle East (such as cows and sheep) were still domesticated for their meat. The final reason as to why pork was not eaten in the Middle East was the temptation for more. Since pork was already incredibly hard to produce, and was a luxury to have even a little, people decided it wasn't worth it to have the temptation and "interdicted the consumption of pork entirely".

All this being said, the real reason that people didn't eat pork in the Middle East was the pigs inconvenience. Pigs are slaughtered only for the use of their meat, not for any secondhand products or uses. The only things pigs were good for was luxury. It was already a hassle raising and slaughtering a pig for its meat, but on top of that it cant produce any wool, milk, cheese or any secondhand product. This also forced people to compete with pigs, because pigs eat berries, grains and nuts like humans would, we have to compete with them for food and all we get from them is a determined amount of meat. This is an environmental issue because they can't give back to the environment, they take in large amounts of our food, and we get a determined amount of meat in return and nothing else.   

     

http://www.kimballstock.com/results.asp?image=PIG%2002%20LS0032%2001 

Digital Scrapbook Entry #1- Hunters & Gatherers

Trevor Jones

World History Per. 7

September 15, 2014 

Aboriginal Fire Stick Farming

-August 1, 2008 - The National Academy of Sciences of the USA

By Kent V. Flannery- University of Michigan

 http://www.pnas.org/content/105/39/14796.full

Modern Day Controlled Burnings

-No Date - USDA Forest Service

By Members of Daniel Boone National Forest 

 http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/dbnf/home/?cid=stelprdb5281464

In the Days of hunting and gathering, the Aborigines had controlled burnings in the forests and jungles to better suit the land to their needs. This was called fire stick farming. Naturally, as a forest grows, trees and grasses die off. But without a controlled fire to rid of the debris, it piles up and acts like a kindling for when a dry part of the year comes to set fire to it. This could be very destructive to the habitat of the animals the Aborigines hunted and the Aborigines themselves. Fire stick farmers would go to areas that were not accessible to animals they were hunting and burn them in order for those animals to be able to graze there. This might have seemed unnatural at the time but when the Aborigines moved and the fires stopped, it killed off several small mammals that lived there and lead to a second major trophic collapse.  

 

 

Even in the modern day, people still fire stick farm but it is know by a different name: Controlled burnings. People no longer need to burn places to better suit the animals they want to hunt because there are such a wide variety of habitats available to us that we do not need to shape our environment. However, we still use fire as a tool in forests or grasslands to keep nature in check. As I said before, dead trees and grasses can take up to 100 years to decompose on their own and the mean time they just build up like logs on a campfire, then when a fire does come, it erupts and is a hazard to the environment around it. When we light controlled fires, we eliminate the possibility for major forest fires and also controls the air quality for the people and wildlife in the area. Controlled fires can also be scheduled around the weather conditions so when they do schedule a controlled fire, they will be sure that every aspect is optimal. 

Even though we no longer fire stick farm for hunting purposes as the Aborigines did, we still use fire to control the area so we can prevent the fire from starting naturally and going out if control. As the aboriginal tribes did, we use fire to manage our land and control the quality of our environment. Today, as in the past, controlled fires still make the land optimal for wildlife to live and thrive, therefore allowing nature to take its course, with a little guidance from humanity. Times have changed since the hunter gatherer time but some traditions still last. I believe that fire stick farming was and still is a brilliant idea and has contributed to the development of history greatly because it influenced the evolution of small mammals and aided the forest to thrive and regrow faster than it would with decaying logs and trunks. There are no negatives that stand out with controlled burning and I cannot foresee an end to this long lasting tradition anytime soon.  

T&R on How Man Invented Cities

Trevor Jones, Period 7                                                                                              9/8/14

Thoughts and Reflections on How Man Invented Cities

Source: John Pfeiffer

How Did Man Invent Cities? Where Did He Invent Them? Why Did He Invent Them? 

    Some historians used to think that people only lived as hunters and gatherers until a better alternative became available. This is in fact false. Hunter-gatherers only had to spend an average of 20 hours per week searching for food and necessities to keeping themselves alive, thats the equivalent to a part time job in society today. This means that the hunter-gatherers had a lot of time for leisure. The reason man settled down was because he found out that he could forage food in a much more reliable way and he wouldn't have to work as hard to get it. 

    This was around the time that mile-high glaciers began to melt therefore extending bodies of water out to a more accessible area for man to catch fish and other water animals. Once man discovered that everything he needed could be found around him, there was no purpose to travel long distances for recourses. Now that people didn't have to spend their days in search of food, they could build more things and reproduce faster. People became more dependent on plants and animals around them and pretty soon, populations doubled, tripled, and soon man was building civilizations. 

    It is argued that civilizations first arouse in the valleys of the Tigris, Euphrates and the Nile Rivers and from there spread to the rest of the world. This is a very possible theory because near those rivers was very promising land in the sense of farming, water sources and climate. There are many other theories as to where cities first arouse such as in the Near East. To be more specific Mesoamerica and Southeast Asia. Any of these theories as to where man created cities is possible because they are prime locations in the way that they have resources necessary for life and the climate was preferable for life. 

How Man Invented Cities Discussion Questions

Trevor Jones
9/4/2014
Period 7

How Man Invented Cities Discussion Questions

1. If keeping on the move causes forgers to meet other people, then how would it serve as a natural birth control?
2. Did climate play as big of a part in foragers settling down as food and water supply did?
3. What defines "good territory"? Is it just the location including water, food, and shelter source or was it also the terrain of the land?

Pgs 9-16 Discussion Questions

Trevor Jones
9/3/2014
Period 7

Pgs 9-16 Discussion Questions

1. Once a family member leaves to intermarry with another family, does that member ever return to his/her birth family?
2. How does the average adult forager get enough calories if they are "running for their lives" all day?
3. Was it necessarily better to have more material possessions and be prepared, or to have less material possessions and not have to carry everything with you?
4. If you were experiencing more leisure, and less disease as a forager, then what would motivate you to settle down and start a civilization?
5. What would happen to humanity if a more advanced species took over? Could we possibly go into extinction?

T&R on Big Question #3

Trevor Jones, Period 7                                                          9/3/14
Thoughts and Reflections on Big Question #3
Source: This Fleeting Worlds (Pgs 9-16)

What Was Man Doing for 99% of History? Why Was He Doing This Instead of Something Else?

Before man settled down and built civilizations, we were busy hunting and gathering our next meal. For 99% of human history, we were foragers, constantly on the move with the small amount of possessions we can carry. Man most likely did this because by doing this, he got all the necessities he needs to live. Man could forage water, food, find shelter, and defend himself with extra time to relax and enjoy life. Until we had a way of communicating with other foragers, we would never have the need to settle down in one place. Now that we could communicate to other foragers, it lead to many more opportunities in getting more accomplished quicker and more enjoyment.