The Communication Technology - Essay Example

Question The need to develop better means of communication made humans consider introducing technologies that would replace the traditional ones. In the previous years, people mainly depended on word of mouth communications since many could not read and write. However, to those who were educated, letters were the main means of communication. Therefore, humans thought it wise to introduce mediums of communication that could facilitate effective human interaction. Thus, the first communication technology to be invented was telephone and the telegraph that later made communication much faster and easier. Samuel F.B invented the telegraph where messages travelled through telegraph lines and then received within a short while (Bonnie Smith et al. 550). Such technology improved communication, though it was not easy to use people had to have some expertise to operate telegraphs. The most outstanding innovation in the communication field was telephone that changed lives of the ordinary people. Alexander Graham is the father of telephone technology. Briefly, the need for faster and easy communication made human beings introduce technologies that would help them communicate effectively. Industrial revolution also saw the need for power to operate factories (Bonnie et al. 556). Households also needed power thus steam engine technology was introduced. Towards the end of the 18th century, electricity was introduced to provide a reliable source of energy for the expanding industrial sector. Besides, the introduction of electricity also transformed the lives of people as settlements turned into urban centers, and life completely changed from the rural settings to town dwellings. Humans were greatly in need of reliable power thus they had to introduce technology that will provide the energy. However, the need for technological inventions has changed with the modern humanity. Man now needs technological inventions to make life simple and easy as opposed to the need for development. New and advanced technologies have been introduced like computer engineering that is transforming the world into a global village. In the bottom line, man utterly needs the best means of communication since it is his medium of interaction. This explains why technological advancements focus on technology. All of these technologies were geared towards improving the economic development of mankind as well as improving his lifestyle. Since there are no written records on the history of mankind, scholars have reconstructed the early stages of life to paint a clear picture of the past days. The scholars mostly rely on pre-history. In the early stages of mankind, social organizations and practices like religion and cultural practices defined human life (Bonnie Smith et al. 10). Therefore, scholars have always relied on cultural practices to define early life. Historians have also reconstructed life in the early stages of human development by looking at objects, landscapes, songs and stories that people told at that time. Songs and stories, for instance, are orally passed through generations, thus scholars have used such evidences in reconstructing early life of mankind. Together with cultural expressions like practices, scholars can easily reconstruct life by comparing early stages with eras when mankind had developed. Besides, certain languages can be used to reconstruct the life in the past. A good example was when the term slavery was introduced in the history of mankind. Such era would have been marked with suffering and enslavement hence, scholars can easily make a conclusion of life in that period. Question 2 page 20s One of the important features of life in Mesopotamia was civilization. This civilization was highly attributed of the two Rivers Euphrates and Tigris (Bonnie Smith et al. 25). People settled around the rivers and with the agrarian revolution, Mesopotamia became a civilized place. The fertile soils of Mesopotamia were provided surplus that enabled people to settle in villages that later grew into new settlements. Thus, cities and towns began developing through urbanization. Therefore, the life that would be witnessed in later years in Mesopotamia was as a result civilization. With increased food production, population also grew, but this growth would be characterized by civilization. For instance, it influenced the economic development of Mesopotamia. This is because settlements, especially cities and towns found it necessary to become independent economically. Economic freedom would thus influence the political organizations in Mesopotamia. Cities and states became independent politically and were highly isolated (Bonnie et al 29). However, isolated settlements characterized Mesopotamia thus civilization can be seen as the reason as to why cities were never unified. They grew into twelve cities. Civilization also brought about a change in the life of the Mesopotamian people. Since they heavily depended on agriculture, it improved their agricultural techniques. For instance, irrigation was improved through construction of ditches. Besides, Introduction of plows made farming a simple task. On the other hand, craft industry changed with the introduction of wheels. Industries also started emerging like textiles, metallurgy and pottery. Religion and learning were the other important features of life in Mesopotamia (Bonnie et al 30). This place has been known in history as the cradle for ancient learning. It is also highly believed that the first philosopher, Thales of Miletus studied in Mesopotamia. For instance, Thales is the father of water as the first principle where all other elements flowed. On the other hand, intellectual pursuit was highly regarded in Mesopotamia. There were many schools primarily devoted for priest classes. The classes taught reading, religion, writing, medicine, law and astrology. As a result of this learning, Mesopotamia had over one thousand deities claimed to be gods within its culture. The trainings and teachings also shaped religious beliefs of the Mesopotamians. This is because religion made them see themselves as co-workers under gods and spirits infused them with the supernatural beings. Religion would be the reason behind the strong belief in gods and such doctrines made the people believe that the gods came into being after they had fought chaos. In return, people carried out numerous rituals to appease deities. Religious practices were marked by social events like funeral practices and civic duties that were believed to help the society in maintaining a good balance with the world (Bonnie Smith et al 31). Such practices kept all forces away from the land. Religious humility was also practiced in family settings or organizations. Thus, Mesopotamians grew with a lot of respect and honor for elders and the society in general. Therefore, religion and learning featured in the lives of the Mesopotamians and would later characterize their religious faith and social organization. Question 4 The Egyptian Kingdom era of between 2040 and 1640 BC was marked by the desire of Egypt to start expanding its territory to Nubia (Bonne et al 79). Egyptian Kingdom was interested in taking control of the trade routes through Nubian territory. During this period, Nubians and Egyptians interacted limitedly. However, the later events would therefore see an interaction between Egypt and Nubia, which later united them politically. Nubian history closely links to the ancient Egypt. Egypt conquered the Nubian territory thus incorporating them as one of its provinces. Interestingly, Nubians later conquered Egypt, thus they had a unique nature of interactions. In this case, the two territories interacted peacefully through cooperation. In the long run, such interaction changed their political organizations and instead unified them. For instance, at conquest, Egypt conquered the Medjay area who were later transformed into minor workers and scouts in the military (Bonnie Smith et al. 86). The Egyptians thus incorporated these people into their army then used to them to fortify Nubian territory. The Medjay carried out security patrols and also protected Nubians. Therefore, Egyptians and Nubians interacted to their military advantage that unified them under a seemingly political territory. Medjay were later developed into a police force. They were like the paramilitary elite who would become part of the police occupation of Nubian territory (Bonnie Smith et al. 85). Acting as the police force, the Medjay protected most valuable areas in the region especially religious and royal complexes. Thus, they were used in both Lower and Upper Egypt for protecting a common territory. This led to the political unification of the two regions. Furthermore, Pharaohs were the renowned political leaders in this era. Though they are of Egyptian origin, the interaction between the two territories also saw the rise of the Nubian Pharaohs. These Pharaohs also played an important part in the political unification between the Nubians and Egyptians. This indicates that their interaction led to the assimilation of some political ideologies. Nubian Pharaohs handled their matters in the Egyptian fashion, thus reflecting the nature of the interaction between these two regions. They exchanged cultural practices that would later unite them politically. Nubians and Egyptians united to form a new Kingdom that whose interaction would later become so indistinguishable (Bonnie Smith et al. 70). Two cultures combined and influenced social organization in the region. The same interaction was transferred to their political arrangements as ideologies were mostly of Egyptian origin. This relation easily describes how Nubians became assimilated into the Egyptian society. Moreover, cultural assimilation was so serious that it overshadowed the Nubian ethnic identity. In return, a region or a kingdom was formed of people who identified themselves with Egyptian culture and eventually uniting them politically. When, for instance, the Nubian Pharaohs took over Egyptian territories between 650 and 750 B.C, they developed a complete Egyptian culture (Bonnie Smith et al. 83). Nubian Pharaohs ruled with the Egyptian ideologies thus the Kingdom was politically united with such kind of rule. Work cited Bonnie, Smith et al. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the Worlds Peoples. Volume I. Bedford/St. Martins Press. 2012. Print. Read More