The primary task of a historian–in this case, you– is to interpret evidence from the past to help us understand how people thought, worked and behaved in different places and eras. We ultimately study history to improve our understanding of our own world and, we hope, to make better-informed decisions in our own lives. There are many kinds of evidence, including government documents, newspapers, images, diaries, and religious writings, to name but a few, for us to interpret. Sometimes our evidence exists in the form of material artifacts, like shards of pottery, tools and other everyday items. For this project, you will be writing about the object you see here. What you need to know about this object is that the original was made of wood or stone and was approximately the size of a human head. This is a plastic facsimile that I bought in a gift shop somewhere in Europe. (You might need to adjust your viewing window to see this object.)
Here is what you know about this item:
1.) It was purchased (by me) in a gift shop somewhere in Europe. You need to imagine that you found the original somewhere you were exploring.
2.) The original object dates from the period covered in this course (the beginning of civilization to 1500).
3.) The original was made of wood or stone and was approximately the size of a human head.
Your assignment is to write a 3-5-page essay describing the purpose of this item. For the sake of narrative flow, you should imagine that YOU found it somewhere and describe the circumstances under which this occurred. I highly recommend that you consult the Introduction to Katherine J. Lualdi’s Sources of the Making of the West, where she describes the sorts of questions one should ask when confronted with the task of analyzing texts and materials from the past, before you begin the assignment.
In your paper, you need to answer the following questions:
1.) How and where did you find this item? (Don’t spend more than a page maximum explaining this.)
2.) What is it? What was it used for? By whom?
3.) What does this item reveal about the world that produced it? How might it have shaped the everyday lives of the people who came into contact with it?
5.) Do you think you can tell anything about the politics or religious beliefs of the time from this thing? Explain.
Here are a few tips for writing a successful essay:
Begin with a brief outline that organizes your thoughts. Start your essay with a an introductory paragraph that includes a strong thesis statement.
Include strong topic sentences in all subsequent paragraphs.
Be sure to use strong and fluid transitions to link thoughts from one paragraph to the next.
Proofread your paper carefully before submitting it.
Use footnotes to document the sources you consulted during the writing of the paper. For basic instructions on the proper use of footnotes, consult the online version of the Chicago Manual of Style, which you can access here: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Finally, if you find your imagination challenged, skim through your textbook to find possible answers.
For this assignment, there are no right or wrong answers, only good ones! You will be graded on the quality of your reasoning and writing, not on the accuracy of your answer.