Advances+in+Technology

=Introduction and Task=


 * [[image:colesium.jpg width="250" height="184" align="left" caption=" Coliseum Twilight, CC Attribution, Moonjazz"]] I **nnovations in technology are important for every civilization and empire. In Mesopotamia and Sumer, the invention of the wheel helped produce a surplus of crops and made travel easier. The sewer system in Mohenjo-Daro helped take waste and dirty water out of the city. Both the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty experienced huge advances in technology that set their empires a part from others.

Your client, **Mac Appleman**, is an inventor and business tycoon keenly interested in the technological advancements of Han Dynasty China and Imperial Rome. Mr. Appleman made his fortune developing consumer products,including the Tofu Turkey Fryer, Toxi-Clean Detergent, and the Musical Toilet Seat. To help Mr. Appleman decide which empire he should travel back in time to visit, you'll need to research the role of technology in both dynasties, noting how they were alike and different, and present your key findings on the following questions:


 * Key Questions:**
 * 1) What were the major inventions/innovations of each dynasty?
 * 2) Whom did these advancements primarily benefit? Ordinary citizens? The government? The military?
 * 3) How did these inventions/innovations strengthen and improve each civilization? What needs did they meet?
 * 4) What would you consider to be the most important technological achievement of each dynasty? Why?
 * 5) Which empire should Mr. Appleman, an inventor and business tycoon, visit? Why?

The answers to these questions will culminate in creating a travel poster for each of the two empires. Each poster should be attractive, persuasive, and highlight the major features related to your topic. You will create the posters using Glogster.edu (instructions will be provided in class) and they should contain the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for each dynasty
 * 2) At least three "must see" tourist features with detailed text and relevant images for each dynasty
 * 3) At least one audio recording on each poster

The oral presentation is your opportunity to share your posters, explain whether your client should visit Han China or the Roman Empire, and should follow these guidelines:
 * 1) Less than three minutes in length
 * 2) Should address/explain the "must see" features of each dynasty
 * 3) Should explain which destination the client should visit and why

=Background=
 * B efore** you begin the research process, read the following brief overviews from Wikipedia to get a sense of technology in Han China and Imperial Rome:

The Han Dynasty was a unique period in the development of premodern Chinese science and technology, comparable to the level of [|scientific and technological growth] during the [|Song Dynasty] (960–1279).[|[213]]
 * Han China Technology**

Evidence suggests that [|blast furnaces], that convert raw [|iron ore] into [|pig iron], which can be remelted in a [|cupola furnace] to produce [|cast iron] by means of a [|cold blast] and [|hot blast], were operational in China by the late [|Spring and Autumn Period] (722–481 BCE).[|[217]] The [|bloomery] was nonexistent in ancient China; however, the Han-era Chinese produced [|wrought iron] by injecting excess [|oxygen] into a furnace and causing [|decarburization].[|[218]] Cast iron and pig iron could be converted into wrought iron and [|steel] using a [|fining] process.[|[219]]

From Han literary sources, it is known that wooden-trestle [|beam bridges], [|arch bridges], [|simple suspension bridges], and floating [|pontoon bridges] existed in Han China.[|[238]] However, there are only two known references to arch bridges in Han literature,[|[239]] and only a single Han relief sculpture in Sichuan depicts an arch bridge.[|[240]]

The [|crank handle] was used to operate the [|fans] of [|winnowing] machines that separated grain from [|chaff].[|[250]] The [|odometer] cart, invented during Han, measured journey lengths, using mechanical figures banging drums and gongs to indicate each distance traveled.[|[251]] This invention is depicted in Han artwork by the 2nd century CE, yet detailed written descriptions were not offered until the 3rd century CE.[|[252]] Modern archaeologists have also unearthed specimens of devices used during the Han Dynasty, for example a pair of sliding metal [|calipers] used by craftsmen for making minute measurements. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty#Science.2C_technology.2C_and_engineering

The [|Roman Empire] had the most advanced set of technologies of its time, some of which was lost during the turbulent eras of [|Late Antiquity] and the [|early Middle Ages]. Gradually, some of the technological feats of the Romans were rediscovered and/or improved upon, while others went ahead of what the Romans had done during the [|Middle Ages] and the beginning of the [|Modern Era]. Several Roman technological feats in different areas like civil engineering, construction materials, transport technology, and some inventions such as the [|mechanical reaper], were surprising achievements until the 19th century, and some, such has the [|arch], has remained untouched to this day.
 * Roman Technology**

The apparent period in which technological progress was fastest and greatest was during the 2nd century and 1st century BC, which was the period in which Roman political and economic power greatly increased. Innovation continued until the fall of the Empire, and it would take hundreds of years for all of its technological advancements to be rediscovered by other civilizations. Our understanding of Roman technology is provided by Pliny's [|Naturalis Historia], the [|De Architectura] of [|Vitruvius] and the [|De aquaeductu] of [|Frontinus], all reliable works which give good information, and many inventions they mention have been confirmed by modern [|archaeology]. By the beginning of the 1st century, most of what is considered today as typical Roman technology was already invented and refined, such as [|concrete], [|plumbing] facilities, [|cranes], wagon technology, mechanized [|harvesting] machines, [|domes], the [|arch] in building practice, [|wine] and [|oil] presses, and [|glass blowing]. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_technology#Engineering_and_construction

=The Research Process= Deciding which dynasty your client would be most interested in visiting may seem like a complicated task, but the Big6 can help you organize your research efforts. As you work through the assignment, keep each of the following steps in mind. If you need help, simply follow the hyperlink for more information:

Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies Step 3: Location and Access Step 4: Use of Information Step 5: Synthesis Step 6: Evaluation**
 * Step 1: Task Definition

=Project Workspace= Each student researching this topic will have a project workspace for documenting his/her research and posting the travel poster. All work related to the project should be maintained there:

Technology Student Template DO NOT EDIT THIS PAGE! Clark W Danny D Frederick Z Labeeb M Ellie O Annie M Margaret S Rachel T Will Mc Jake B