Libby+H


 * Agriculture in Han China and Imperial Rome**

Jon Deer is a farmer and equipment salesman who wants to travel back in time to visit either Han China or Imperial Rome. Mr. Deer raises cattle and grain on his highly mechanized 5000 acre ranch and spends much of his time managing his equipment dealership, "Tri-County Tractor." To help him decide which dynasty to visit, you will need to research answers to the following key questions:

= **Key Questions:** =
 * 1) What were the major crops grown in each area?
 * 2) Which animals were domesticated and raised as a food source?
 * 3) Describe the agricultural tools used by each dynasty and the role that human labor played in maintaining a stable food supply.
 * 4) What challenges did each group face? Were they overcome?
 * 5) Which empire should Mr. Deer, a farmer and equipment salesman, visit? Why?

=Resources= Your research will be confined to the following web resources and library databases. If you wish to use a resource not on this list you must seek approval from your teacher.

**Rome**
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * __ [] __
 * __ [] __


 * China **
 * []
 * __ [] __
 * __ [] __
 * __ [] __
 * __ [|http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/FORMHAN.HTM] __
 * __ [] __


 * Library Databases **
 * @http://www.micdslibrary.com/databases.html

Scroll down to the History/Social Studies menu; the ABCCLIO Ancient World History database is particularly helpful.

=Research and Citations= Use the space below to record your research for each question. Remember that you will need to cite your sources using the format found on the MICDS Library resource page.

What were the major crops grown in each area?
Han China: There were many crops grown in Han China. The main crop grown was rice. Though they also grew other things such as wheat, soybeans, cabbage, peas and bamboo shoots. They also grew a grain called millet. They also drank tea so they grew different herbs.

Imperial Rome: In Rome they grew a lot of food. In the earlier times of Rome the main crops they ate were mostly fruits, nuts and bread. They ate many different kinds of fruits, but one fruit they never ate was oranges. They also ate many vegetables but they never ate corn, potatoes or tomatoes. They ate a lot of bread and they had many different kinds of bread, so they grew a lot of wheat.

Which animals were domesticated and raised as a food source?
Han China: There were not many animals that were used for food in the Han dynasty. They didn't kill a lot of animal for food. but they did use oxen to pull plows and work in the fields. They also ate fish. So the two main animals that they domesticated were fish and oxen.

Imperial Rome: In Rome they domesticated many different kinds of animals. Though beef wasn't very popular they used cows for there dairy products. Pork was very popular though. They also ate different birds such as chicken,duck,geese and pigeon, an expensive bird was peacock. Also some wild birds they ate were cranes, grouse, partridge, snipe and woodcock. They also bread horses and bores. They used goats for meet, milk and their wool. They also used oxen, donkeys and mules to work in the fields. Fish wasn't very popular in Rome but towards the end of the republic rich men might breed them.

=== Describe the agricultural tools used by each dynasty and the role that human labor played in maintaining a stable food supply? === Han China: In Han china a big step they made in the dynasty was making iron tools which helped them with farming. they made the three legged iron seed drill, now farmers could carefully plant the crops in rows fast and efficiently without using their hands. They also made an iron plow, this only needed one man and two oxen to control it so people could plow fields faster and more efficiently. These tools made farming easier and faster and more efficient and people didn't have to use there hands and do such hard labor. They also made great irrigation systems, like levees and dams, these helped control irrigating the fields. They worked very well. Now people had more time to work on other things to make this civilization a better place to live.

Imperial Rome: In Rome they had many different tools to help them farm. one was the ard, a simple soil breaker used to plow. This helped plow because the soil could get heavy and had roots and vines. Oxen were also used to plow. For irrigation they built dams and reservoirs. They helped maintain a good controlled water supply. they hoed and weeded the land the same way it is done today. though they didn't have a lot of weed to worry about because they were knowledgeable about farming. For harvesting they improved the stickle by readjusting the handle, therefore easing the strain. They also used large mowing tools to mow the fields. They were very efficient about farming.

What challenges did each group face? Were they overcome?
Han China: In the Han dynasty there were to major challenges they overcame. The first was advanced tools. In the beginning of the dynasty their tools were made of mostly stone and wood and humans would pull plows. also the area they could farm was limited by the environment and it was to hard for the people to farm in some places. though once the iron plow was made cattle could pull them and they were able to plow more land in less time. this aloud them to have more time to focus on other things, therefore making the civilizations a better place to live. the second thing they overcame was irrigation. they were able to build dikes, dams and canals to control the amount of water in parts of china. they were able to sufficiently irrigate farmland.

Imperial Rome: Rome did not have many problems that they could overcome. The one main problem they had though was weather. They had to be careful when they started growing crops because the weather could damage the fields. Also during wars the fields could also be damaged or ruined. Though overall Rome did not have many problems with farming and irrigating land.

Similarities and Differences
Before deciding which dynasty your client should visit, you may wish to create a simple Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the two empires. You may use [|this template] or create one online at Read-Write-Think.

Which empire should Mr. Deer, a farmer and equipment salesman, visit? Why?
i think Mr.Deer should visit Imperial Rome. I think he should chose Rome because they had many crops to chose from, more domesticated animals and they knew a lot about farming. Mr.Deer would have a better time learning about the Romans techniques for farming. He would also enjoy examining the way they made and updated different tools. There we also less problems on Rome. Rome is the best place for Mr.Deer to visit.

= **Travel Poster Components:** =

You will create 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 **[|Poster Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before handing in your final product. When you have completed the poster, embed it below the "Travel Poster" heading below:

Travel Posters
//embed your posters here by copying the embed code from Glogster and adding an HTML widget//

= **Oral Presentation Guidelines** = 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

This presentation is about speaking skills and the use of your posters. You will be permitted to use notecards but are NOT to simply read your notes to the audience. The **[|Presentation Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before giving your final presentation.