These examples illustrate how an interesting story may lead to a topic.
Greek Shipping Power
Many scholars believe that sailing expertise helped the
ancient empire of Greece rise to power in the 8th century B.C.
Greece is located near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, in
between Asia and Europe, and just north of Africa. This put the
Greeks right at the crossroads of many ancient shipping paths.
In addition, the area of Greece is made up of one large peninsula
and hundreds of small islands. 92 percent of its borders are coastline,
forming lots of natural harbors. Most of the interior land is
mountainous and difficult to farm, thus it was natural for ancient
Greeks to turn to the sea to secure the resources they needed.
They were among the first to build ships that could transport
large quantities of goods, and established ports in faraway places
such as Persia and India. As an important trading partner, Greece
was able to hold tremendous influence over the other civilizations
of its time.
Thinking Questions: Do location or natural recourses determine a country’s
destiny? Can you think of other nations for whom necessity has
been the mother of invention and innovation? Today, is there a
contemporary equivalent to 8th century Greece? Might there be
more than one?
Other Possible Categories: Business & Industry, Social
Sciences & Culture
The Silk Road
The Silk Road was the longest ground trade route in the ancient
world, stretching from China to imperial Rome. For thousands of
years, merchants from Europe, Asia, and Africa bartered and sold
goods along the Silk Road. They rarely traveled the entire length
of the road, instead doing business in the network of market towns
that lined the route. The Silk Road was not an easy path to travel:
it passed through high mountains, dense forests, and the dry Gobi
Desert. The Silk Road was also dangerous because bandits would
often attack and rob the traveling merchants. Only goods of high
value made the risky journey worthwhile. Paper, glass, silk, jade,
and tea were among the Chinese goods that traveled westward along
the route, while gold, silver, new foods, and wool traveled eastward.
Tangible goods were not the only things that traveled along the
Silk Road—the extensive network also facilitated the transfer
of new ideas, religions, and technologies. Today, a modern highway,
Route 312, runs parallel to the ancient Silk Road.
Thinking Questions: How are goods and information transported, bought
and sold in the 21st century? Is there a modern day equivalent
of the Silk Road? What routes have people in your part of the
world traveled throughout history and what impacts can you see
from this today?
Other Possible Categories: Business & Industry, Social
Sciences & Culture
Hawaii and Non-Native Species
Many parts of the planet are impacted by hardy, aggressive species
spread either knowingly or accidentally by human hands. Hawaii
is one example with half its land area now dominated by species
that are not native to the islands. Many of these alien species
have catastrophically altered the Hawaiian ecosystem. The Indian
mongoose, for example, introduced to Hawaii in 1802 to kill rats
in sugar cane fields, has since wreaked havoc on native birds
and poultry. It causes millions of dollars in damage to domestic
flocks and ground nesting birds in Hawaii each year. Globally,
alien species are now considered the second largest threat to
native animals and plants after habitat destruction, resulting
in extinction rates that are a hundred to a thousand times greater
than normal.
Thinking Questions: What are some ways to limit this destruction? What
role does human industry play in transplanting species? What parts
of the world are affected? What are the implications for bio-diversity
globally? Are there any cases in which non-native species have
had a positive impact?
Other Possible Categories: Science & Technology
Citations:
- Polemis, Spyros M. “The History of
Greek Shipping.” The Poseidon Voyage. 25 Dec.
1995. Hellenic Electronic Center. 9 Mar. 2004 <http://www.greece.org/poseidon/
work/articles/polemis_one.html>.
- “Silk Road.” Brochure on
Ancient China. Akers Elementary. 6 Aug. 2004
<http://www.central.k12.ca.us/akers/silk_road.html>.
- “On the Road in China: The New Silk
Road.” Home page. 6 Aug. 2004. NPR. 6 Aug. 2004
<http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3822414>.
- “Fact Sheet – Invasive Species.”
Home page. Ecological Society of America. 29 July 2003 <http://esa.sdsc.edu/invas3.htm>.
- A World Transformed. Map. Washington, D.C.:
National Geographic Maps, Sept. 2002.
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