Cameron

The Stick Project! by Cameron Matticks



 The sickle has been around for thousands of years, whether it was made out of wood, flint, iron or steel, the purpose was still the same. Two different functions for the sickle have been prevalent throughout history. One use for the sickle has been for a military function as a sword used originally by the Canaanites but adopted by the Egyptians, who called it the Khopesh. The other function of the sickle was used in agricultural societies to harvest crops. Originally the sickle was modeled on the shape of a cow’s jawbone and was made out of wood and typically a flint blade. The shape of the sickle changed to a more crescent moon shape after certain technological advances were made. Men with sickles would spend the day in the field “reaping” the crops whilst women and children would collect and gather the fallen grains in large woven baskets. Historians indicate that different types of sickles were used for crops with different density stalks. Corn was cut with a sharp-edged sickle along with wheat whilst barley and emmer wheat were more like uprooted as a whole plant by a blunt-edged sickle. The sickle has even been linked with the rapid domestication of wild grasses, cereals and grains in the Middle East due to the efficiency that it could harvest crops. The sickle was not found to be originated in just the Middle East, but has been found in Native American burial sites as well. The sickle was considered almost obsolete after the invention of the scythe, a longer and more efficient version of the sickle.

"Sickle." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., 19 09 2010. Web. 21 Sep 2010. . M. Stead, //Egyptian life// (London, The British Museum Press, 1986)

Cathedral and Basilica fieldtrip: The Basilica of St Mary's is an imposing architectural figure made of stone with one single cavernous space. The front has one rose window which lets in light and is the main focus of the religious space inside of the basilica. The doors in front are framed with pillars allowing for a guided entrance to the church. The structure of the inside of the Basilica is very impressive. The stained glass windows all around the basilica let in lots of natural light that shines and illuminates the central altar. The side hallways allow for extra space for recesses and areas to worship. The central hall provides a feeling of being dwarfed in the presence of something very immense.

The inside of the Cathedral in St Paul is very symmetrical as it the birds eye view of the structure is a Greek cross. The light in the church is artificial which adds a feeling of being forced which i definitely felt while I was there. This is the outside during winter, because the picture would not upload from my phone. The carving above the doorway is like the entrance is being guarded by Jesus and his Disciples. The entrance looks more like a government building than a church because there are not a whole lot of religious symbols on the exterior except for one cross.

Synopsis: Thesis: The Berber and Arab incursions into the Iberian Peninsula proved to be more than just physical occupation as it left a large footprint which, parts of, still remain recognizable to this day.

I wrote about the Caliphate of Cordoba, the taifa period, and the Emirate of Granada which is the culmination of the Moorish control of Spain between 711 and 1492 C.E. Tarik Ibn Ziyad was the general who led Berbers into the peninsula and defeated the resident Visigothic kingdom. While the peninsula remained underneath Islamic control, religious tolerance flourished and intellectual capacity and ideas flowed freely throughout Al-Andalus. Religious tolerance was an important aspect of the rule of the Muslims because there were large Jewish and Christian populations in Spain at the time, and that because they both believed that God (Allah) was the Supreme Being, they should all be accepted. Non-believers underneath the Muslims only had to pay a small tax called the ‘Jizya’ tax, this was due to most of the laws enforced by the rulers were sanctified by the teachings of the Koran. They had to appease the population to remain in control, which is a reason for their longevity. The fields of medicine, astronomy, botany, agricultural technology as well as economics became very important under the Muslims which allowed them to develop and grow. The Arabic language spoken in Al-Andalus also went on to influence the Spanish language with common words and phrases being adopted.

Lane-Poole, Stanley, and Arthur Gilman. //The Moors in Spain//. New York City: G.P. Putnam, 1911. Print.

Orton, C. W.. //The shorter Cambridge medieval history//. Cambridge [Eng.: University Press, 1952. Print. Wolf, Kenneth Baxter. //Christian martyrs in Muslim Spain//. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print.

Primary Source:

“The governor of the straits between this district and Andalus was a foreigner called Ilyan, Lord of Septa. He was also the governor of a town called Alchadra, situated on the same side of the straits of Andalus as Tangiers. Ilyan was a subject of Roderic, the Lord of Andalus [i.e. king of Spain], who used to reside in Toledo. Tarik put himself in communication with Ilyan, and treated him kindly, until they made peace with each other. Ilyan had sent one of his daughters to Roderic, the Lord of Andalus, for her improvement and education; but she became pregnant by him. Ilyan having heard of this, said, I see for him no other punishment or recompense, than that I should bring the Arabs against him.” (Abd-Al-Hakem 18)

Jones, John Harris. //Ibn abd-al-Hakem's history of the conquest of Spain: translated from the arabic, with critical and exegetical notes, and a historical introduction.//. New York City: Fordham University, 1858. Print.

For my interactive component I emailed a family friend of mine who used to teach Spanish and Latin American studies at the University of Pennsylvania and is a native Spanish speaker from Cuba. She gave me several phrases and common words that I would know that had Arabic roots, but she unfortunately did not have a lot of time to help me with this so its rather brief. Ojala - In spanish means "I hope" but comes from the Arabic word Allah and the expression means Allah willing in Arabic Adobe- A type of brick which is derived from "ad-dabbe" Alcohol- Synonymous in English and Spanish, derived from Al-Kuhul in Arabic Also some cities have Arabic roots: Madrid - Capital of Spain derived from Arabic "Al-Magrit" which means source of water Valladolid - From "Balad Al-Walid" which means Land of Walid, Al-Walid was the last caliph of the Ummayad Caliphate