Welcome to our 7th Grade History Blog. Blogging served as a familiar vehicle to post student's ideas and comments. It allowed students to safely and respectfully share opinions and at times even disagree. We are very proud that of our blog, not only because it reflects growth in intellectual prowess, but also because it was awarded the COLLEGE BOARD'S-Bob Costas Grant for the Teaching of Writing.....( http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/awards/costas ) check it out! This money will serve to launch an international GLOBAL EDUCATION PROJECT gec.atspace.com site to be unveiled next year. Without giving too much away..I can tell you that this class helped launch a larger global project involving partnerships with schools around the world, private-public sector collaborations, virtual college mentors at premier universities (i.e. Yale, Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, etc...), and even professionals who will serve as College to Career virtual mentors. This vision has been long coming and will hopefully serve as a future model for educators who are trying to teach not only our respective traditional standards, but also teach in the context of Globalization. The world is small and our lives are intrinsically intertwined. Please view the video below as it will hopefully put into context why our class is about creative problem-solving, traditional linear thinking, tapping into multiple intelligences, competition as well as collaboration, story telling/communicating, and acquiring the skills necessary to succeed in an ever-changing global economy. See you next year kids!:o)
This year was our first, of our six years here at Whitney High School. It was a very tough year, we were new and we were the youngest. In the beginning of the year our history class was very relaxed. Throughout the year we started progressing into a more hard-working class. Our analysis progressed too, with our STEEP analysis. (sociocultural, technological, economical, environmental, political) Towards the end of the year we started getting more homework and projects. We had many new experiences as seventh graders. From the first spirit week to the last, we became accustomed to this high school. Next year we will not be new, or "scrubs" anymore. We will be older and become a little bit more experienced. We will learn about new things, in history we'll be learning about the U.S.
this year we learned a lot but at the same time, we had a lot of fun too. i liked this year because at the same time as we were learning, we also had many fun activities such as the Renaissance fair and the bowers museum. he planned a lot for this class and tried to let us have fun. excluding all the rough times and hard times we had in his class, we ended up having a lot of fun. we have learned a to from the beginning of the school year to the end. we started learning from the roman empire and then we ended at the the renaissance. Whitney is a great school and i am very lucky i got into this school. i thought that it would all be only education and stuff but at the end it proved me wrong, turns out it is really fun.
For every student in our class, this was their first year here at Whitney. It was hectic, crazy, confusing, and fantastically fun! :D Mr. G's class was exceptionally exceptional with all the fun and excitement surrounding Room 10, or more frequently, the media lab. :) 7th grade was a great experience and I really don't want to say bye to it or Mr. G's history class. I'll miss the very laid-back STAR tests and the video parties in the Connection Center.
Yet, when one door closes, another one opens! For next year, I hope the GEP program flourishes to become the best! I hope more people get involved and more people see our blog that is the fruit of our harsh labor. :) GOODBYE 7TH GRADE. HELLO 8TH GRADE! :D
It is the end of the year alreay and it was really fun and even though history isn't my best subject. This class isn't like others. The PESTE analysis is a real help to write essays that are assigned to us. The year 2010 had gone by really fast in my opinion. Sometimes, Mr.G is doubting that I am not on task but he's a fun teacher and taught me many new things. He's stubborn at times but he's the kind of teacher takes jokes easily and know how to have fun. Whitney was more than what I expected and the 5 years I have left here seems like I will have an awesome time here. The new friends I have made are really fun. I have really enjoyed this year.
As a new student at Whitney High School, everything was new, fresh, and even terrifying. And now that I look back, I see so many things that we have gone through. There were so many things I loved about being a 7th grader at here.One thing I loved was that we got to make great new friends! I know that all of the people I got to know this year will be my close buddies as I grow up. Also, we got to learn many new things at Whitney in the subjects of history, music, English, math, physical education, and science. I love this year, how everything has a touch of innocence, and that we got set who we wanted to be in this new start. And I can see how much stress, tough hardships, and homework we had to overcome. I cannot believe how much work we actually did this year! Reflecting this year is something hard to do, in my opinion. I can't describe how wonderful and troubling this year was. All I can say is that no matter how tough this year was, I loved it and I can't wait for next year! Thank you everyone for making this year FANTASTICO! And a lot to teachers like Mr. G who can sometimes be strict, but only to teach us to be good students :) - saranghae! Sunny Kimm:)
This year was really fun and we learned a lot. I had a lot of fun in this class because of the many activities that Mr. G gave us. This class isn't really like all the other history classes. The all-new PESTE analysis makes it super-easy to organize my essays. He's the weird, corny, teacher that we all love who jokes around all day long, even though most of his jokes aren't even funny. (You heard that right!) He does, however, keep our class relaxed. And so, Whitney is a great school and I've made a lot of new friends in it. Now it's the end of the year, one of our last days as the "Scrubz". Time for 8th grade!! Rawr :P PHOENIX!!! :D
My first year here at Whitney was more fun than I expected it to be. I had teachers that were always helping me aught classes in an interesting way. If I look back, I had many hard times during classes, but I had friends who helped me and supported me throughout the year. I can't believe it's end of the year already. It's really strange, because during the year, I wanted to leave the school so badly, but now that the year is really over, I want to stay a little more. I hope I have a great time for next year's classes, too, and learn more interesting facts throughout the year. I also would like to get to know more people. =)
THIS YEAR HAS BEEN cool specially because of blogging. blogging has been a great experince because we can share our ideas into the blogg that we made and have been working on this whole year. history class is the funnest of them all because of mr g the best teacher that encouraged us/ forced us to blogg. i really look forward to blogging becuase it keeps the class entertained and busy for the whole period and it is better to share our ideas on blogger so we could learn things we didnt know before. what i look forward to next year is blogging more so that we can get wiser in history and also because its a great activity to be doing while at school.
On the first day of school, on the first period of the day, I entered Mr. G's classroom, nervous with aniticipation about the start of the Whitney lifestyle. To calm us down, he played a game with us, so we could find out about others. From then on, I knew, at least, I would be able to start the day off with a good class. Throughout the year, we started using innovative methods of teaching such as blogging and acting out skits. This year has been memorable, not only to be in Whitney, but learning in a different way in Mr. G's class. In addition to the blogging, we used technology to start a new global education project (aka GEP). Through this project, I hope that in the future, we can use camcorders to videotape us, and other schools around the world to both learn about them, and connect with each other.
This year has truly been amazing, from the different projects in different classes to the variety of field trips. As the first year at Whitney has already gone by, I am starting to understand what to expect in the next five years of my Whitney life. I think that this year has been filled with lots of fun activities, which is a very good way to start off. I hope that next year can be just as fun, but even better, being that it will be our last year of middle school. Next year is supposed to the year that we will always remember, because it would be our last year of "freedom," so I hope that it will be even more exciting than this year. I can't wait to see what is coming my way for 8th grade.
This year..totally undescribable!! Tofinish my first year at whitney was amazing, and more fun than I ever could have imagined, even through all of stress and drama this year. THe year went by way too fast, and I wish I could stay this age forever. THis is impossible, so I would just like to tell everyone to live life to its fullest, as our motto this year at WHitney is "carpe diem", meaning sieze the day. I look foward to this coming year with excitement, as well as saddness, since I realize i am getting older, and my time at whitney consists of one less year. I wish that I will learn just as much next year, hopefully just as much and more than learned this year. To all of my classmates, have a great summer and i'll see you either during the summer or next year!! <3 kaili hamada!!!
This year we have done a series of fantastic things, most were really fun and helpful to our studies. I think the projects we did were really cool. I think that one of my favorite projects this year was the blogging that turned to a global thing when we got the grant for blogging. One thing I would really like to see next year with our global project is to see more people involved. I'd like to see that more than just the seventh grade class is aware of this project. It would be really cool to have the whole school involved and ,maybe even other school in our district. This would be really cool and we would have pride of knowing that we have helped spread ideas and opinions farther than we originally thought we would be able to do.
Looking back into the year, history has been made quite exciting by Mr. G. With his little games, comparisons, and interactive teaching, it is easier to comprehend history. A big factor of why this year was exciting, was blogging. Through blogging, we were able to share each others ideas and perspectives easily. Also, blogging enabled us to start a global project that tried to involve several different countries. Next year, i would like to see more connections between countries. So now its the end of the year, im somewhat tired, and i dont really know what to say thats not what i said. good night.
This year was a wonderful year! We had cool field trips and it was fun blogging and making the digital storytelling movie. All the mini projects and skits were very enjoyable to make. I really enjoyed being in this history class because we were able to do many fun assignments while other classes studied the textbook and wrote notes all period long. As well as having fun, we also learned a lot through all of our projects. Next year, I want to continue to blog and also connect to other parts of the world and learn about different cultures in an interesting way. It would be great if we could learn about people around the world through a blog! I also want to have more digital projects and continue to be assigned fun projects. This year was very exciting, and I hope that next year will be even more wonderful. :D
Also, thanks for being a fabulous teacher Mr. G. :D
The Global Education Program, abbreviated as GEP, is a program to educate students around the world. As time passes, we will hope to gain more publicity to enter in what students may think of different subjects and improve the way of how they learn it. Maybe when technology advances in its levels, we may begin to teach or be taught in better ways than just reading or listening. With more people, we may be able to see what we can do to help more people gain both academic and opinionated knowledge to foresee what they may be able to do to improve education for the better.
Let's see.... Next year I definitely want to see more, digitalized things. Hopefully we will be able to use cameras and upload them to make "educational" things. Also, I really hope that we will be able to talk to kids around the world. That would really help us and them because we can learn about their culture and they can learn about ours. Blogging is very useful for we are able to connect with the world outside. Daphne
This year was really fun and we learned a lot. History isn't my best subject but we had a lot of fun in this class. This class isn't like other history classes. The PESTE analysis helps me write essays that Mr. G assigns us. This year has gone by really fast. It's awesome that the 7th graders are called "scrubs". Sometimes, Mr. G is frustrating but he's a fun teacher and I learned a lot from him. He's stubborn but hey, a lot of people are too. He's the kind of teacher that you can joke around with like he's your best friend. Whitney has been a great experience for me and I can't wait for the years to come. I've made a lot of new friends and found out that we have a lot in common. Now it's the end of the year, I'll miss Whitney. But we'll be coming back for next year as 8th graders.
Wow! This year has certainly passed by fast! Without a whole lot of ups and downs, it was an interesting ride. History, was one of the most adventurous classes. We did a whole lot of essays with the PEST PESTE STEEP factors, and that was pretty boring, but it certainly helped us understand more abou the old ancient people. But we didn't always write essays, we created sill plays that helped us understand more about history. Over all, Mr. G's class has been an awesome experience. It has certainly been an "interesting" journey with Mr. G's class. From the Sexy Clan to doing pointless work in Mr. G's class, I had a great time, during the whole entire year. It was very special because I was able to meet so many different people that made the whole year extraordinary. Mr. G, I hope you go on to become the fantabulous guidance counselor/teacher. Thanks for Everything! I will always love you guys!
Wow, this year went by so fast! Mr. G's history class was the best! I really love the blogging and the projects we do. The field trips were fun, too. I really like the togetherness we had with this blog: how we share ideas and opinions, and how we can "safely" argue about each of our points. The video was a good end-of-the-year project, yet I think I had a bad grade:(. But still, it was really fun being with everyone, having parties and tests and essays and posters and skits. This was a very memorable year to be in, and I'm glad I got to be part of it. Next year, I would like to be blogging with other countries. That would be really cool! And then being able to talk to other people all around the world! I would loveto see other student's perspectives on the cultures we study, and it would be so much fun to be learning from different people's eyes. I would love to be part of next year's global project! :D
This year was super fun. At first, on our first day of school, I was so scared because I thought that it would be hard. I was wrong. The teachers were very nice and were understanding. All the classes were awesome. I always thought it would be just study, study, study. Of course, some days are study, study, study but there's always a fun activity waiting for us in each class. The blogging idea is really cool. I am looking forward to our project next year. I can't wait to interact with other people. When we won the Bob Costas Grant, the whole class was happy because we worked hard for it and put a lot of effort in our essays. I thought we really deserved it. In next year's classes I know that there will be more work and pressure in doing our best. This year's history class was way better than any history class that I ever had in elementary school. I hope next year's history class is fun too. Thanks everyone for making this year so great and that includes Mr. G for making our history class the best.
This was our first year at a new school, and new friends. In our history class, we experienced something that we never had before. Mr. G introduced us to many things we haven't done before in history which is very interesting. Some of the things include "P.E.S.T.E" which helped us organize our essays so much better. We took history to another level because of the things Mr.G did. I really enjoyed what Mr.G came up with. It made history easier to learn and also made it so much more fun. Not only did we come up with new things, but we also did some hands-on activities such as using chalk and drawing all the continents where they are located. We did so much other activities to express what history was all about.
Even though this year is going away...but next year will be even better because each year just gets better than the last. I would like to do the same things as this year, but maybe some more other awesome things along with the really fun skits, chalk writing, and etc.
Thanks Mr.G for all the fun experiences this year!!! :D
Seventh grade is almost over, and we have almost survived a whole school year of Whitney High School. History has been really fun and exciting, from the blogging to the Roman skits, from the projects to the field trip. Everything was very new and original, and our teacher Mr. G made it really fun. This class was very fun and creative, and I liked everything. Next year though, I think we should get more homework assignments to raise our grade more often. Blogging was also very fun, and we also won a lot of money for a grant. Mr. G was very creative, and I hope he will stay this way. Thank you Mr. G!
Looking back at the year, I have made several reflections on what we did. For instance, when I think about the Bob Costas grant I reflect that we worked hard on blogging in order to recieve the grant. However, I know the blogging was definitely worth it because I am excited about next year's project where we are going to communicate with different societies. I expect it to be a fantastic experience for anyone, but I won't know until next year.
However, this year was great and awesome. I still remember our amazing experiences in history class and i'm really thankful to everyone. I think this going to be my last blog for a long time so I just have some notes to people >.<
A NOTE TO MR. G: History class this year was 10000000 times better than in elementary. THANKS Mr. G for everything!!!! ^-^
A NOTE TO BEN: Thanks for making our video so great!!!
A NOTE TO DON, MICHAEL, AND DIEGO: I hope your feelings weren't hurt about being not sexy.... sorry you aren't.....
A NOTE TO THE MICHELLES: Thanks for always being there for me!!!!!
A NOTE TO EVERYBODY: THANKKS FOR THE AMAZING YEAR!!!!! I would make five million more notes but my hands are starting to hurt.... HAVE AN AMAZING SUMMER
It is the end of the seventh grade and it was a fun year using blogger. We won lots of money in a contest. We posted lots of fun stuff on blogger and posted cool pictures. Not only did we have fun, but we also learned a lot and made many new friends. Blogging was very exciting and I hope we will do it again. Next year in blogger I would like it more if we used blogger more often and posted more things. This was a very fun and exciting year.
Though it's not long enough to be a movie, it did feel like one. But like all movie-making processes, we faced some challenges, such as collaboration and narrating. However, we were able to get through narrating after being able to practice narrating several times. Collaboration was okay until some of the filmed parts just didn't seem matching to the video, though it was worked hard on. Overall, we were able to interact with many kinds of media and collaborate them into a video that felt quite accomplished that it was made.
For our history comp, Mr.G decided to give us a project (digital storytelling). We were divided into groups and had to make a video about what we learned thoughout the year. As you all know, every group will come across different ideas and opinions. The group I was in had alot of ideas and things we could do for the project. They also had so many different creative ideas. However Mr.G assigned a "Leader" on top of us. So we had to like follow and wait for him/her to finish whenever they felt like it. I honestly think that my group was capable of working fast. However, because im the only girl in the group...i feel a bit "disadvantaged" because of various reasons. However, i enjoyed working with them because they were able to get it done 1 day before it was due. I thought this project was not a easy thing to accomplish because it had to require alot of planning and other tiring work. Hopefully everything will work out and we'll all get a good grade for our hardwork.
P.S. (i would APPRECIATE to not be the only girl in my group again anytime soon....)
Our world and Mesoamerican civilizations, What difference is there??
Mindy Kim
Period 2
5/18/10
S. Studies
Comparing to today’s world, there are many aspects of comparison and differences between Mesoamerican civilizations.Between the civilizations of Olmecs, Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas, there are many comparisons and contrasts in the Political, Economic, Social-cultural, Technological, and Environmental.Different civilizations have different comparisons and contrasts between today’s world and the past.
The Olmecs had an influence to other cultures included in the Social-cultural aspect.“Many historians consider the Olmec civilization the mother culture of Mesoamerica.”(McDougall Littell Pg. 377)A mother culture is a way of life that influenced later cultures.The Olmec civilization influenced later successful cultures including the Aztecs and the Mayans.Similar to influences of culture, there were many influences made in modern United States.As an example, there was a dance called Modern Dance which influenced from Europe to anywhere.“Modern dance is a more relaxed, free style of dance in which choreographers uses emotions and moods to design their own steps, in contrast to ballet's structured code of steps.” (www.Wikepedia.com, 5/18/10)Modern dance was an influence to possibly other dances and countries compared to the Olmecs who influenced different cutures as a mother culture.
Progressing to other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Aztecs had the Political aspect when the Aztec empire was falling.“The empire was at its height in 1402 when a new emperor, Montezuma II, came to power.” (McDougall Littell P. 400)As he came into control, many Aztec subjects were against him due to his harsh treatment and extensive amount of tribute.Soon, some Aztec subjects began to rebel as his fault led to the fall of the empire.Similar to the Aztecs, Hitler during World War II led to the decline of Germany.One of his fellow generals was asked to follow a plan, but the general never followed through.“The withdrawal had so weakened the front that the Russians had broken through into Berlin.” (www.Wikepedia.com, 5/18/10)With the fault that the plan didn’t follow through for Germany, the Aztecs from long ago and the Germans from World War II was not that much different.
The Mayas had a very efficient technological or mathematical system that had accurate calendars and the time of the solar eclipses.“By using their math system, the Maya made great advances in astronomy.” (McDougall Littell Pg.385)The mathematics was also used to build a very accurate calendar.This also helped farmers when to plant seeds and harvest the crops.The calendars enabled the Maya to keep very precise records of events.Due to the accurate calendar system, it is so precise that from today’s time, the calculations are only 33 seconds apart.As one can also understand, the Mayan calendar is also made of gears that show the year, time, etc.Even the accurate calendar has an end.With the calculations, the end of the world is precisely Sunday December 23, 2012.Due to the worries of having this happen, Mayan shamans today still calculate if ancient Mayans were correct.With the ancient accurate calendar, it still influences us, humans, today.
Once again to the Olmecs, they had a prosperous trade which leads to the economic aspect.Most of the Olmec cities served as trading centers.“The Olmec mainly traded for luxury items needed by the elite.”(McDougal Littell Pg. 376)Elite is an upper class of priests and nobles who ruled Olmec society.As the Olmecs traded, they received many luxurious items, but not only that; they also received knowledge and ideas from other cultures.Similar to our modern world, we trade money for knowledge(books) and even luxurious items(diamond rings).In today’s world, it is known as buying objects.However, there is no difference, a person can buy something and an ancient Mayan can trade an item for another.People today, worked like the Mayans to earn their money and trade for other items.The ways of trading and buying are similar yet different at the same time.
The area where the Incas lived, the central Andes, was a land of diverse terrain.There were tropical rainforests that covered that of the north as the center had green, fertile valleys surrounded by two mountain ranges.“In the 1100s, the Inca began to travel north from the highland plateau.” (McDougall Littell Pg. 409)There their capital city was founded which was named Cuzco.The modern city of Los Cerritos is located between the borders of OrangeCounty and Los Angeles.The climate is not so hot nor is it too cold.The city of Cerritos also has the climate of the Mediterranean Sea and shares the same weather of that along the Mediterranean Sea.Cerritos doesn’t have much of the fog that is from far away, but there is a cooling breeze from the San GabrielRiver.Due to this, Cerritos is rarely affected by the smog.The Inca had larger land and different climates based on the area as Cerritos had a smaller piece of land and same fluctuations of the climates throughout the whole city.
These comparisons and contrasts between the Aztecs, Mayas, Olmecs, and the Incas were described with the Political, Economic, Social-cultural, Technological, and Environmental aspects.Between today’s world and the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, there were several differences, but other than that most of the aspects are similar with one another.Mesoamerican civilizations are definitely from a different time, however, the way their culture works is no different from ours.We are all one.
Center for Digital Story Telling http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html (Go to STORIES and then look for the digital story entitled "SOFAS" by Wayne Richard).
A long time ago, about 2,000 years ago, the Maya discovered the sweet, tasty secret of the cacao tree. It was a treasured Mayan treat and so important that there were pictures of people pouring and enjoying chocolate. The Maya were supposedly the first ones who drank chocolate. But instead of a really sweet confection, it was a spicy drink. It was first ground into a chocolate paste that they mixed with water, Chile peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients. Then, they pour the bitter mix back and forth from a cup to the pot until it developed a thick, foamy top. Then, they would’ve probably sweetened it with honey or flower nectar. Mayan people of all social levels, rich or poor, savored the occasional drink of chocolate. But the rich had special, elaborately detailed vessels decorated by special artist. The vessels show different ways that Mayans use it. It showed kings, or even animals and gods, drinking chocolate. It wasn’t just a drink, though. It was also used for ceremonial purposes. Couples drank chocolate as part of their marriage ceremonies. And because the Maya think that blood was the best sacrifice, Maya priests drip blood onto cacao pods. After the Maya were taken over by the Aztecs, it was not only a luxury drink, but it was also used as money, offerings to gods, and payment to rulers.
Today, chocolate is a delicious, sweet, and popular treat that is favored by many people around the globe. But where did chocolate come from?
Chocolate was first made by the Mesoamericans. The Mayans in Mesoamerica took cacao trees from rainforests and grew them in their own backyards. They then harvested the cacao fruit from the trees, and used the beans/seeds inside of the fruit. The cacao beans were then fermented, roasted, and ground into paste. The Mayans mixed the paste with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients all together to make a spicy, bitter chocolate drink! Today, chocolate is a sweet treat that can be consumed by drinking it or eating it, but the Mesoamericans only drank it as a beverage. The drink was also spicy and bitter, very unlike today, because the Mesoamericans did not have access to sugar in their region. However, the Spanish shipped cacao into Europe from Mesoamerica, and chocolate was later sweetened with sugar, cinnamon, and other spices, much later to be enjoyed by people all over the world.
Chocolate had a significant role in the Mayans' religious and social lives. It was used for royal and religious events. For example, priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods. Also, chocolate drinks were served during sacred ceremonies of the Mesoamericans. The Latin name for the cacao tree was "Theobroma cacao", meaning "food of the gods". Cacao was believed to have magical or even divine properties. Chocolate was greatly prized by the Mesoamericans, and nowadays, it is a yummy treat that everyone loves!
IMPRORTANT MIND-BREAKING NEWS!!! THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE!!!
Melina Castorillo Michelle Ni
Monkeys originally found the cacao plant and learned of its sweet fruit. Ancient men followed their example and picked the fruit as they walked by. The pulp of the cacao fruit tasted like melons and apricots, but the beans inside were bitter. But by accident the bean got roasted and let off a wonderful chocolate aroma.
The Mayans prized their chocolate. Burial tombs have been found to contain chocolate offerings, including ancient potteries. Vases were covered with paintings showing Mayan gods fighting over beans and kings waiting to be served this cacao. The cacao plant was even included in myths, "In this myth, immortal ball-playing twins are beheaded by the gods of death. One has his head hung on a cacao tree. The magical head manages to mate with a woman who becomes the mother of twin gods. These two defeat the gods of death and then end up in the sky as the sun and the moon."
Chocolate is still has its important aspect in culture today. Its most famous day of honor is Valentines' Day where people all over the world express their love and thanks in the all shapes and sizes of chocolate. Chocolate also has its benefits to mankind. For example, it can suppress coughing, reduce blood pressure, and make you more energized.
But unfortunately, chocolate has become almost addictive and can cause you to become extraordinarily thick.
This is a chocolate drink with whipped cream which became possible due to the cacao beans of Mesoamerica!!!
We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers, priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake of this sacred brew.Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Not only were they important for drinking as a beverage. Before, they were also used to trade items with the other foreign lands. Soon as the foreign lands found the taste of the cacao to be wonderful, they started to import cacao to Europe to made into a chocolate goody.The Industrial Revolution witnessed the development of an enormous number of new mechanical inventions and ushered in the era of the factory. The steam engine made it possible to grind cacao and produce large amounts of chocolate cheaply and quickly.Later inventions like the cocoa press and the conching machine made it possible to create smooth, creamy, solid chocolate for eating—not just liquid chocolate for drinking.Today, additional steps in the processing of cacao help create a variety of new flavors and forms for chocolate candy. But cacao is more than a source for calories and confections. The chemicals and substances in cacao can be extracted and incorporated into cosmetics and medicines. And the by-products of cacao can be used as mulch or fodder for cattle.
Can You Resist the Temptation? just LOOK at that chocolate rose..
Sunny Kim, Ben Espejo, Kyle Lu!
Chooocolattee
Chocolate. The delicious, thick and creamy sweet chocolate. Did you know that the cacao beans to produce your favorite candy are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree?
The ancient Mayan civilization believed that they were give chocolate after being created out of maize, a type of corn. The Mayans honored the "God of Cocoa" called Ek Chuah by sacrificing a cocoa colored dog in the month of April. But before the Mayans, the Olmec civilization first used cocoa from around 19000 B.C. to about 400 B.C. This was because the Olmecs were the mother culture for the Mayans, which means that they influenced many later civilizations.
In the Mayan language, chocolate is called xocoatl and the tree is called cacahuatquchtl, the only tree that the Mayans said that was worth naming. The Maya drank chocolate drinks made out of roasted cocoa beans, water, and spice. They also used it as currency back then. 100 cocoa beans could even buy a slave! Also, ancient Mayan pottery shows that a god is fighting over cacao. The cacao tree was so important to the Mayans that they said that in the Bible, the tree in the middle of the garden was a cacao tree.
Chocolate was used in a lot of ways in Mayan culture. It was eaten and it was drank by nobles and not the peasants. They also used it in religious rituals for their gods and godesses. They thought the chocolate was the Gods' food. To Mayans cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility. They also mixed chocolate with water, chili peppers, and corn meal to make a spicy chocolate drink. Chocolate came from a tree called cacahuaguchtl. The word chocolate came from xocoatl which is a Mayan word meaning bitter water. Ek Chuah is the god of cocoa. The Aztecs also obtained their chocolate from Mesoamerica, with Maya being the major provider of chocolate.
In our world today, chocolate is one of the most beloved sweets. :D Chocolate has been a phenomenal success being made into a variety of different desserts and such. Yet, many do not know that chocolate was first discovered and cherished more than 1700 years ago with the Mayans. It was cherished so much that only the Mayan nobles could drink chocolate. Chocolate played an important role in Mayan history.
The Mayans did not call this beloved sweet chocolate, but cacao, being that it was made from the cacao bean. They took the bean from its tree in the rain forest and harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground it into a paste. Next, the Mayans mixed it with water, chili peppers, and cornmeal, resulting in a frothy, spicy, chocolate drink. The drink was a drink for royalty and was a treasured item in trade and society.
To the Mayans, the cacao bean was considered holy. It symbolized life and fertility. They even worshiped a chocolate god called Chokola'j. The cacao been was also considered as the "food of the gods." Stones from palaces and temples revealed carved pictures of cocoa pods being offered to the gods. Cacao pods were often used in religious rituals and sacred ceremonies.
Chocolate has been cherished for many, many centuries, although it has been served in various different ways. Next time we chew on a Hershey's bar, think of the Mayans and how chocolate all started.
Poonam Bhakta, La'Shawn Hill, Courtney Shin, and NICOLE WALDECKER
Chocolate was an important part to the Mesoamerican culture. Both the Mayans and the Aztecs used it as a religious drink called Xocolatl, or bitter drink. It was made by harvesting, fermenting, roasting, and grounding cacao seeds until they turned into a paste. Following, it was mixed with water, cornmeal, spices, and more to create a spicy, frothy, bitter chocolate drink. This drink was very expensive and only the royalty, nobility, and warriors were able to drink it. In addition, this drink was used as currency and was traded between the Aztecs and Mayans. The seeds were offered to the different gods as part of religious and sacred ceremonies. Apart from this, it was used to give people strength. Overall, chocolate has had a strong impact in the religious lives of Mesoamericans.
Olmecs ~first to domesticate the plant and use the beans ~thought that there were secrets of health in the beans(When patients had to gain weight they could eat choclate, stimulate the the nervous system of weak patients, improve digestion, anemia, poor appetite, fatigue, and kidney stones. It was also used to make medicine less bitter.) ~beans were an important part of this ancient civilizations diet and culture from as early as 600 B.C.
Mayans ~chocolate for every meal ~traded their cacao beans ~chocolate was spicy. ~they used cacao beans as the currency(4 cacao beansfor a pumpkin) (10 cacao beans for a rabbit) (100 cacao beans for a slave) ~Mayans and Aztects' made their chocolate spicy ~Burial tombs have been found with pots of offerings with cacao beans ~ the sacred book of the Mayans the Popul Vuh has a cacao tree instead of an apple tree for their story of creation
Fun Facts ~cacao beans were not used to make chocoalte bars, but a bitter spicy taste that are a spicy frothy drink. they usually mixed it with chiles. ~Today, the Mexicans that lived in Mesoamerica treasure their choclate so much they still make the frothy drink today!
We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers, priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake of this sacred brew.Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Not only were they important for drinking as a beverage. Before, they were also used to trade items with the other foreign lands. Soon as the foreign lands found the taste of the cacao to be wonderful, they started to import cacao to Europe to made into a chocolate goody. The Industrial Revolution witnessed the development of an enormous number of new mechanical inventions and ushered in the era of the factory. The steam engine made it possible to grind cacao and produce large amounts of chocolate cheaply and quickly.Later inventions like the cocoa press and the conching machine made it possible to create smooth, creamy, solid chocolate for eating—not just liquid chocolate for drinking.Today, additional steps in the processing of cacao help create a variety of new flavors and forms for chocolate candy. But cacao is more than a source for calories and confections. The chemicals and substances in cacao can be extracted and incorporated into cosmetics and medicines. And the by-products of cacao can be used as mulch or fodder for cattle.
This is a chocolate drink with whipped cream which became possible due to the cacao beans of Mesoamerica!!!
To people today, chocolate is considered as only a drink and a delicious treat, but in the Mesoamerican times, it was a much much more. During the Mesoamerican times, there were many different civilizations which considered chocolate sacred. The Mayan thought that cacao seeds symbolized life and fertility. Life and fertility were considered the utmost importance. Cacao seeds were also represented in religious rituals. Mayan texts referred to chocolate as "God's food". After the Mayan empire fell, the Aztec empire rose. The Aztecs, like the Mayans, saw chocolate as sacred and worshipped it. Chocolate was special because of its connection to their god, Quetzalcoatl. The first cacao tree was believed to be stolen from the Garden of Paradise by him. Other than being worshipped, chocolate was also seen as a "health elixir". It was considered a cure for stomach aches, hay fever and was also good for health. The emperor Montezuma once said," The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food." Although it had many health benefits, in both cultures, chocolate was only drunk by royalty and nobility as a spicy, frothy drink. Lesser classes had little chance of drinking it all. In fact, they were persecuted if they were caught drinking it. The Mesoamericans had many more uses for chocolate than the people in today's world. Chocolate was special on many accounts, but it isn't appreciated as much today as it was in the olden days by Mayans and Aztecs.
Chocolate, is very common in life. Whether it's chocolate drinks or chocolate candy, we enjoy it all. But, did you know that chocolate actually started in early Mesoamerica? Cacao; a tree that was used to make chocolate drinks, was used and drank as a bitter beverage to the Mesoamericans. Chocolate played an important role in their religious and social life. For example, chocolate was used in everyday life and rituals. Also, chocolate has been associated with long distance trade and luxury. Chocolate, additionally, was used to make sauces and drinks. Chocolate drinks were made of cocoa beans and water. Cacao was mostly grown in the lowlands, so chocolate had to be transported to the highlands. There were many uses of chocolate in the early times which affected what we now eat and drink, chocolate.
Chocolate has played an important role in Mayan history. It first evolved from the seed of the cocoa bean and the Mayans started making chocolate as early as the 6th century A.D. The Mayans called the cocoa tree cocanuqucti. For the Mayans they believed the cocoa pods symbolizes life and fertility. The cocoa pods were often represented in religious rituals and the cocoa is referred as the god's food according to the text and literature. Chocolate has impacted the ways some humans worshiped and expressed their values.
I <3 CHCOLATE!!!! :D Jocelyn :)
CHOCOLATE FTW <333333333333333333333333333333 Jennifer Poh
Im Ganstaaaa beat that you chocolatttteeeeee --- <3 Allison Yoon :]
The Maya believe that chocolate was given to them after they were made out of maize. The Mayan word for chocolate was/is xocoatl. This was a Pan-European word for chocolate. They also made a chocolate drink called chocolatl out of roasted cocoa beans, water and spice. Maya also used cocoa beans as currency. Cocoa was only for high-ranking adult males. This meant priests, high government officials, military officers, distinguished warriors, and sacrificial beings. Women and children were not allowed to drink chocolate becasue it was too valuable. The Ancient Maya called the cocoa tree “cacahuatquchtl”. It was the only tree named. They thought the tree was from the gods and that the cocoa pods were the god’s gifts to humans. Chocolate was crucial to the Mayan Society.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Justin Wu, Matthew Chou, Bryan Forster.
Blogging is so cool! We get to share our thoughts about the ways of the world. Like in history, we get to think about the past in our own way and share it with everyone else.
Blogging helps us in many ways and shows us to be more open it encourages us to be ourselves It gives us a chance to express ideas of history in a whole new way :)
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