We made it out of China. Most Honors English people will agree with me when I say that's a relief. Time to move onto the sandy, salty expanse that is Egypt.
One thing I like about this book is that it definitely makes me think of certain things alot more in depth than I usually would. For example: the mumification process practiced by the Egyptians. Whenever I thought about it, my thoughts usually culminated in a "Ah, thats pretty cool. Wonder how they did it?" And thatd be about it. Reading the section on mummies in this chapter got me to think about it alot more, though. Its pretty amazing to think that, after four thousand or more years, bodies are still being found with flesh and skin intact. What makes it even more interesting is that they were able to learn how to do it and knew what would work and what wouldnt in the first place. They didn't have high tech laboratories, or computers able to predict outcomes to certain cituations. Its obvious that many ancient civilizations were fantastic thinkers and problem solvers.
Anyway, I need to set myself up for another really bad joke. The Egyptians used several important compounds during the mumification process. Some of these compounds were more important than others, and there was one that was by far the most important of them all; when it all boils down, its without a doubt salt (not literally, though, that'd only work if we were boiling salt water).
BAHAHA...yeahhhhhhh.
I did not like this chapter as much as the first one, though. It kind of bored me, and I had a hard time following along. It kind of seemed like the first chapter was about historical events in ancient China with salt incorporated, instead of simply the significance of salt throughout the years of early China. This second chapter, on Egypt, seemed to be flipped the other way. It just got a bit dry and repetitive for me after reading so many pages about who traded salt with who, who salted their meat and fish, etc.
I've been trying to think of some deep analytical questions to ask, but I'm not real good at that with non-fiction books. One thing I was wondering: without salt, would we know near as much about Egyptian history, or any ancient civilizations at all, as we do today? We certainly wouldn't know as much about Egyptian pharoahs and kings or the mumification process, because the corpses wouldn't be in any condition to study.
Theres one other thing that kind of disappointed me about this chapter. They never mentioned the salt-god, SodioTimmytus. =(
Oh, look! There he his. Rising from the East, right behind that there pyramid.
2 comments:
The mummification process is amazing. I can't believe that they have been able to preserve bodies so well for so long. I think that is salt's biggest accomplishments. Good work, sodium
Nice pictar.
:p noob.
I guess your hate for China will endure when we spend 3 weeks on China next sememster? Oh well, at least you have months to prepare yourself. I guess P.S. Buck ruined you guys eh?
Mumification process is something we already discussed in class, which is why I'm glad I waited to assign the book. Having already covered the ancient world, (Greece & Rome) I figured we'd be better equipped to comment on these things with a little back ground.
YOU WROTE:
"...Reading the section on mummies in this chapter got me to think about it alot more..." - Yes, that is the whole point I guess. Mission accomplished.
Great insights in your posts. They are very enjoyable to read and cleverly written. (and punny)
Again, sorry you didn't like it. But that's not really a concern of mine here. Sometimes learning can't always be fun.
I like your Egypt-Salt question. It's not bad! I never thought about "would we know near as much about Egyptian history..." if it had not been for salt? Interesting.
Awesome picture. Photoshop?
Mr. Farrell
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