HIST1108 World History to 1500 - Ravagnoli/DeCamp: Home

You should go to the Museum of Fine Art and visit the sections that correspond to the period we are studying (the origin to 1500 CE). You will pick an artifact (or more in case you want to do a comparative analysis). You will do external research on the artifact, using at least one primary source (the artifact itself counts) and at least two secondary sources (meaning scholars who have written about it). Use Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced and include a bibliography at the end (use Chicago style citations). Be creative, interesting and straight to the point. Make sure you provide evidence for your arguments. Also, I have word minimums and limits for some of the questions. Unless I give you permission ahead of time, make sure to keep your responses within those limits. You will be required to include a word count for each of those sections (4-8) For your final paper you will answer the following questions (in order):

1. Name of artifact (according to MFA, may be Untitled)

2. Period of the artifact (when it was created, might be an estimate or time frame)

3. Timeframe you will be discussing (just give a date range)

4. You’ll place the object in time and space (political order, religious views, economic activities). This information does not need to directly relate to your artifact. Instead describe the historical context surrounding the artifact. 300-500 words

5. How was the artifact used/what was it used for? 150-300 words

6. What does it tell us about society of the period and the place you picked? 200-400 words

7. Was there trade or encounters with other civilizations? How do we tell? Were there influences and/or similarities with other places/artifacts we studied or that you saw in the museum? 200-400 words

8. Why did you find this artifact interesting? Why is it important to understanding the history of the World to 1500? 200-400 words

9. Bibliography in Chicago Style