The History of the Ancient World: Практическое пособие по английскому языку. Часть 1. Гончарова Л.Ю. - 8 стр.

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8
Megaliths – Formidable Achievements
In many parts of Europe, the longest lasting remains of this era are the
megaliths (“large stones” ) which may have had some religious or recreational
purpose. Massive blocks of stone, and sometimes wood, were moved great distances
and erected in chosen areas throughout Europe, from Britain across the continent,
some even as far as the Black Sea in Southern Russia.
There are four types of megaliths: the menhir, a single standing stone, often of
great size; a set of menhirs arranged in a circle; a row of menhirs; and the burial
chamber, or chamber tomb, sometimes called a dolmen.
The most famous of these megalith sites is Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England,
which was built in stages, the first part being erected between 3500 BC and 3000 BC.
There have been many different theories about its original use, none of which has
been officially accepted. Among the most plausible ones is the theory that it was a
place from where stars and planets could be observed and the stones could be used as
a calendar to predict solar and lunar eclipses. Another one is that Stonehenge served
as a Druid temple where this Celtic religious group performed their mystic rites.
Some of the oldest megalithic chamber tombs have been radio carbon dated at
6000 BC – some 3,500 years older than the famous Egyptian pyramids.
With the creation of fixed settlements and continuous, albeit slow,
technological advances, it became inevitable that these communities would take their
next great step: the creation of a system of literacy and law establishing a formal
social contract between the individuals making up the communities.
The creation of fixed settlements in Europe and the Near East as a result of the
farming revolution known as the Neolithic Age laid the basis for the nest great leap in
White civilization: the establishment of Old European civilization in central Europe
and in the Near East.
Vocabulary work
Read and memorize the following words and expressions, suggest their
Russian equivalents:
LIST OF PROPER NAMES
Old Testament
The Garden of Eden
The Mesopotamian River Valley
The Fertile Crescent
The Balkans
Egypt
The Egyptian civilization
The Indo-Europeans
The Middle East 
                                          8

      Megaliths – Formidable Achievements
       In many parts of Europe, the longest lasting remains of this era are the
megaliths (“large stones”) which may have had some religious or recreational
purpose. Massive blocks of stone, and sometimes wood, were moved great distances
and erected in chosen areas throughout Europe, from Britain across the continent,
some even as far as the Black Sea in Southern Russia.
       There are four types of megaliths: the menhir, a single standing stone, often of
great size; a set of menhirs arranged in a circle; a row of menhirs; and the burial
chamber, or chamber tomb, sometimes called a dolmen.
       The most famous of these megalith sites is Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England,
which was built in stages, the first part being erected between 3500 BC and 3000 BC.
There have been many different theories about its original use, none of which has
been officially accepted. Among the most plausible ones is the theory that it was a
place from where stars and planets could be observed and the stones could be used as
a calendar to predict solar and lunar eclipses. Another one is that Stonehenge served
as a Druid temple where this Celtic religious group performed their mystic rites.
       Some of the oldest megalithic chamber tombs have been radio carbon dated at
6000 BC – some 3,500 years older than the famous Egyptian pyramids.

       With the creation of fixed settlements and continuous, albeit slow,
technological advances, it became inevitable that these communities would take their
next great step: the creation of a system of literacy and law establishing a formal
social contract between the individuals making up the communities.
       The creation of fixed settlements in Europe and the Near East as a result of the
farming revolution known as the Neolithic Age laid the basis for the nest great leap in
White civilization: the establishment of Old European civilization in central Europe
and in the Near East.

                                Vocabulary work

     Read and memorize the following words and expressions, suggest their
Russian equivalents:

LIST OF PROPER NAMES

Old Testament
The Garden of Eden
The Mesopotamian River Valley
The Fertile Crescent
The Balkans
Egypt
The Egyptian civilization
The Indo-Europeans
The Middle East

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