Important Update

Hi everyone, I hope all of you enjoyed learning

about the ancient Egyptians! Unfortunately, I will 

be unable to post content for the remainder of this 

week. Therefore, there will be no posts until 

sometime next week. Until then enjoy the present 

(even though there are no fashionable pharoahs).   

An Egyptian's Prayer To The Nile River: By Snapshot Historian

   Oh great river, provider of the waters that nourish our crops,
  
   arise and release your substance, I have laid my seeds and 

   plowed the earth, my fruits will not breathe life without your    

   blessing,

   Your rule over the land possesses a celebrated magnitude, it 

   exceeds that of Greece's Drino and Sumer's Tigris, though those

   rivers are deep they are shallow for they are devoid of your  

  blessing,

   
  Come now and enter my land, swiss your wonder upon my 

  ground, splash your greatness all around, and when your 

  handiwork is done, withdraw and leave me with a bountiful 

 harvest, 

 I await your presence on my farmland   

    

Back To Farming: The Egyptian Way

                                 Source:“egyptfarming.jpg (600×410),” 4 Mar. 2016.

       The New Kingdom of ancient Egypt is known for its 

contributions to agriculture. Most countries during this period used

heavy ploughs to turn over their soil to ensure their crops received 

enough nutrients. However, the Egyptians were able to use lighter 

ploughs because of the Nile River. The Nile River would 

occasionally flood, and by doing so it deposited the nutrients on top

of the soil. Because of this natural phenomenon, ancient Egyptians 

used ploughs for a different purpose; that purpose was to break up

the topsoil prior to planting seeds and covering them. 

     
      In the painting, both of the Egyptians are holding an object. 

The female Egyptian looks like she is holding a pile of wheat. And

The male Egyptian seems to be holding something that looks 

almost like a mirror. It is possible that the pile of wheat and the 

mirror-shaped object is symbolic of a prayer for a good harvest. 

The fruit on the bottom of the painting also might allude to a prayer

for a good harvest because the bottom has grape trees and what 

look like fig trees, which are crops the ancient Egyptians grew. 

When both halves of the painting are put together, they both 

represent a different stage of the planting cycle. The top half 

represents the beginning stage (ploughing), and the bottom half 

represents the ending stage (harvesting). This can also prove the 

painting is a prayer because the top can be what the farmer did that 

was in his control, and the bottom can be the thing the farmer 

wanted to happen that was beyond his control.

King Tutankhamun: A Painting To Brag About

                     Source:“king-tut-with-gods.jpg (2691×2118),” 2 Mar. 2016. 

     The New Kingdom of ancient Egypt is known for being the 

zenith of ancient Egypt's achievements in agriculture, art, and 

military expansion. The pharaohs during this time boasted their 

strength through paintings. In this painting, king Tutankhamun is 

standing with the two Egyptian gods Anubis (god of the afterlife) 

and Nephthys (protective goddess of the dead).

      
     The fact King Tutankhamun is depicted with two Egyptian gods

implies the Pharaohs view themselves as godly entities. But the 

thing that is fascinating about this specific painting is that both of 

the gods are pampering King Tutankhamun. This very likely shows

King Tutankhamun was so egotistical about his and the Egyptians'

achievements during the age of the New Kingdom that he viewed

himself as a greater man than omnipotent beings. Who can blame 

him for he rekindled the extinguished flame of traditional Egyptian

 religion and kept it burning throughout his entire reign.

  

New Time Period

Hi Everyone, I hope all of you enjoyed learning 

about 20th century America. But that's old news, 

and speaking of old, this week we will be  

traveling to the time of the New Kingdom of 

ancient Egypt. Home of the pharaohs that took 

 excessive pride in presenting their dominance  

towards the ancient Egyptians, and the Nile River 

that helped nurture the crops of the Egyptians. So 

bring a lot of water and an appetite for figs and 

dates because we are going to ancient Egypt! 

Cries of An Early 20th Century Child: By Snapshot Historian

     I don't want to go out today father; not into the field of smog 

you call progress. Every day at the appointed hour of which you 

sentence me to my trail of tears, I contemplate how your boss 

goes about his day. How does he possess the rudeness to offer us 

barely a penny for our deeds? I hold the conviction since the time 

his mother bore him to this world his heart has always been absent 

of sympathy. So abandon the novel belief your boss will reward us 

with greater an amount of wage.

   You encourage me with the hope I will find fulfillment in my 

labor. I hear neither weight nor a sprinkle of truth in your words 

father. I find no fruit in my labor, not even the satisfaction of hard

work our ancestors spoke of. I see myself as only a conductor to an 

angry audience of machinery, an audience that hopes to consume 

me.

     I dread my every day passing through the unpaved streets of 

Boston. It oppresses me because I know ounce I walk into the 

house of metal my eyes will not make contact with the sun until 

my next trail of tears. My ears will be kept away from hearing the 

pleasing sounds of nature, and instead will be shaken by the 

boisterous shrieks of appliances.

       
    Father, I see I have no choice but to depart from our tiny home. I 

will go grab my coat now and my heavy boots, I will be on my 

way to work death's instruments. Farewell father, please you and 

mother pray I will make it home the way I stand before you now. 

Into the smog I go.

20th Century American Industry: The Bitter Smell of Progress

                                      source:“child.jpg (497×356),” 23 Feb. 2016.

           America in the 20th century had glamour, but it didn't share its 

glamour with everyone. 

       In the early 20th century, more than half of the American 

population was poverty stricken. For this reason, families sent 

their children to work in factories: they needed all the income they 

could get. While the reason seemed understandable, the factories 

the children were sent to were a death sentence. A horror show of 

machines that emitted bitter smog and waited to devour children in 

the horrific symphony of machinery. 

     The working conditions in the factories were terrible; many 

people got injured because of them. In the picture, one of the 

children is barefoot. Both of the children look worried, which 

makes sense as they are standing on a device that can injure them

at any second. The factory looks windowless, which gives the 

impression the children do not have the right to see the light of 

day. The monochrome grey fits this photograph as it accentuates 

the gloominess of the situation. 

      Fortunately,  around the first decade of the 20th-century 

reform movements were implemented in America's industrial code

of law. Reform movements that stripped this picture of its 

melancholy, and brought more favorable working conditions to 

American factory workers. Conditions which rendered American

industry from then on, until this very day. And freed children from

the enslavement of industrial life, and catapulted them to what 

today is a modern day educational system.  
    

20th Century Coney Island: From Rags to Riches

                                            Source: “tumblr_lmk47a7ssi1qarrqqo1_500.jpg (411×500),” 20 Feb. 2016.                                                            Coney Island: From Riches To Rags

       Those who have been to coney island, in New York, may be 

thinking, how in the world is this Coney Island? And they are 

right, it is not Coney Island, but it was Coney island. 


    Before the Great Depression, Coney Island was once a luxurious 

playground for wealthy Americans. People in the photograph are 

dressed in formal attire, even the children. As this is how people 

presented their selves in the early 20th century. While the people 

are nicely dressed, so is Coney Island in its vintage glory. Yes,  

Coney Island wearing her coat of elegance; while charmed by 

America's vintage, lavish beauty.

     
    Unfortunately, as this was the summit of America's economic 

rollercoaster, many people were unaware of a harsh economic drop 

 in their future. A drop that would strip Coney Island of her vintage 

glory for many decades to follow. Thankfully, the area is being 

reclaimed today in an attempt to reawaken the grandeur of the 

sleeping giant, Coney Island.
  

Early 1900s America

   Since I am an American blogger, let's start the first week from my 

homeland before we journey to far off worlds. After all, who 

would leave their country before saying goodbye?

Living in America in the early 20th century was like riding a 

never-ending roller through life. Some years the economy hit the 

jackpot, and some years it was bankrupt. This week, I will be 

posting pictures from both of these parts of the early 20th century.

So fasten your seat belt because we are riding that economic 

rollercoaster!

Welcome!

Welcome, everyone to the Snapshot Historian blog! 

Where I will "piece history together through pictures." 

I will be speaking about personal interpretations of many historical pictures, or sometimes artifacts and documents, from different eras of history. 

Each week, I will choose a theme or time period from history. The pictures I post in that week will correspond to that theme or time period I chose. I will also post an original short story or poem once a week that reflects the theme or era of the week.  

Feel free to leave your own thoughts on each picture I will post; I want to hear your perspective on each of the pictures I post!

And check back often for updates!

I look forward to journeying through time with you!