Danielle's Garden

The World in a Garden

Danielle's Garden

TOWER HILL EDUCATIONAL FUND
A/C 20067
Bank of Nova Scotia
1-3 Knutsford Blvd.
kingston 5,
Jamaica

"... a little picture of the world and of mankind's origin and development."

Our anatomical traits, the fact that we walk erect, the relatively large size of our brains, and the ability of our hands to use tools, are all physical denominators of what we share as human beings. The tour of the garden will not dwell on evident biological facts, but will select human groups, manmade structures, and life forms from each continent, as mosaic pieces in the garden's little Picture of the World and of mankind's origin and development. From the tours references to the beginning of civilization, to the motifs on display, the garden's historical theme portrays - "the world in a garden".

HISTORICAL OUTLINE

The earth dates back about 4 1/2 billion years - human appearance on the planet, about 3.5 million years.

The yet earliest known remains of human beings have been discovered in East Africa. Early man, it appears, survived as hunter-gatherers. Settled or civilized societies appear first in Western Asia and North Africa. The roots of civilization can be traced to Egypt and Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia, broadly speaking, being the regions of Sumer, Assyria and Babylon, and the areas in the river valleys of the Tigres and Euphrates). 'Civilization' does not have a final universally acceptable definition, but may be related to four essential accomplishments of human development:

The ability to write
Having an organized 'urban literate' society.
Producing distinctive achievements - such as building monumental architectural structures.
Making discoveries - e.g. use of mathematics, knowledge of metallurgy and astronomy.

In ancient Egypt, where the tour starts, we find these four features existing.

THE ORIGIN OF WRITING

Writing is, indeed, the shelf upon which knowledge is stored. While many of us can read and write, few of us know how mankind acquired this very important skill.

The earliest forms of writing were developed in Sumer and Egypt, by about 3000 B. C. The Sumerians initially made impressions in wet clay tablets to make pictographic forms (i.e. pictograms). A circle might represent the sun, or an animal's head, sheep. Over time, the use of picture signs evolved to a point where markings representing words were used (i.e. logograms). As the end of the wood or reed implement used made a wedge-shaped impression in the wet clay, this system of writing became known as cuneiform (Latin, 'cuneus' -' a wedge). Syllograms (i.e. syllabic signs) and later, the development of a complete alphabet, were the early stages through which mankind's early written communication evolved to writing as known today.

A cast or facsimile model of an original Sumerian Cuneiform tablet in the Museum usefully and interestingly illustrates early writing for visitors.

Danielle's Garden Historical Chart

Object d’Art

Historical Date

Cross-Related Dates and Events

Comments Related to Objects d'Art

PYRAMID/SPHINX

-3000 to –2501

·     Egypt’s introduction of 365 day calendar

·      Cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs emerge

·      Cheops’s Pyramid and the Sphinx at Gizeh are built

RAMESES II

-1350 to -1200

·         Olmec, as first major Mesoamerican civilization, emerges in Mexico

·         Accession of Rameses II as Pharaoh in –1279

·         Battle of the Hittites at Kadesh, circa –1275/4, in the 4^th or 5^th year of Rameses rule

MAYA

-600 to –501

·         Cyprus under Egyptian rule

·         Babylonian captivity of the Jews and first Hebrew written words of the Old Testament

·         Mayan civilization is established

·         Pascal rules in Palenque over 1,000 years later, from 615 to 683

BUDDHA

-563 to –483

·         Confucius born in 479

·         Buddha preaches his first sermon at Benares in -521

GREAT WALL

-250 to 1644

·         Jesus Christ born circa –4

·         Mohamed born 570

·         Charlemagne born 742

·         Qui Shi Huang becomes first emperor of China in –221

·         Start of building of Great Wall, circa –217

·         Building of Great Wall ends when last emperor of Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, committed suicide in 1644

HERALDIC SHIELD AND SWORD

1100 to 1300

·         Marco Polo born 1254

·         Medieval birth of heraldry in Western Europe about 1150

·         Baron Ulrich von Lichenstein dies 1257

AZTEC

1327 to 1364

·         Great fire of Munich in 1327

·         Black Death in lEurope 1347

·         Mexico City is established by the Aztecs 1327

·         Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec, is built in 1364

TOTEM POLE

KANGAROO

PENGUINS

1400 to 1992

·         Christopher Columbus set sail in the Santa Maria, from Palos, Spain, in 1492

·         500^th year after Columbus landed in the Americas 1992

·         Project work on Danielle’s Garden starts in 1988

·         All major commissioned works of art for Danielle’s Garden completed in 1991

·         Private family opening of garden in 1991

·         Formal public opening of garden in 1992

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Danielle's Garden

The World in a Garden

Danielle's Garden

"... a little picture of the world and of mankind's origin and development."

HISTORICAL OUTLINE

THE ORIGIN OF WRITING

Danielle's Garden Historical Chart

The Statue Garden

Garden Tour

Introduction

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

South America

Jamaica

Australia

Antartica

Children's Theme Park

World Journal

Earth

Man

War and Peace

Information

Conflict

Myth

Copyright © 2001 Danielle's Garden Educational Fund