Design Challenge: Carve a T-Pillar 设计T形石柱

Design a T-pillar for our class, with arms, a belt and animal reliefs that tell something about us, then plan how to cut and move it without metal or machines.

The builders of Göbekli Tepe carved each T-pillarT-pillar T形石柱A tall stone shaped like a T, carved to look like a person.History Vocab ↗ to look like a person, with animals on it. Now design a pillar for our class.

A T-shaped pillar labeled head, arm, hands, belt, animal relief and body, next to a 1.7 m person

1. Plan

☐ Draw the head (the top of the T) and the body
☐ Add arms down the sides and hands that meet in front
☐ Add a belt
☐ Add two or three animals as reliefs. Choose animals that say something about our class.

2. Draw your pillar

Draw the side view. Label: head, body, arms, hands, belt and each animal.

My T-pillar, side view

3. Explain

a. Which animals did you choose, and what do they say about our class?

b. You have no metal and no machines. How will you cut your pillar out of the quarryquarry 采石场A place where people cut stone out of the ground.History Vocab ↗? (Think: flint, natural layers in the rock.)

c. Your pillar weighs 10 tonnes. How will you move it 500 m to the building, and how many people do you need?

NoteAnswer key

a. Any animal with a reason. b. Cut grooves around the pillar shape with flint picks, down to a natural crack between rock layers, then lift it out with wooden beams and wedges. c. Ropes, wooden rollers or a sledge, a smooth or wet track, levers, ramps. Recent tests suggest about 7 to 14 people with ropes could move a pillar; accept any reasoned number.