1. How the Gupta Empire, Classical China and the Golden Age of Islam Shaped Austin Jack Collins World History Tierney 11/11/15

2. Gupta Arts Through their sculpting, the Gupta Empire depicted a respected person such as a God and their emotion, which is also conveyed in this sculpture. This is a sculpture on West 21 st Street in front of the UT Tower, and is commemorating UT alumni who died fighting in World War l, which shows their bravery and courage. Along with this example of Gupta arts are many more sculptures that honor important people, most commonly found in front of large buildings throughout the U.S.

3. Gupta Health This woman doing yoga in a studio on Guadalupe and 30 th Street is a great example of the Gupta Empire’s influence of using yoga to heal one’s spirit through harmonious positions and exercises. Exercise, and more specifically yoga, is a huge part of Austin’s culture. There are studios all over Austin, and thousands of people do yoga weekly. To this day, people still use yoga not only as a form of exercise, but also to relieve stress and find a calm, balanced mind.

4. Gupta Science/Philospohy This modern university is a perfect example of the influence from the types of universities that were established in the Gupta Empire, which were large buildings with lots of subjects and separated by religion. This is the University of Texas Tower on West 24 th Street, and at this school, subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, and astronomy are taught in large, individual buildings just like they were taught in the Gupta Empire. Also, even though universities are not separated by religion anymore, they are still separated by one’s abilities and sometimes wealth. Some universities accept fewer people and then some universities cost more than others.

5. Gupta Government The people of the Gupta Empire were very skilled and talented metalworkers, and one of the things they made were gold and copper coins paying a tribute to their rulers’ accomplishments by putting them on the coins. In today’s society, coins have many similar characteristics to the ones from the Gupta Empire. Not only do we also make our coins out of metal, but also we honor some of our most influential presidents in history, just as they honored their rulers. This photo was taken in my house on Pemberton Place in Central Austin.

6. Chinese Mathematics The people of Classical China invented a brilliant tool called the Abacus, which had a wooden frame with attached wires and beads that represented different numbers and was used to do fast mathematical processes. Today, we have a calculator which serves the same purpose of allowing for quicker math processes and is used not only in schools all over Austin, but also nationwide. This is an image of a set of calculators and a close up of one at Austin High School on W. Cesar Chavez St.

7. Chinese Interaction The roads and relay hostels in Classical China played a crucial role in trade and communication because of how the roads allowed for easier travel, and the hostels offered a place to get food or stay the night on a long voyage. This is E. Highway 290 and The Heart of Texas Motel in South Austin, which serves a very similar purpose to the ones in China. Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., and our roads are very important for facilitating movement throughout our city. This motel is very similar to the hostels in China because it is a quick place to rest or stay on any kind of trip.

8. Chinese Interaction The reason for paper money in Classical China was that the metal coins were too hard to trade with because they were so heavy to carry. As for today’s culture, paper money is used more than metal coins for this same reason. People today have the same dislikes about coins being too heavy, so they prefer to carry around dollar bills that don’t weigh as much. For example, part of the reason that more metal coins are usually in tip jars as opposed to dollar bills, is because people want to get rid of their annoying and heavy change. This picture of a wallet with money in it was taken in my house on Pemberton Place in Central Austin.

9. Chinese Arts The Chinese developed porcelain by mixing white clay with a mineral called feldspar to make ceramics like bowls and vases. This discovery was very influential to today’s society as shown in the images above because porcelain is still used to make bowls and plates, which are essential items in our culture. Also, because of the Chinese, toilets, which are one of the most important things in society, are also made of porcelain. These images were taken in my house on Pemberton Place in Central Austin.

10. Islamic Architecture and Engineering The development of dams started in the Islamic Golden Age and had the same purpose as they do today— to keep out or keep in water. Dams such as this one are used all throughout the U.S. and are extremely important for societies because they mainly serve to prevent flooding. This is the Tom Miller Dam that is very important to Austin for flood control and generating hydroelectric power. It is located between Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake.

11. Islamic Health The Muslims created the first pharmacies that contained prescription drugs, which were highly supervised and very important to their community. This is an example of the heavy influence on how pharmacies still have prescription drugs that can not be taken without documentation from a doctor. Pharmacies like this one are found all over the U.S. and are crucial in society for their medicines. This is People’s Pharmacy located on N. Lamar and is very popular within this Austin community.

12. Islamic Science/Philosophy This is an example of what a library might have looked like in the Muslim city of Cordoba. They highly valued books and created large buildings that were filled with them for people to read. Today, there are many public libraries in cities across the U.S., and virtually every school in Texas has some sort of library that is used by the students. They are used very similarly to how they were used back in the Islamic Golden Age where people could not only go and get books for fun, but it is also very essential in education for kids and adults. This is the Austin High School library on W. Caesar Chavez.

13. Islamic Entertainment Muslim music was a big part of society that was played for people’s enjoyment. They used many instruments that were introduced at that time and are still used today. These instruments were very early forms of the the flute, drums, trumpet, and oboe. We have further enhanced these instruments into what they are today and use them to make music for others’ entertainment. This is an example of the Austin High School band playing at a football game at House Park on S. Lamar.