Mitchell Bortz 9-22-11 History 101 Hollenback Document Analysis #1 Question #1 In the time of the Aztec civilization, great strides were taken to keep everything in what I would call, “working order.” The Aztecs were very religious people who did whatever was needed to be done to please their main gods Quetzaquatal and Tezcatlipoca. Human sacrifice was the main form of pleasing the Gods and keeping the cosmos from being destruction. In my opinion, some of the things that were done to the people being sacrificed were very extreme. Some examples would be the rituals they performed. They included decapitation, burning of the body, strangulation, arrow sacrifices, etc.
They traveled on the rivers to other civilizations to trade supplies needed for living and things they treasured. When the rivers flooded, they created fertile fields. The farmers used the rich, fertile soil to grow grain to make a surplus of food. Although historians and archeologists concur that each of these societies worshipped several Divine Beings, not much else is known about the Indus Valley religion. However, evidence shows that Sumer, Egypt, and China believed in gods closely related to nature.
* Since this power was divinely given, there was a direct connection between the ruler and their god. * Zhou placed great emphasis on the veneration of ancestors and the family unit was the most important organizational structure. * During the Zhou dynasty iron metallurgy spread to China. Classical Civilizations * Greece * Politics revolved around the concept of the polis or city-state. * Two most famous cities were Athens and Sparta * Relied heavily on trade as the cornerstone of its economy.
Bureaucracy is the delegation of power in government. In both China and Rome there was the emperor. Then the emperor would assign different people to take care of things that he couldn’t do himself like collecting taxes. This bureaucratic system is one of the best forms of political control and contributed to both empires being successful. Both empires remained for long periods of time.
These reliefs declared that Hatshepsut was crowned by the gods who welcomed her as their future king. They also depicted her coronation in front of a court consisting of highly respected individuals. – Political and religious roles of the king and queen in the Seventeenth Dynasty and early Eighteenth Dynasty: Political: At the crux of political responsibilities were military roles. A pharaoh was responsible for maintaining the land economically as well as forcefully. Power was also delegated to advisors such as viziers and stewards Hapuseneb, Senenmut).
Possessing bronze objects was a sing of authority. Religious: the Chinese people wold worship there male ancestors.they also had rituals to sacrifice people during the shang period. When the zhou took over they claimed the gods gave them the through as long as they guided the people wisely and called their rule “mandate of the havens.” Social: the nomadic people of the western and northern areas during the Shang
China has been under rule of hundreds of different emperors, all of whom provided a new addition to Ancient China's rich and intricate history. These emperors ruled during periods called "dynasties" which could span from decades to centures. Of all the ancient chinese dynasties there is only one that left a lasting impression that built the foundation for modern day China. The Qin Dynasty is the greatest dynasty in Chinese history because of the standardization of currency, writing, and measurement, the formation of China, and being the first dynasty under rule of an emperor. Of these achievements the standardization of language and measurement has definately had one of the most positive impacts.
However, both societies had the same religious ideas where a chief God ruled them. Critics also judge a society by their architecture. China, Egypt and the Americas all contain extremely advanced architecture. Tikal, located in northern Guatemala, was named UNESCO World Heritage Site, as were the Great Pyramids in Giza (UNESCO). Therefore, the beautiful architecture in both the Americas and the Eastern Hemisphere shared many striking
They also believed silver was the tears of the moon, and gold was believed to be the sweat of the sun. The Inca felt they had a very good relationship with the gods. Stone fortresses were erected on high mountain tops or sacred areas to prove the great dedication that the Inca felt to their gods. Priests and priestesses were thought to be able to do the bidding of the gods, so they were highly honored and often part of the royal family. Priestesses were expected to perform the hair combing
Gods were connected to natural phenomenon, or animals. This is part of the immanence of the gods in nature. Not often were the representations of a god's qualities thought of as symbolic. As a result, any appearance of the animal is in itself carrying a religious importance, and often the worship of animals could be very direct. This belief survived through all stages of Ancient Egyptian religion.