A Comparison of Early Civilizations
After reading the articles on early civilization, I've identified several similarities and differences about the people who were from these three cultures. The civilizations in the articles include, the people from Mesopotamia, the Quiche' Indians, a tribe in early Meso-America, and "The book of Genesis" which offers a Christian or biblical explanation of how our own civilization originated. I will tell you about how they believed they came into existence and what they thought they should do to ensure their civilization continued. The three stories offered insight on how the different cultures lived by describing how they believed their civilization was created. All three civilizations believed that the Earth, all the animals, and Man was created by one or several Gods. The Meso- Americans and Mesopotamiams believed in many Gods. On the other hand, the Christians believed that only one God created Man. The Meso-Americans believed that Tepeu, the "Creator' and the Forefathers, a group of great sages and thinkers created their world and everything in it. In the article "Popul Vuh", the Quiche' Indians wrote about how the Creator and the Forefathers planned and created
Finally, the Christians write in "The Book of Genesis" that when the serpent told Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit she would be "as Gods, knowing good and evil", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, pg. 15). God then punished Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit by banishing them from the Garden of Eden, (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, pg. 15). This meant that the Christians felt the need to recognize and worship God in order for them to have everything that they needed to live safely and comfortably. If they went against God's wishes there would be serious consequences. The Christians describe a beautiful Garden of Eden, with plenty of grasses, grains, and fruits to eat. It describes how God "gathered the water together unto one place to make room for dry land, "(The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, pg. 12), which indicates that the Garden of Eden was located along a large body of water. There was plenty of animal life in this beautiful land. Whales, birds of all kinds, cattle and many other kinds of wildlife thrived on this land and the water surrounding it. After God banishes Adam and Eve form the Garden of Eden they live a nomadic life. Their ancestors continue this way of life until the great flood when everyone except for Noah and his family dies, (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 6, pg. 17). According to Christian belief, after the Great Flood, Noah's family start what is now the beginning of the civilization in which we now live in, (Chapter 7, pg. 18). The Christians and the Mesopotamian people believed that Man was created in their Gods' own image, while The Meso-Americans believed that Man was created from their surrounding environment. The Meso-American society must have been more Paleolithic than the other two civilizations since they identified more with the land in which they lived in than the Mesopotamia
Some common words found in the essay are:
Epic Tablet, God Gods, Genesis Chapter, Garden Eden, Quiche' Indians, Vuh Chapter, Book Genesis, Creation Epic, Christians Mesopotamian, Goddess Tiamet, book genesis, creation epic, 1 pg, book genesis chapter, popul vuh, genesis chapter, epic tablet, chapter 1 pg, creation epic tablet, chapter 1, garden eden, quiche' indians, tablet 1, tablet 1 pg, epic tablet 1,
Approximate Word count = 1244
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
