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 create
Religion or the worship of God or Gods has been used to explain the origin of civilizations throughout history. Other civilizations may vary a little on their explanation of how their own people originated, or how they should govern their lives in order to please their Gods and continue their existence. Wars have been started and entire civilizations have even been annihilated in order to ensure their beliefs are protected. This practice exists even today, and I suspect will continue throughout time. The Quiche' Indians lived in what must have been a beautiful coastal land, full of lush greenery, Cypress and Pine trees. There were also beautiful mountains, valleys, and rivers. Birds and deer abounded throughout this beautiful paradise. This is explained when the "The Popul Vuh" describes the creation of the Earth, (Popul Vuh, Chapter 1, pg. 4). The beautiful land with plenty of plant and wildlife indicates that these people were Paleolithic, hunting and gathering food, as they needed. 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. d the " growth of the trees and thickets and the birth of life in the darkness, (The Popul Vuh, Chapter 1, Pg. 3).
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1244
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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