Chinese Civilization Vs Mayan Civilization Research Paper
1070 Words5 Pages
Throughout history we see historians compare great civilizations to one another. But what do five diverse civilizations such as the Mayans, Persians, Chinese,Asian Indians, and Greeks have in common? Especially when it comes to their political developments, religion, and philosophies, to better understand this, not only will it be compared and contrast, but I will discuss how life would be like if I were living during their time.
To start, we must dissect each civilizations political systems. Politics are the foundation, without it societies would not be able to function, it would be mass chaos. Each society had a capital or major city, Maya had Tikal, Persia had Persepolis, China had Xianyang, India had Harappa, and The Greeks had Athens.…show more content… These three civilizations are immensely diverse when it comes to religion and philosophies. In regards to the Mayans, they had an elaborate calendar, with a solar and ritual year, with 52-year cycles. They also had the Popol Vuh, a creation myth stating that the gods created humans from maize and water, these simple ingredients were the flesh and blood of the mayan people. This in turn caused the Mayans religion to tie into agriculture and ritual blood letting. They believed the gods kept the world in check in exchange for sacrifices. Thus seen with their sacrifices, they believed that copious blood flow pleased the gods therefore they would lacerate the body or chop the ends of a sacrifices fingers off. The Mayans also had a ball game, the loser would be sacrificed, immediately following the games the loser would be tortured and executed. Similar to the Mayans, ancient Indians used to sacrifice humans for rewards from the gods in agricultural ways. However in the 5th and 6th centuries, numerous religions and philosophies sprang up. Unlike the Mayans, these religions were based of purification, and bring no harm to souls. The Chavakis believed gos were figments of the imagination, Jans believed in purification by observing athisma, they also avoided harming any souls, going as far as sweeping the ground, wearing mask, and a strict vegetarian diet. Buddhist believed in four noble truths, that all life