Anthro HW3 - HW3 PDF

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Discussion Homework 3

Anthro HW3

1. The bull was arguably one of the most honored animals in Egyptian society. They were such a symbol of power and strength that kings would call themselves “The Strong Bull”. One bull called the Apis bull trumped all other bulls. It was so holy that only one could rule the earth at a time. It resembled Egyptian social organization because there was a hierarchy where one bull was socially more important than others. When the Apis bull died, there would be an entire ritual and a mummification of the bull. The belief was that the bull’s spirit would make it to the next world if they perfectly completed the 70 day ceremony surrounding its death. People of Memphis incorporated the bull into all aspects of life.

2. In Sumer, religious beliefs were almost a dark cloud hanging over people’s heads. They believed that if something unfortunate happened, it was because the gods. In Egyptian religion, the people had a very positive view on the gods. A similarity between both religions is that they both honored multiple gods. There were gods for the sun, underworld, sky, fertility, etc. A possible explanation for the people of both Egypt and Sumer believing so deeply in the gods and their religion because there was no science back then to explain why is rained some days. Nobody really knew why famines occured. The only rational explanation for causes of these events was that something supernatural out of people's control caused this.

3. I believe that a lot of change has occurred between ancient Egyptian religion and religions today has changed in the sense that many religions only worship one god. Religion compliments people’s lives today; it does not control it nearly as much as it did in ancient times. I think religion has changed because it had to. People change, cultures change, and although religions are pretty conservative and strict, they do have to have some leeway. For example, today we know that famines are caused by soil fertility and the environmental conditions. We know that storms are caused by changes in pressure. We know that the devastating effects of hurricanes are caused by high winds which are caused by conditions in the atmosphere. Some religions still believe that a god oversees people’s actions and determines the future for them or that there is some form of afterlife or heaven, but those beliefs are relatively unchanged because we have no hard core evidence to prove otherwise....