A Comparison of Early Civilization Articles

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A Comparison of Early Civilization Articles

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.

Creation of Man

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 the " growth of the trees and thickets and the birth of life in the darkness, (The Popul Vuh, Chapter 1, Pg. 3).

The Mesopotamians believed their world was created after the Gods sent Marduk, the Warrior God to defeat the oldest of the Gods, Tiamet, the patron of Primeval Chaos. Tiamet created terrible dragons, serpents, Hurricanes, tempests and just about anything she could in order to prevent the Gods from creating someone to worship them, (The Creation Epic, Tablet 1, pg. 7). Marduk was summoned to kill Tiamet, which he did and created Man out of his blood and bone, (The Creation Epic, Tablet VI, pg. 11).

"The Book of Genesis" tells us how "God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and the cattle after their kind", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, pg. 13). It also tells how "God created Man in his own image", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, pg. 13). This explains that one God created the Earth, the animals, and finally, Man.

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.

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