The Birth of Religion

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf

What is a myth?

Often used to explain natural phenomena

Important driver of culture

NOT just fantasy

The Role of the Myth

Cultural traditions of Indigenous Peoples

“creation myths”

Different from Mesopotamia (but same time-period)

The Anasazi (900-1300 CE)

Creation myth = came out of the earth, like water

Native American Expansion and Culture

Navajo Creation Myth = emergence from darkness

Pueblo people (Zuni) creation myth = sprouted like seeds

Similarities b/t Native Americans and others Neolithic cultures:

Animism = living spirits inhabit forces of nature

“kachina” (Pueblo people) & “num” (San tribe, Africa)

Anthropomorphism = nature’s behavior is comparable to man’s

Humans can communicate with spirits

Emergence Tales: Navajo and Zuni

The importance of place

Examples from Neolithic Cultures:

Stonehenge = megaliths in a “cromlech”

Temples & Ritual

The importance of place

Examples from Neolithic Cultures:

Stonehenge = megaliths in a “cromlech”

“kiva” of the Pueblo people = room for religious use

Temples & Ritual

The importance of place

Examples from Neolithic Cultures:

Stonehenge = megaliths in a “cromlech”

“kiva” of the Pueblo people = room for religious use

Olmec in Central America = pyramidal mounds

Temples & Ritual

The importance of place

Examples from Neolithic Cultures:

Stonehenge = megaliths in a “cromlech”

“kiva” of the Pueblo people = room for religious use

Olmec in Central America = pyramidal mounds

Hopewell tradition = burial mounds

“Great Serpent Mound” in Ohio

Temples & Ritual

Uruk’s significance = one of the largest/oldest temples

Polytheism = belief in multiple gods

Gods acted like people

Every object had its own god

Importance of the priest class

Temples & ziggurats

Different from Native Americans

No attempt to establish a relationship with the gods

Mesopotamia Finds Religion

Religion = cornerstone of Egyptian life

King was a god incarnate (initially, Horus)

“nomes” = regional communities; local gods

“maat” = world harmony/balance

Religion in Ancient Egypt

“Well tended are men, the cattle of god.

He made heaven and earth according to their desire

And repelled the demon of the waters . . .

He made for them rulers (even) in the egg,

A supporter to support the back of the disabled.”

Some Old Kingdom poetry . . .

Religion = cornerstone of Egyptian life

King was a god incarnate (initially, Horus)

“nomes” = regional communities; local gods

“maat” = world harmony/balance

Egyptian rulers were administrators, not warriors

Cyclical nature of Egyptian religion

Religion in Ancient Egypt