Document 2.1: In Search of Eternal Life
How does the Epic of Gilgamesh portray the gods and their relationship to humankind?
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods relationships to the humankind can be described as two humans in a relationship but more as servants. They want humans to make sacrifices to them, glorify and respect them, and to live a righteous life free of sins, like good christians people but to many gods.The only differences is that, gods have the powers to stipulate the humans, like a puppet show. The gods controls the humans by intervening in their life and daily activities. With such dictatorship, they can be so inconsiderate and harsh to the humans. Also, the gods bear humanlike qualities like love, jealousy and tolerance. So, if the people disobeyed or annoyed them in any way, they would punish the entire humanity with natural disasters and fatal diseases. As we see how Enkidu dies after disparaging a god. Humans, in return of their prayers and offerings, are supposed to get good fortune, favourable climate for agriculture, safety and the good things in life. However, sometimes the humans don't get what they prayed for. It can be a blessing or a punishment.
So to surmise, the humans and the gods relationship is a give and take relationship, where humans prays for something and in return of granting their wish, they have to do something for the gods. However, the humans have no power of controlling such demands because the gods are superior and have such great powers that could either punished or blessed them.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Blog Post #3
Chapter 2: First Civilizations
As discussed and performed in class, the Epic of Gilgamesh, perspectively the Mesopotamian authors believed that people were civilized by being sexual intercourse, eats bread and drinks water, groomed and does what civilized humans does, just like Enkidu. Enkidu was born in the wilderness, he ate with the animals, slept with them and even acted like one. He was uncivilized then, until he slept with the harlot Shamhat that he became aware of his surroundings. Furthermore, because of Shamhat, Enkidu understanding broaden. He groomed, ate what civilized people ate and developed feelings so strong that he challenged Gilgamesh. He became civilized.
Civilization is very important. It is a stage of human social development and organization that is considered most advanced. At some point, humans gained knowledge and began to invent useful tools to their advantages. Today, humans have evolved so much to the point where almost everything is done by machines and robots. Contrary to the past, people were gatherer-hunters who gathered and hunt to survive. Everything was done by hand and with whatever resources, naturally, available to them. Today, humans are doing more than just surviving. However, without the past, people wouldn't understand how hard living and surviving was for people in the past. So thanks to the people of the past, people today don't go through a hard time coping and wondering what's going on in the world.
 |
| THEN vs. NOW |
Civilization is very important. It is a stage of human social development and organization that is considered most advanced. At some point, humans gained knowledge and began to invent useful tools to their advantages. Today, humans have evolved so much to the point where almost everything is done by machines and robots. Contrary to the past, people were gatherer-hunters who gathered and hunt to survive. Everything was done by hand and with whatever resources, naturally, available to them. Today, humans are doing more than just surviving. However, without the past, people wouldn't understand how hard living and surviving was for people in the past. So thanks to the people of the past, people today don't go through a hard time coping and wondering what's going on in the world.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Blog Post #2
Neolithic "Agriculture Revolution": What Paleolithic Might Have Been Like?
Nisa is not a Paleolithic woman but her experiences are similar to that of the Paleolithic people. Although, Nisas experiences don't accurately say what Paleolithic people may have been like in the past but it hinted what they did similarly.
Like the Paleolithic people, Nisa's people were called gatherer-hunters. They hunt and gathered their food for survival. The labour work was divided equally by gender where males would hunt meat and females would gather berries and beans. However, Nisa's people were sometimes stingy with their meat which I think distinguished them from the Paleolithic people. Paleolithic people were not stingy people because they had to work together to survive.
 |
| "Nisa the !Kung Woman" |
Like the Paleolithic people, Nisa's people were called gatherer-hunters. They hunt and gathered their food for survival. The labour work was divided equally by gender where males would hunt meat and females would gather berries and beans. However, Nisa's people were sometimes stingy with their meat which I think distinguished them from the Paleolithic people. Paleolithic people were not stingy people because they had to work together to survive.
When it comes to marriage, Paleolithic and Nisa had similarities. Polygamy was permitted but most women were stingy with their man and didn't want to share. Like Paleolithic women, Nisa wanted a monogamous marriage and weren't fond of the idea of sharing her husband. Although, Nisa and her husband both had affairs. I can say that the way both Nisa and the Paleolithic lived depends on the individual's decisions. Monogamous was an option for women in the Paleolithic era and to Nisa as well. Some stayed with one husband and others stick to multiple lovers.
Modern is a reflection of history and that is the situation with Nisa's experiences to the people in the Paleolithic era. It could only say so much about what or what not happened. Nisa's experiences is not the same as other women in her community but it hinted how Paleolithic people live, or at least according to Strayer and other scholars.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Blog Post #1
Paleolithic: First Peoples "Out of Africa and The Ways We Were"
The Homo Sapiens first emerged during the Paleolithic era. They weren't the first of the nomadic pioneers but they were certainly a step towards the civilization world. Although time and climate eradicate most of the records of their early life story, scholars happened to evidently pinpoint Africa as their early settling place. Not particularly settling, but a starting place of their journey. It is to believed that it is in Africa that "human culture" started for the homo sapiens. It is where they learned and invented ways of living.
The Homo Sapiens earliest invented tools includes spears, hand axes and blades made froms stones, woods or bones. Other objects such as body ornaments, beads and segments(ochre) were also put to use. The aforementioned tools or objects were used to hunt and gathered foods. As discussed in class, 70% of the food they get from hunting and the other 30% from gathering. As also discussed in class, the Homo Sapiens didn't just traveled to random places. However, they moved in a pattern that is determined by the seasons of food sources that they're hunting and gathering. Then, sometime between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, was when the Homo Sapiens moved out of Africa and migrated to various parts of the world including Eurasia, Australia, America and lastly into the Pacific.
As the Paleolithic people continued their journey, they finally realized of the food sources that are available to them to their advantages. So instead of migrating accordingly to the seasons for the search of food to eat, they started settling down and make use of the lands. They built separate and different societies, each with their own language, culture, rituals, identity, stories, it's own history and more advanced tools as used by the ancient people before them. Like other human cultures, Paleolithic societies had rules and structures. This is when males became hunters and female were gatherers, rules about the equal distribution of food and animal killing as well as the rules about incest, adultery and governed sexual behaviour.
It is interesting how the Homo Sapiens evolved in years. As they traveled, changes were made, societies were developed as the populations increased, climate changes and different groups began to interact with one another. More advanced tools were created and living was a little bit easier as it was before. Although it took the Paleolithic era years and years to notice the unoccupied lands and start making a living, they certainly made an impact on the next era. They came from nothing to something big that started developed societies and everything that followed. There was no transportation or advanced technologies for them to utilized to travel and what not but they made a big change.
The Homo Sapiens first emerged during the Paleolithic era. They weren't the first of the nomadic pioneers but they were certainly a step towards the civilization world. Although time and climate eradicate most of the records of their early life story, scholars happened to evidently pinpoint Africa as their early settling place. Not particularly settling, but a starting place of their journey. It is to believed that it is in Africa that "human culture" started for the homo sapiens. It is where they learned and invented ways of living.
The Homo Sapiens earliest invented tools includes spears, hand axes and blades made froms stones, woods or bones. Other objects such as body ornaments, beads and segments(ochre) were also put to use. The aforementioned tools or objects were used to hunt and gathered foods. As discussed in class, 70% of the food they get from hunting and the other 30% from gathering. As also discussed in class, the Homo Sapiens didn't just traveled to random places. However, they moved in a pattern that is determined by the seasons of food sources that they're hunting and gathering. Then, sometime between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, was when the Homo Sapiens moved out of Africa and migrated to various parts of the world including Eurasia, Australia, America and lastly into the Pacific.
As the Paleolithic people continued their journey, they finally realized of the food sources that are available to them to their advantages. So instead of migrating accordingly to the seasons for the search of food to eat, they started settling down and make use of the lands. They built separate and different societies, each with their own language, culture, rituals, identity, stories, it's own history and more advanced tools as used by the ancient people before them. Like other human cultures, Paleolithic societies had rules and structures. This is when males became hunters and female were gatherers, rules about the equal distribution of food and animal killing as well as the rules about incest, adultery and governed sexual behaviour.
It is interesting how the Homo Sapiens evolved in years. As they traveled, changes were made, societies were developed as the populations increased, climate changes and different groups began to interact with one another. More advanced tools were created and living was a little bit easier as it was before. Although it took the Paleolithic era years and years to notice the unoccupied lands and start making a living, they certainly made an impact on the next era. They came from nothing to something big that started developed societies and everything that followed. There was no transportation or advanced technologies for them to utilized to travel and what not but they made a big change.
Artwork of the gathering and hunting Paleolithic people.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)