RELI 2732 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Pyramid Texts, Ushabti, Ancient Egyptian Deities
28 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Archeologists have studied the graves of ancient civilizations which can tells us quite a bit about rituals of ancient religions. Here are some things that we know: ancient people buried their dead with things like food and tools in the grave. This means that there was some type of attempt to make the dead comfortable. Many burials took place around large tombs and rocks. We see the beginning of agriculture and domestication of animals. When this change towards agriculture occurred, religious elements started to be tied to animals and hunting. There began to be a lot of rituals to bring the animals towards the dead which was to be peaceful so as to not bring upon revenge from the animals part. These agricultural societies rely on things that they cannot control such as weather, soil, etc. In these societies, the earth becomes kind of like the mothers. Rebirth and renewal becomes a large aspect of death.
