Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mayans

Ancient Egypt and the Mayans were both striving civilizations that lasted a long time and impacted the world as we know it today. Egyptian culture, lasting from about 3150 BC to 30 BC, was centralized around its hierarchy and its desertlike terrain. The Maya, a civilization lasting from about 250 to 900 AD, was based highly on its religion and class system. The Maya were located in Mexico and Central America whereas the Egyptians were located in northern Africa near the Nile River. The Egyptians took advantage of slaves, worshipped their kings as gods, and believed in a polytheistic religion and afterlife. The Mayans also revolved around a polytheistic religion, but also practiced human sacrifice. The Egyptians and the Mayans had many similarities that helped them each grow to greatness, but also had differences between each other. The ancient Egyptians and Mayans had many similarities and differences in their agriculture, geography, and climate. The Egyptian civilization was surrounded by desert, their main source of water being the Nile River. The Mayan geography …show more content…
The Egyptians lived in an arid, dry desert whereas the Mayans lived in humid dense areas and arid mountains. The Egyptians and the Mayans were both polytheistic, and each had their own inhumane way of using humans. The two civilizations had so many similarities because in order to have a thriving civilization, which they had, they needed key elements that tended to be similar. For example, the Egyptians used their pyramids as tombs that could show the power of the pharaoh. The Mayans used their pyramids for ceremonies and rituals. Since many things tended to be symbolic and religion was an important part of daily life, I believe the shape of the pyramid, as an example, became a symbol of strength and power. For this reason, and many others, the Egyptians and Mayans had many similarities in their civilization