Death is inevitable and the customs that follow one 's death are representive of the beliefs and shared religion of that society. Through the scope of this paper I will discuss the death rituals and tomb burial practices of both Ancient Egypt and Ancient China. Over the examination of Ancient Egypt and Ancient China burial practices we begin to understand the complex thought process of respecting the dead, Furthermore, even though both of these civilizations have individually intricate beliefs we can also see the similarities in their ideals and rituals used to honor the dead and afterlife. These societies performed rituals for their deceased by using key components such as symbolic material objects buried alongside the dead, elaborate decoration
…show more content…
As well we see an increase of the creation of the tombs themselves. To illustrate this, mythical statues and figurines of deities that emulate the combination of human and animal physical components mirror each other in meaning and substantial attributes.Till (1980) discusses The use of statues created with the combined features of man and animal in Ancient China. A more common sighting of these Chimeras were placed in pairs at the start of the walkway to tombs. These can even be found in modern day China and various places through out the world. Each dynasty did consist of their own stylized way for creating these chimeras. It is presumed that the significance of these figurines “…not only enhance the dignity of the tomb and served to glorify the memory of the dreaded but also would protect the corpse against evil spirits and prevent any violation of the tomb” (Till, 1980, p. 262). MORE. Similarly, the Ancient Egyptians worshiped Gods won of which many were represented by the anatomy of man and animal or a combination of shape shifting forms. Some well known Egyptian burial sites and artifacts are examples of these anthropomorphic dieties are figurines or statuses of Anubis the God of the dead, which bears the head of a jackal. As well another well known example of this in Ancient Egypt is the Great Sprinx of Giza, which manifest the head of a man and the body of a lion. According to Baines & Lacovara (2002) the Great Sphinx was ordered to be built by a late 4th Dynasty Pharoah, Khafre. Henry Fisher (...as stated in Baines & Lacovara, 2002) explains that the "...body of the lion with the head of a man is "a suggestion of shape-shifting, of metamorphosis, that is appropriate to the king who ism uniquely the link between mankind and the gods, and stands constistantly on the threshold of these two worlds" (Baines & Lacovera, 2002 p. 27). Creation
As well we see an increase of the creation of the tombs themselves. To illustrate this, mythical statues and figurines of deities that emulate the combination of human and animal physical components mirror each other in meaning and substantial attributes.Till (1980) discusses The use of statues created with the combined features of man and animal in Ancient China. A more common sighting of these Chimeras were placed in pairs at the start of the walkway to tombs. These can even be found in modern day China and various places through out the world. Each dynasty did consist of their own stylized way for creating these chimeras. It is presumed that the significance of these figurines “…not only enhance the dignity of the tomb and served to glorify the memory of the dreaded but also would protect the corpse against evil spirits and prevent any violation of the tomb” (Till, 1980, p. 262). MORE. Similarly, the Ancient Egyptians worshiped Gods won of which many were represented by the anatomy of man and animal or a combination of shape shifting forms. Some well known Egyptian burial sites and artifacts are examples of these anthropomorphic dieties are figurines or statuses of Anubis the God of the dead, which bears the head of a jackal. As well another well known example of this in Ancient Egypt is the Great Sprinx of Giza, which manifest the head of a man and the body of a lion. According to Baines & Lacovara (2002) the Great Sphinx was ordered to be built by a late 4th Dynasty Pharoah, Khafre. Henry Fisher (...as stated in Baines & Lacovara, 2002) explains that the "...body of the lion with the head of a man is "a suggestion of shape-shifting, of metamorphosis, that is appropriate to the king who ism uniquely the link between mankind and the gods, and stands constistantly on the threshold of these two worlds" (Baines & Lacovera, 2002 p. 27). Creation