The very word stands as the pinnacle of ancient and exotic, and the structures themselves are some of the most impressive and monumental traces of civilizations long past. Built throughout Mesopotamia by several different cultures including the Sumerians and Babylonians, ziggurats are some of the world's first huge architecture. Their creation and purpose has long been of interests to archeologists studying the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. Building Zigguat's was a complex, gradual and labor-intensive effort undergone for social and religious reasons. Ziggurats probably began with the construction of temples on raised platforms. As these temples broke down, larger temples were built upon the remains. With this tradition in place, by 4,000 BC large and elevated templed were being built on mud brick platforms, and stairs were constructed to reach the
…show more content…
The more obvious answer to this question is that ziggurat's were built for religious purposes. Burnt fish indicating a ritual sacrifice has been found in the earliest layers, and later when they became huge complexes people viewed the stuctures as homes for their gods, raised above the towns of mortals. Eventually each ziggurat became the home of one specific god to whom it was constructed in praise. With that said the building of architecture on this scale reveals more subtle social patterns. Since the paleolithic people began painting caves humans have been leaving physical, artificial, purposeful traces on the landscapes they inhabit. These monuments are simply a vastly larger extension of this fact. The emphasis on monumentality exhibited by ziggurats is historically present when groups are trying to attain or reassert power, because it engages whole societies in an effort that produces spectacularly visible and permanent creations sure to garner favor from the
The more obvious answer to this question is that ziggurat's were built for religious purposes. Burnt fish indicating a ritual sacrifice has been found in the earliest layers, and later when they became huge complexes people viewed the stuctures as homes for their gods, raised above the towns of mortals. Eventually each ziggurat became the home of one specific god to whom it was constructed in praise. With that said the building of architecture on this scale reveals more subtle social patterns. Since the paleolithic people began painting caves humans have been leaving physical, artificial, purposeful traces on the landscapes they inhabit. These monuments are simply a vastly larger extension of this fact. The emphasis on monumentality exhibited by ziggurats is historically present when groups are trying to attain or reassert power, because it engages whole societies in an effort that produces spectacularly visible and permanent creations sure to garner favor from the