Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems.The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them. Maya influence can be detected from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625 miles) from the Maya area.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_civilisation. In common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya used a base 20 (vigesimal) and base 5 numbering system (see Maya numerals). Also, the preclassic Maya and their neighbors independently developed the concept of zero by 36 BC.Inscriptions show them on occasion working with sums up to the hundreds of millions and dates so large it would take several lines just to represent it. They produced extremely accurate astronomical observations; their charts of the movements of the moon and planets are equal or superior to those of any other civilization working from naked eye observation.[citation needed]
Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Most of the existing records on Norse mythology date from the 11th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society. At this point scholars started recording it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities trace real historical people.
According to Norse myth, the beginning of life was fire and ice, with the existence of only two worlds: Muspelheim and Niflheim. When the warm air of Muspelheim hit the cold ice of Niflheim, the jotunn Ymir and the icy cow Audhumla were created. Ymir's foot bred a son and a man and a woman emerged from his armpits, making Ymir the progenitor of the Jotnar.
The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blot, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people, resembled that of the Celts and Balts. It occurred either in sacred groves, at home, or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr."
While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic druidical class. This was because the shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the Volvas. It is often said that the Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office.
The Germanic gods have left numerous traces in modern vocabulary and elements of every day western life in most Germanic language speaking countries. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Germanic equivalents of the Roman gods and the names for Monday and Sunday after the Sun and Moon. In English, Saturn was not replaced.
Wong joon mien
5generosity
Most of the existing records on Norse mythology date from the 11th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society. At this point scholars started recording it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities trace real historical people.
According to Norse myth, the beginning of life was fire and ice, with the existence of only two worlds: Muspelheim and Niflheim. When the warm air of Muspelheim hit the cold ice of Niflheim, the jotunn Ymir and the icy cow Audhumla were created. Ymir's foot bred a son and a man and a woman emerged from his armpits, making Ymir the progenitor of the Jotnar.
The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blot, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people, resembled that of the Celts and Balts. It occurred either in sacred groves, at home, or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr."
While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic druidical class. This was because the shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the Volvas. It is often said that the Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office.
The Germanic gods have left numerous traces in modern vocabulary and elements of every day western life in most Germanic language speaking countries. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Germanic equivalents of the Roman gods and the names for Monday and Sunday after the Sun and Moon. In English, Saturn was not replaced.
Wong joon mien
5generosity
Ancient Japan (Syafiqah and Nabilah)
Japan:
Jimmu, the first emperor, founded the Japan state in 660BC.The first people to migrate of Japan probably arrived around 8000BC.
Japanese Gods and Goddesses:
Aji-Suki-Taka-Hi-Kone: god of thunder
Uke-Mochi-No-Kami: goddess of food
Kawa-no-Kami: god of rivers
Bishamon: god of happiness and war
Japanese Food:
Combining staple foods typically rice or noodles, with soup and okazu - dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, tofu and the like-to add flavour to the staple food is the Japanese cuisine. The essential part of Japanese cuisine usually noodles.
Japanese Clothing:
Robes were mainly the ancient Japanese clothing. Quite a number of the patterns and designs were religious and auspicious. The emperors wore these heavily embroidered robes. It was auspicious for the wearer. Ju-ni-hitoe or the 'twelve layers' is the most interesting piece of ancient Japanese clothing whish is adorned by ladies at the imperial court. It is multi-layered and very heavy and worn on a daily basis for centuries!
Jimmu, the first emperor, founded the Japan state in 660BC.The first people to migrate of Japan probably arrived around 8000BC.
Japanese Gods and Goddesses:
Aji-Suki-Taka-Hi-Kone: god of thunder
Uke-Mochi-No-Kami: goddess of food
Kawa-no-Kami: god of rivers
Bishamon: god of happiness and war
Japanese Food:
Combining staple foods typically rice or noodles, with soup and okazu - dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, tofu and the like-to add flavour to the staple food is the Japanese cuisine. The essential part of Japanese cuisine usually noodles.
Japanese Clothing:
Robes were mainly the ancient Japanese clothing. Quite a number of the patterns and designs were religious and auspicious. The emperors wore these heavily embroidered robes. It was auspicious for the wearer. Ju-ni-hitoe or the 'twelve layers' is the most interesting piece of ancient Japanese clothing whish is adorned by ladies at the imperial court. It is multi-layered and very heavy and worn on a daily basis for centuries!
Ancient Rome(Shean Shing&Jolene)
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world..
The Eastern Roman Empire, which was governed from Constantinople, comprising Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, survived this crisis. Despite the later loss of Syria and Egypt to the Arab-Islamic Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire continued for another millennium, until its remains were finally annexed by the emerging Turkish Ottoman Empire. This eastern, Christian, medieval stage of the Empire is usually called the Byzantine Empire by historians.
Roman civilization is often grouped into "classical antiquity" with ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the culture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion, and language in the Western world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
The Eastern Roman Empire, which was governed from Constantinople, comprising Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, survived this crisis. Despite the later loss of Syria and Egypt to the Arab-Islamic Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire continued for another millennium, until its remains were finally annexed by the emerging Turkish Ottoman Empire. This eastern, Christian, medieval stage of the Empire is usually called the Byzantine Empire by historians.
Roman civilization is often grouped into "classical antiquity" with ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the culture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion, and language in the Western world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Mayan-Chong En Qing
Mayan God and Goddess
Gukumatz was a god of the four elements of fire, earth, air and water, and each element was associated with a divine animal or plant:
Mayan Lanuguage
Like the other Mayan languages, Classic Maya is Verb Subject Object and ergative in its basic typology. Being polysynthetic, it uses both prefixes and suffixes to show grammatical function. Nouns are not inflected for case or gender. There is also an entire class of intransitives that convey the object's spatial position. In addition, the language employs counter words when quantifying nouns and uses a vigesimal number system. Verbs are not conjugated according to tense, but rather are semantically altered by a series of aspect particles.
Taken From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Maya_language
Gukumatz was a god of the four elements of fire, earth, air and water, and each element was associated with a divine animal or plant:
- Air -- Vulture
- Earth -- Maize
- Fire -- Lizard
- Water -- Fish
- Chac
- Another Sun God - Kinich Ahau or Ahaw Kin
- Yumil Kaxob
- Yum Cimil
- Ixtab
- Yum Kaax
- Ix Chel
- Ixbalanque
Mayan Lanuguage
Like the other Mayan languages, Classic Maya is Verb Subject Object and ergative in its basic typology. Being polysynthetic, it uses both prefixes and suffixes to show grammatical function. Nouns are not inflected for case or gender. There is also an entire class of intransitives that convey the object's spatial position. In addition, the language employs counter words when quantifying nouns and uses a vigesimal number system. Verbs are not conjugated according to tense, but rather are semantically altered by a series of aspect particles.
Taken From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Maya_language
Ancient Australia ( Ryan )
In Ancient Australia, the first people to live in Australia arrived between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. They came from Asia and had dark skin and black hair. Most of them were hunters and nomadic. this meant they moved from place to place and didnt live at a certain city There awere two main types of people living in Australia - the Aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders. Together they are callled Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders lived in north-east and the Aborigines lived everwhere other then that. They lived in separate tribes and each tribe had its own language and taditions. They also knew that families were very important. The Indigenous Australians believed that everything hd come from Dreamtime and that the Earth was sacred. They believed that spirits had made the world. they practiced their religon in the form of corroborees, these were important dances and songs about their religon. They worshipped many kinds of gods. The Aboriginal people did not know writing but they painted pictures on rocks and back. They used paint from crushed rocks similar to how the POW's of Singapore got paint. Their art is famous for using dots and handprints
Egyptian Civilization (Oo Guoxuan and Brandon Tan)
Most ancient Egyptians were farmers tied to the land. Their dwellings were restricted to immediate family members, and were constructed of bricks made from mud designed to remain cool in the heat of the day. Each home had a kitchen with an open roof, which contained a grindstone for milling flour and a small oven for baking bread. Walls were painted white and could be covered with dyed linen wall hangings. Floors were covered with reed mats, while wooden stools, beds raised from the floor and individual tables comprised the furniture.
The ancient Egyptians placed a great value on hygiene and appearance. Most bathed in the Nile and used a pasty soap made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their entire bodies for cleanliness, and aromatic perfumes and ointments covered bad odors and soothed skin. They made clothing from simple linen sheets that were bleached white, and both men and women of the upper classes wore wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics. Children went without clothing until maturity, at about age 12, and at this age males were circumcised and had their heads shaved. Mothers take care of the children, while the father provided the family's income.
Music and dance were popular entertainments for those who could afford them. Early instruments included flutes and harps, while instruments similar to trumpets, oboes, and pipes developed later and became popular. In the New Kingdom, the Egyptians played on bells, cymbals, tambourines, and drums and imported lutes and lyres from Asia. The sistrum was a rattle-like musical instrument that was especially important in religious ceremonies.
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure activities, including games and music. Senet, a board game where pieces moved according to random chance, was particularly popular from the earliest times; another similar game was mehen, which had a circular gaming board. Juggling and ball games were popular with children, and wrestling is also documented in a tomb at Beni Hasan. The wealthy members of ancient Egyptian society enjoyed hunting and boating as well.
The ancient Egyptians placed a great value on hygiene and appearance. Most bathed in the Nile and used a pasty soap made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their entire bodies for cleanliness, and aromatic perfumes and ointments covered bad odors and soothed skin. They made clothing from simple linen sheets that were bleached white, and both men and women of the upper classes wore wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics. Children went without clothing until maturity, at about age 12, and at this age males were circumcised and had their heads shaved. Mothers take care of the children, while the father provided the family's income.
Music and dance were popular entertainments for those who could afford them. Early instruments included flutes and harps, while instruments similar to trumpets, oboes, and pipes developed later and became popular. In the New Kingdom, the Egyptians played on bells, cymbals, tambourines, and drums and imported lutes and lyres from Asia. The sistrum was a rattle-like musical instrument that was especially important in religious ceremonies.
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure activities, including games and music. Senet, a board game where pieces moved according to random chance, was particularly popular from the earliest times; another similar game was mehen, which had a circular gaming board. Juggling and ball games were popular with children, and wrestling is also documented in a tomb at Beni Hasan. The wealthy members of ancient Egyptian society enjoyed hunting and boating as well.
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