River Valley Civilization Dbq Analysis

Religion runs deep within each civilization. It has helped shape and given birth to the cultures and society that makes up the civilization. River valley civilization for instance, is one of the many civilizations that have been greatly influenced by religion.

Shown in Doc. #2 & #8 were the results of the religious influence on the Nile river valley civilizations. Egyptians built large triangular structures called pyramids as a tomb for the pharaohs, who were believed to be the embodiment of the sun god, Ra, after death (doc. #2). Pyramids were also loaded with riches and necessities which shows their belief in the afterlife. Doc. #8 is a hymn, a sacred song, written in dedication to the god, Aten, which shows that their religion also have impacted their works of literature and art. The author’s words of choice in the hymn show words of praise and joy suggests that the author must have been an upper-classmen living in that time period, as majority of the people in ancient Egypt are not wealthy enough to afford education.

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#5 & #6 shows the religious impacts in the Yangzi river civilizations. With the teachings of moral righteousness and discipline of Confucianism’s text as shown in doc. #6, it brought about stability within China. This brought a more structured society of work where social rankings were based on effort of work. Confucianism’s teaching also introduced education systems where students were taught teachings of Confucianism as well as calligraphy. Daoism is another philosophy that arose from the ancient civilization of the Yang He River that has a major influence on China. Daoism teaches the concept of Yin-Yang and by finding one’s place in nature, one can achieve perfect harmony. This philosophy promotes peace and addresses people to live a simple life which also helped stabilize the country (doc

#5).
Doc. #4 & #7 were religions that had come from Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia depended heavily on the Tigris and Euphrates River for agriculture, however, the rivers were often wild as droughts and flooding was common. Believing it to be the work of god, priests became the upper social class as the result of their beliefs in the priest being the only one to communicate with gods. Ziggurats as shown in doc. #4 were built as temples priest used to communicate with god. Doc. #7 lists of the guidelines god have given the Hebrews to follow in their daily life, which shows how religion was being used as a system of law.
Doc #1, #3 and #9 came from the Indus river valley civilizations. Doc. #3 depicts a statue of Buddha with the eightfold path written around it that promotes social cohesiveness with Buddhist teachings treating one another humanely. Doc. #9 tells us of how the Aryans’ religious beliefs of Brahman, creator and of the universe, created a system of castes which are sub classes of the varnas which determines one’s social hierarchy that dictates one’s life. The author of doc. #9 were most likely written by Brahmin priest, clearly evident from the hymn’s tone and choice of words which depicts Brahmin as the almighty being. Doc. #1 shows a piece from the Vedic literature, it tells of a prayer to god which shows the faith people of Aryans had in god.
These evidence show how religious beliefs have major role in civilizations. An additional document that will further support how religious beliefs have impacted, not just socially, of an civilization but the influence on the mindset of the people, preferably works of art such as paintings and legends.