Similarities Between Shang China And Mesopotamia

They put a lot of effort into their calendars and, “... developed the calendar further than any other New World people, and their calendar was more accurate than any other of their time” (Document D). But the Mayans didn’t stop at a calendar, “[their knowledge was so great] that they could predict eclipses of the moon” (Document D). The Mayans put a lot of effort into this project and the fact the they could predict eclipses is a very remarkable achievement for their time.

Celestial bodies - the sun, moon, planets, and stars - have provided us a reference for measuring the passage of time throughout human existence. Ancient civilizations like: China, India, Babylon, and Greece relied upon the apparent motion of these bodies through the sky to record and determine seasons, months, and years. We know little about the details of timekeeping in prehistoric eras. However, records and artifacts usually uncover that in every culture, people were preoccupied with measuring and recording the passage of time. Stonehenge, built over 4000 years ago in England has no written records, but its alignments show its purposes apparently included the determination of seasonal or celestial events, such as lunar

Beginning with Mesopotamia, according to McKay Mesopotamia was part of the Fertile Crescent, which was where the first agriculture developed (McKay, 35). Moving from Mesopotamia to the city-state Sumer, many farmers brought with them their farming tools and trade abilities so that they could successfully farm in warmer, more arid climates (McKay, 35). Irrigation was a major part of the process and was needed for them to succeed. As the civilization grew, people built temples in Mesopotamia, where farmers would use them to store food items and animals. To the Mesopotamian people, the belief of Polytheism, which is that of many Gods controlling the earth and world, brought a distinct outlook on life (McKay, 36). Sumerian

Arguably, the ancient Chinese and Mesopotamian civilizations were some of the most powerful of their time. The isolationist attitude of China led to them developing a unique culture, one that can be easily contrasted to that of Mesopotamia, which had an outgoing nature. The main points of comparison are in their religious beliefs, their political systems, and their social ideals.

The Aztecs believe they felt justified in believing in this calendar because of numerous events that changed the course of history for them. Because Aztec Indians were fervent astronomers, they tracked the stars and correlated that between the days to create this sun calendar. Examples of events happening within the timeline of the calendar stone being built are these: Between 1452 and 1454, their capital city Tenochtitlan suffered from flood and famine, the following year on 4/16/1445 (Julian calendar) there was an eclipse of the sun. From 1473-1479, there were 4 more solar eclipses within a five year time frame (Aveni, Calnek). During this time the Aztec nation conquered and

The calendar had 12 months, 365 days, and a leap year. It was the most accurate calendar at the time it was invented. It was used in

The overflow, flooding, or lack thereof of the rivers as well as weather differences contributed greatly to the economic stability of each country. As previously stated, Mesopotamians were farmers. The flooding of the Tigris and the

It seems they dated things in a cycle of 52 years or 18,980 days, the “Calendar Round.” Of course, they counted vigesimally, which I now know is in groups of 20. The Calendar Round results from the permutation of three other cycles: the Sacred Round (made up of two cycles) and the Vague Year. The Sacred Round has a cycle of 13 numbered days and 20 named days, which produces 260 combinations of numbers and days. The Vague Year has 365 days (!) resulting from 18 20-day months plus 5 “days of the dead” which are added for no good reason. Now here is the fun thing: 260 and 365 have 5 as a common divisor, so 5X52X73=18,980. Would you believe it—a Calendar Round! Every single day in that 52-year cycle had a different name. In Mayanese a day is a kin. 20 kins make a utnal, while 18 utnals make a tun. There are 20 tuns in a katun, and if you pile up 20 of those katuns you get a baktun, which is exactly half of

The Mayans, often remembered for their intellect, also produced admirable pottery and art. Their arithmetic, writing, astronomy, and architecture skills surpassed that of their predecessors. The Mayans developed an extremely accurate calendar, which divided a year into 365 days (Tondering). In addition, they built large pyramids to reference as calendars. Many of these pyramids remain in Mexico today. One of

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

Because of this their understanding of the universe and celestial bodies was increased. They knew how to predict when a solar eclipse would come. They also used the cycles of the sun and moon the help them with their growing of crops. They create two calendars that were as precise ad the ones we use today.

Next, people depended on the sun, moon, planets, and stars to determine seasons, months, and years. The earliest calendars like the Egyptian calendar were based on the moon cycles. According to Source 1, "The earliest Egyptian calendar was based on the moon's cycles, but later the

Days, months, and years go by, but who "invented" or promoted the usage of this time doing system used worldwide? During the Shang Dynasty (1000 B.C. - 1100 B.C.) a calendar was created. Although, this was not the first calendar invented, this is the one most like our adapted calendar we have used around the world for years and still use currently. For us, a calendar year consists of 365 days, 12 months, and 7 days in the week. For the Chinese, it was 365 1/4 days, 12 months, and 7 days in the week. A very minuscule difference but a notable one. In the year, we have many celebratory and commemorative annual holidays such as Christmas and Valentine's Day added into our calendars. Factually,

The oldest known calendar was made by the Mayans. “The Mayans of Central America relied not only on the Sun and moon, but also on the planet Venus” (Misiroglu 2010). They were very intelligent in mathematics and in astronomy. “A stone tablet that was found in the 1960s was supposed to have predictions of the world’s end on December 21, 2012”

The ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches are like any other calendar. It is used to count hours, the time of years, and months. “When counting years, people use them with the 12 Chinese Zodiac [signs] . . .” (Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches). The Yellow Emperor also known as Huangdi summand Da Rao Shi to make a calendar. Da Rao Shi created the calendar system. He studied the four seasons and the differences between earth and sky.