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Ancient History

 

The awful emotional impact of the sacrifice enhanced the power of religion and was thought to help the forces of life. The males impersonated the role of the seed in reproduction, so he assumed the role of leader and became what they called the grain king. The grain king was killed and buried at first, and was thought to be reincarnated as gods. Eventually, they realized the rituals were just as successful if they just went through the motions, instead of actually sacrificing the male. .
             4. In the earliest times it may have been possible that women were worshipped as the creatures of life because of their reproductive abilities. But, while the power of women was recognized in mythology and rituals, the power of women in agricultural societies was less than those of hunting societies. This lowering of status was facilitated by a new tool, the ox-drawn plow. Because the plow required considerable strength, it was used only by men. Men spent most of the rest of their time raiding or looking out for raiders, so women mostly did everything else which involved lots of drudgery. .
             5. Priests in these times conducted the rituals and magic essential to fertility, healing, preservation of danger and to make crops grow and cattle prosper. If this was thought to benefit the community, the people would contribute to the upkeep of these individuals. The priests were the first class not directly related to and dependent upon producing its own food. From this came other classes of people which implied that the economy was capable of producing a surplus.
             B.
             1. In the Paleolithic period people traveled in groups of twenty to thirty people, who hunted and gathered plants to eat together. Because they would use all of the resources in one area, they would often seasonally travel long distances to another area with new natural resources, but then return to the same place. In their travels, these small groups traded shells and stone tools with other small groups, establishing an early commerce network.


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