Differences And Similarities Between Chavin And Mesopotamian Civilizations

Some of the first civilizations started out in present day South America, Europe and the Middle East. Mesopotamia started coming together in 8000 B.C.E. located in present day Iraq and Syria, and the Chavin civilization was located in modern day Peru becoming prominent in 900 B.C.E. These two civilizations had many similarities in religious, political, and technological advancements mainly because the Mesopotamian civilization was a big influence to many others.

Both the Mesopotamian and Chavin political structures were heavily based around their religion. Their leaders were not only monarchs, but they were also thought to be blessed with the power which also serves them as religious authority. However, these two civilizations ruled in different ways. The Chavin were ruled by the Shamans through a method of manipulation. The Shamans held religious festivals that helped to glorify them as supreme leaders, which helped to keep them under authority for many years. On the other hand, the rulers of Mesopotamia were segregated by social class. The strategies to their rulings differed between each city-state. For both of these early societies, political decisions were made based on religious beliefs and practices.

Both the Mesopotamians and Chavin had polytheistic beliefs. The Mesopotamians built their cities around temples, which is similar to what the Chavin did. This centralized everything around worshiping their gods. They had high status level priests that were responsible for appeasing the gods in favor of themselves and other people in their society. The Mesopotamians would ask their gods for rain to help their crops because they believed that their deities controlled the climate. The Chavin did not use this same practice, however, they did have special shrines where they would go to make sacrifices. The actions of both societies reflected their religious