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What similarites do you notice between the burial practices of the Shang and Egyptians? What is different?

User Intuited
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Answer:

Similarities:

  • The Shang Dynasty and the Egyptian Dynasty believed that man in one way or another survived the death of the physical body and was usually translated into one form or another after death.
  • Both civilizations believed that death was just a continuation of life, an extension of it. Hence, during burial rites, adequate preparation was made for the journey to the great beyond. In the Shang Dynasty, for instance, slaves were interend alive with their masters, whilst in Ancient Egypt, in what is now called Retainership Sacrifices servants were usually killed after their master's death in order for them to continue serving their masters in the afterlife. The Shang tombs could be so large that it could take as much as 150 bodies. Eventually, actual slaves became replaced with artworks depicting slaves and the object the dead needed in the other realm rather than the actual slaves and objects.
  • Another similarity was that in both practices, valuable objects were buried alongside the dead as it was thought that they would need these things in the afterlife. It was therefore not uncommon to find treasures, in gold, valuable utensils, and other items/objects in the gravesites of noble people who had died.

Dissimilarities:

In Egypt, the body was extensively Mummified. In Shang Dynasty this was not the case.

Mummification refers to the methods of embalming, by the use of special processes which include the removal of all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. Chemicals and or natural preservatives, such as resin, were used to remove moisture, hence terminating the process of decay. Proper mummification sometimes took up to 70 days.

Step-by-step explanation:

Here is some background about the Shang Dynasty and Ancient Egypt.

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty which is one of the foremost dynasties that ruled China was a great and established one. Its governance spanned 1600 to 1046 B.C.

The Shang Dynasty was known for many laudable achievements in astronomy, artworks, military know-how, and Mathematics. The Shang were known for igniting the Bronze Age.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was a civilization that existed between 3050–2686 BC in Ancient North Africa. It became notorious for advances in Quarrying, surveying, and superior construction techniques that enable the creation of historical marvels such as the monumental pyramids, obelisks, and temples.

They also had a unique system of maths, effective medical system, irrigation, and agricultural technologies that were uncommon in that period.

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User Joel Etherton
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