You can tell the most important thing that a society values. You can do this from seeing what they spend their time and recourses on. Every society values different things. I will be talking about ancient Egypt, ancient Europe, and present day America and there Megaliths, Pyramids, and War. I will be discussing which of these things are valued most by the culture.
War was very important and influential in ancient Egypt. It helped to unite the Upper and Lower parts of the county so they could be one unified group. Nomer united upper and lower Egypt by force. The pharos soon had domination over the lives of everyone in Egypt. A pharaoh is the personification of the sun god and they were first in power during the time of the Old Kingdom which started in 2646 B.C. This was the first dynasty in Egypt (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/oking/hd_oking.htm). The pharos were presented in art work with head dress, skirts, a large chin, no space between legs, and were carved from hard stones like garnet. The pharaoh was charged with responsibility of making Nile river flood. It fertilizes the land and allows crops to grow. Ancient Egyptian name for country is Kemet meaning black land. This referred to how fertile the land was. After the Old Kingdom a political upheaval occurs and leads to the middle kingdom. Main change is no more large pyramids constructed like the mortuary city at Giza. After the middle kingdom is the new kingdom. Akhenaten introduces monotheism; it was his belief that the sun god is the only god. He was not well liked in Egypt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt). War was very influential in uniting Egypt
The Egyptians also valued pyramids. Most of the major monuments in Egypt are their tombs ( see picture from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:All_Gizah_Pyramids-3.jpg). The first type of pyramid was built for Djoser. It was called a mastaba. It is a type of stepped pyramid meaning each layer is a step. The great pyramids have flat surfaces and are not stepped. They are mainly from the old kingdom. Major universities have annual digs for studding the pyramids. The interior of a pyramid is built only for burial of pharos and decorated with carving and hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphs are carved in stone. They are not pictures but they do stand for things. They represent a sound and are similar to English letters. Pyramids were built from blocks of stone stacked together. The stone was carved using possible copper picks or chisels for the softer stone. The pyramids might have been constructed using a series of external and internal ramps. This was done so the stone could be dragged into position. In most pyramids the pharaoh’s tomb is located above the one for his queen. It has been believed for many years that pyramids were built by slaves. More recently new evidence has emerged when the quarters of professional workers were found. This doesn't mean that there weren’t slaves working on the pyramids. Inerter of pyramids were decorated but no one was allowed to go in them. Pyramids were also related to the major religion of Egypt was called Ka. They believed that when you die your Ka was released and stayed inside the pyramid. The pyramids were decorated for the Ka of that person to enjoy. They believed that the person’s Ka would stay inside the pyramid utile they were called up for judgment. We learned some information about Egyptian culture from papyrus papers, hieroglyphics, and book of dead. The book of the dead is one of the only books we have from them and it is preoccupied by death. It is believed that the dead person's depictions must show all parts of body, shows entire profile. Also it is believed that the dead person meets with god and his heart is weighted against feather. If balanced then they go to the afterlife. When die internal organs, brain removed, and put in conopic jars. If heart didn't weigh light enough then the god Horus doesn't let you pass. Norse, Greek, Egyptian, and Romans all have very similar gods. Mortuary cities like at Giza were built only for the burial of pharos. They were run by slaves who could be Jews, Namibians, and Mesopotamians. It is too expensive to build the pyramid without the use of slave labor. The men who were in a captured city were either killed or put in the ranks of the winning army, women were either made into prostitutes or slaves, and children were either slaves or executed. This shows that pyramids, rulers, and slaves were all important to the Egyptians (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/great_pyramid_01.shtml). War was important them because it united the upper and lower parts of Egypt.
For the civilizations in ancient Europe and the British Isles monoliths were very important. Monoliths were also important in Mesopotamia. The religious buildings in Mesopotamia are called ziggurats, the monoliths in Egypt are called pyramids, and finally the monoliths in Europe are called dolmens. They are burial mounds made of megaliths and could have been to memorialize the dead person. Some of these resemble caves and might have had a covering at one time but it would not have lasted though time. They usually are two to three upright standing stones with one on top. Megaliths are very large stones that are arranged in the British Isles and Europe around 3000 B.C. In Europe dolmens where being built at about same time as the pyramids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmen). Also menhirs were being built. They are standing stones and are usually only one in the area. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir). Also a specific monolith in England called Stonehenge has been discovered. It is a set of standing stones thought to be a ritual site for ancient druids. The sun lines up with this stone structure on the solstices. It is unknown why monolith was built because this was done before written history (http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html). It is apparent to the cultures there that monoliths were very important to the people in Europe.
I believe that the things that were important to the ancients have changed. Today in America war is very important to us. It helped us become the most powerful country. Also it helps us keep the peace in the world. Also monuments are important to Americans. They help us commemorate historic events, remember presidents, and thank our war heroes for the service they provided. Monoliths, war, and pyramids were all important to different cultures around the world. War help unify, expand, and concur. Pyramids help Egyptian pharos through the afterlife and showed their power. Monoliths helped the Egyptians remember their pharos also. Monoliths help the ancient Europeans remember their dead and possible mark astronomical alignments. All these things were once or are currently very important to civilization and are what they poured their time and recourses into.
Sources:
Building the Great Pyramid. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/great_pyramid_01.shtml.
Dolmen. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmen.
Egypt in the Old Kingdom. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/oking/hd_oking.htm.
Egypt. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt.
Menhir. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir.
Picture source:
All Gizah Pyramids-3.jpg. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:All_Gizah_Pyramids-3.jpg.
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