Map highlighting the regions of Egypt and Mesopotamia discussed throughout the text.

Lesson by: Polly Dela Rosa and Bengte Evenson

Introduction

Cultures worldwide have developed traditions, beliefs, and practices that have been passed down and adapted from one generation to the next. These traditions highlight how people build specific worldviews about the land they live in and themselves. These different traditions and worldviews make cultures unique. Like people today, early cultures had their own traditions and worldviews -- some similar to ours, others very different. Learning about how people have thought of themselves and the world broadens our perspective of life. As we will learn, each culture has developed unique technology, science, and even art, all of which are incredible achievements.

It is important to note that we will discuss the traditions and worldviews of cultures that developed over long periods and within different geographical locations. For example, early Egyptian religion changed substantially during its 7,000-year history. Even within the same period, there were many differences and variations between religion in the Egyptian capital of the time and the surrounding cities and towns. A deity or belief system we cover in this lesson might have been very important during one period or place of Egyptian history but displaced by another deity or belief system during the next. 

While some early cultures are very different from their contemporary counterparts, descendant communities today still practice many of the early traditions developed by their ancestors. For example, Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions, with approximately 1.2 billion followers today, and even more practicing other religions that originated in India (such as Buddhism and Jainism). In Latin America, many Christian communities still practice aspects of indigenous religion within their worship. This syncretism, or the idea that different beliefs from different cultures can come together and blend into something new, has developed as a form of resistance and survival from the ongoing effects of colonialism. Therefore, the traditions and worldviews discussed in this lesson are not separate from modern life and cultures. 

Although we cannot offer a complete overview of every culture or religion, we will focus on two specific regions, Egypt and India. These areas will serve as examples of certain concepts we wish to cover. We hope that discussing these two regions will only be the beginning of learning about the traditions and worldviews of cultures across the globe.