Buan, Ivan Kyle N.

1Ae-103

Aztecs (Mexica) | Knife with a Mosaic Handle (America 1400 AD)

The handle of this knife is carved from a single piece of wood and takes
the form of a crouching man wearing the regalia of an eagle warrior. The
warrior looks out from the open beak of the eagle headdress and clasps the
haft of the flint knife.

Babylonians | Clay Model of a Sheep Liver (2000 BC)

It was used as a way of prediction of upcoming events wherein a sheep is
killed and its liver and lungs would be inspected by a special priest in
order to know the upcoming event so that the person could avoid any
danger in his life.

These two artifacts have relationships with both religion and agriculture wherein they
were both used in both of those fields. The knife has two types, plain and decorated, where the
plain, unadorned knives were used in to hunt and prepare food, and also for battles among
other people while the decorated knives were reserved and used only for rituals. On the other
hand, the clay model of a sheep’s liver served as an omen and was used by a special priest
called ‘baru’ to predict events. The liver and lungs of the sheep will be scrutinized by the baru in
order to make a prediction and the answer of the gods will is revealed through the markings
and shape of the liver and the lungs. With that, we can really see their importance to both
religion and agriculture since they have their own purpose in those two different matters.