Mesopotamian divination
Mesopotamian divination is like asking your magic 8-ball for advice, but a very long time ago in a place called Mesopotamia. People in Mesopotamia (which is in the middle of Iraq now) believed that the gods could tell them what was going to happen in the future. They had special people, called diviners, who could talk to the gods and figure out what the gods were trying to say.
There were a few different ways that Mesopotamians could do divination. One way was called hepatoscopy, which is a big word that means looking at the livers of animals. The livers were thought to be really important in Mesopotamia because they're squishy and kind of gross, so people thought they could tell the future. The diviners would cut open an animal, like a sheep or a goat, and look at the liver to see what the gods were trying to say.
Another way to do divination was with omens. Omens are like signs that something is going to happen. For example, if an owl hooted during the day, that might mean that something bad was going to happen. The diviners would be on the lookout for these signs and try to figure out what they meant.
The Mesopotamians used divination to make decisions about all sorts of things, like whether or not to go to war, who to marry, and when to plant crops. They believed that if they knew what was going to happen in the future, they could be better prepared for it.
Overall, Mesopotamian divination was a way for people to talk to the gods and figure out what the future was going to be like. They used things like livers and omens to get hints about what was coming up, and then made decisions based on that information.
There were a few different ways that Mesopotamians could do divination. One way was called hepatoscopy, which is a big word that means looking at the livers of animals. The livers were thought to be really important in Mesopotamia because they're squishy and kind of gross, so people thought they could tell the future. The diviners would cut open an animal, like a sheep or a goat, and look at the liver to see what the gods were trying to say.
Another way to do divination was with omens. Omens are like signs that something is going to happen. For example, if an owl hooted during the day, that might mean that something bad was going to happen. The diviners would be on the lookout for these signs and try to figure out what they meant.
The Mesopotamians used divination to make decisions about all sorts of things, like whether or not to go to war, who to marry, and when to plant crops. They believed that if they knew what was going to happen in the future, they could be better prepared for it.
Overall, Mesopotamian divination was a way for people to talk to the gods and figure out what the future was going to be like. They used things like livers and omens to get hints about what was coming up, and then made decisions based on that information.
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