Terracotta Warriors Essay

The exhibit in the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History China’s First Emperor and his Terracotta Warriors holds an important significance in anthropological history and how research is conducted. I chose to analyze this exhibit for two main reasons. It devised a new method and understanding on the intelligence of ancient civilizations along with new findings that can be applied to other research projects throughout history. Second, the terracotta warriors displays an impressionable enigma for anthropologists and archaeologists on ancient china and other civilizations. These terracotta army warriors began a large pattern in afterlife guardians that impacted many other societies for centuries to come. For over 2,000 years, the terracotta army was hidden deep in the ruins of ancient china guarding the tomb of the First Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. During the time that he rose to power, in the 5th-3rd century, the nation that is now known as China was battling through massive wars and change in their societies. The Zhou Dynasty was the most influential in Chinese history, Emperor Qin Shihuangdi was included
in constructing the Great Wall of China to block out any invaders during the time of the war. After Qin Shihuangdi defeated the enemies of the several states, he began to commission massive landmarks in hopes to unify the people of his empire which would forge cultural bonds exclusive to that society. During the reign of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, he commissioned the Terracotta Army to guard his tomb when he passes into the afterlife. Before the First Emperor, one of the only societies who created this idea were the Ancient Egyptians. Not only were hundreds of warriors placed in the tomb, he also had statues of acrobats, archers, and horses were hidden in the temple to pass with him into the afterlife. Anthropologists believed that he created his very own civilization / society to guard his tomb even after his people died. Archaeologists believe that there are about 8,000 statues total in the burial site. These figures are around 6+ feet tall and pay homage to his superior rank and to display his divine claim as the ruler of China. Anthropologists believe that Qin Shihuangdi expressed his obsession with the afterlife, while no other leader had that concern for planning their life after death.
Before the Qin Dynasty, philosophers dismissed the idea of life after death and noted as a myth (Conger). Although it was common to bury somebody with their possessions, it was unusual to bury somebody with an entire army, various sculptures, and their possessions as well in an extraordinarily large tomb. Qin Shihuangdi buried secrets of china’s history and the story of his dynasty in the pits in his tomb. The figures of acrobats are depicted with detailed methods of humanism, which was the first art pieces depicting realism (Conger). The main significance of the terracotta warriors is it showed new methods of art, ideals with the afterlife, and impacted several societies throughout hundreds of
years.