question_answer

'Many rituals, religious beliefs and practices were not recorded in a permanent visible form - as monuments or sculptures or even paintings.' Critically examine the statement.

Answer:

Monuments, sculptures and paintings are permanent visible forms which depict the life, ethos as well as beliefs of that particular society in that era.

But relying fully on these visible forms can?t give clear picture of the society of that time because many communities and peoples may not have felt the need for keeping lasting records even if they might have had vibrant traditions or religious activities and philosophical ideas.

Also, more often than not day-to-day life aspects are missed by these visible forms and they mostly focus on special events and occasions. Therefore what is depicted by these visible art forms may be just a fraction of the reality.

But at the same time we can?t neglect the contribution of these sculptures in understanding the beliefs and philosophical ideas. Architecture reflects many ideas and prevalent notions at that time such as aesthetic ideal and variations within those ideals, how power was conceived and expressed through structures and attributes such as bricks and stones, pillars and arches etc. Buildings also express the vision of those who built them.