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(1027 B.C. to 256 B.C.)

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(Around 1700 B.C. to 1027 B.C.)

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(2070 B.C. to around 1700 B.C.)

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The Shang were overthrown in 1027 B.C. by the Zhou, who brought some new ideas to the Chinese civilization.

The Mandate of Heaven:

In order to justify their takeover, the Zhou rulers introduced the Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate of Heaven was the idea that rulers were given authority through the approval of the gods.

The Zhou believed that the Mandate of Heaven had passed to them from the Shang, who had become foolish and wicked.

This became a central idea to the Chinese government, and was used to justify many later rebellions.

It was also one of the major factors in the pattern called the dynastic cycle, in which dynasties rise, decline, fall, and get replaced.

Control through Feudalism:

Because the Zhou controlled a large area of land beyond the Huang He and Chang Jiang, they resorted to feudalism for better control over each region.

This meant that the Zhou would give land to different nobles, or lords, in return for their loyalty and military service, as well as the protection of the people living on their land.

Though the lords were weak at first, and had to submit to the Zhou rulers, they eventually became stronger as their territories expanded. This resulted in them becoming more independent, and the lords began to fight with each other for more land and wealth.

Improvements in Technology and Trade:

When the Zhou came to power, they also improved on the technology and trade of China.

In order to help trade and agriculture grow, roads and canals were built.

Coins were introduced as money, which gave the people an easier means to trade.

Blast furnaces were developed to produce cast iron, which in turn improved the weapons and tools of the Chinese.

A Period of Warring States:

The Zhou brought a more peaceful and stable life to the Chinese. However, as life became more peaceful, Zhou rule also weakened, leading to its takeover by nomads in 771 B.C.. Though the king was murdered, a small remnant of the royal family was able to escape and set up a new capital at Luoyang. The new capital had little power, and the Zhou lost control of the lords, who then waged wars against their neighbors and vied for power. The Zhou dynasty lasted from 1027 to 256 B.C., and its fall ushered China into "the time of warring states".

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Oracle bones were usually made of animal bones (as the name suggests), or tortoiseshells (see right).

Priests would scratch the questions they wanted to ask the gods into the bone or tortoiseshell.

They would then apply heat to the bone or shell, which would then crack the oracle bone.

The priests would then interpret the cracks, which were supposed to represent the answers of the gods.

(See right for a picture of an oracle bone.)

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Development of Writing:

The Chinese writing system is made up of thousands of characters, each of which standing for one syllable or unit of language.

As a result, the written system didn't have much to do with the spoken system of Chinese.

However, this helped unify China, since everybody would be able to understand the written system, even if they spoke differently.

Since the written system of the Chinese was based on pictographs, it also required people to memorize many of the characters.

This, in turn, led to a small amount of literate and educated Chinese.

*A person needed to know more than 1,500 characters to be literate, and scholars would be required to know over 10,000.

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The Chinese believed themselves to be the center of the civilized world, and they named themselves the "Middle Kingdom" because of this belief.

China's culture was built on the bonds between the Chinese people.

The Chinese would often value the group over the individual.

Family, obedience, and respect were very important values for the Chinese.

Family:

Respect for one's parents and elders is one of the most important virtues for the Chinese.

In a family, the elder men owned all the property and wealth of the family, and were often tasked with important decisions.

Women were considered inferior to men, and rarely held much power.

Daughters were usually arranged to be married off when they were around 13 to 16 years old.

For a woman, bearing sons for her husband is one of the only ways to improve her status

Social Classes:

The society in the Shang Dynasty was divided between nobles and peasants.

Warrior-nobles and the king governed the Shang.

These nobles would own and govern land, in return for a tribute to the Shang ruler.

Religious Beliefs:

Another important part of Chinese culture was religion, which was closely related to the family.

The spirits of the ancestors of a family were believed to be able to influence the fortunes of the family's living members.

Families commonly paid respect to their ancestors and made sacrifices to them, especially when seeking good fortune.

The Shang also consulted the gods using the spirits of their ancestors.

For the Chinese, the supreme god was known as "Shang Di", though there were many lesser gods.

Shang rulers would often use oracle bones to make requests of gods, and to ask questions.

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Fossil evidence suggests that the ancestors of humans were in southwest China as long as 1.7 million years ago, and settled in northern China as long as 500,000 years ago.

The First Dynasties:

China's settlements began growing into cities at around 2000 B.C.

The first dynasty, called the Xia Dynasty (which may or may not have been real) started at around this time.

The Xia Dynasty was said to be led by Yu, an engineer and mathematician who built irrigation and flood control systems to control the Huang He.

After the Xia Dynasty came the Shang Dynasty, which lasted from around 1700 B.C. to 1027 B.C..

The Shang left behind many artifacts, including palaces, tombs, and the first written records in China maintained by the ruling family.

Early Cities:

Anyang, one of the capitals of the Shang Dynasties, was also one of the oldest and most important at the time.

Anyang was located in a clearing in the forest, and was built mainly of wood.

Higher classes would live within the walls, in houses of timber, clay, and straw while the peasants lived in huts that were outside the walls.

These protective walls were quite common in Shang Cities, because of constant wars.

*One wall, made of packed dirt, was 118 feet wide and protected an area of more than 1.2 square miles.

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Subcontinent: a large land mass that forms a distinct part of a continent

Monsoon:

a wind that shifts in direction at certain times of each year.

Harrapan civilization:

another name for the Indus Valley civilization that arose along the Indus river, possibly as early as 7000 B.C. characterized by sophisticated city planning.

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- Around 1750 B.C. the building in the Indus Valley cities was declined. The great cities fell into decay and the fate of the cities was a mystery until the 1970s, they discovered that The plate movement probably caused earthquakes and floods.

-Some cities survived, mostly were destroyed. They cause a new river, Sarswati, to dry up.

- Their cities and agriculture began to die, may have to force people to live in the city in order to suvive.

-Since the Aryans arrived around 1500 B.C. Indian civilization must grow under their influence.

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Language

-Their language was hard to simplify, because linguist have not found any inscriptions that are bilingual.

- The language is found on stamps and seals made of carved stone used for trading pottery and tools. 400 symbols make up a language.

- Scientist believed symbols are used to depict an object and also as phonetic sounds . Some signs stand alone and others combined into words.

Culture

- Artifacts such as clay and wooden children's toys suggest a relatively prosperous society that could afford to produce nonessential goods.

- Few weapons for the warfare have been found, suggesting that conflict was limited.Most animals are shown in their artifacts, animals were an important part of their culture.

- Archaeologist found more information about the animals that are existed in that region. However some of the seals portray beasts with parts of several different animals . (ex. the head of a man, horns of a bull, a elephants tusks).

Role of religion

-more of a Hindu culturePriests usually pray for good harvests and safety from floods.

-They think it might be the early representations of Shiva, a major Hindu god. Otthers were related to a mother goddess, fertility images and the worship of the bull.-

Trade

-trade brightly colored cloth. Also the Indus river provided a link to the sea, so they can allow the valley to develop trade with distant people, including Mesopotamian.

-Ships used the Persian Gulf to trade copper, lumber, precious stones and luxury goods to Sumer. Trading began 2600 B.C. and continued until 1800 B.C.

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Earliest Arrivals

-They weren't sure how human settlements began in the Indian subcontinent.Perhaps they arrived by sea from Africa settled the south. Northern migrants may have made their way through the Khyber Pass in the Hindu kush mountains.

-Archaeologists have found evidence in the highlands of agriculture and domesticated sheep and goats dating to about 7000 B.C. By about 3200 B.C., people were farming in villages along the Indus River.

Planned Cities

-They built strong levees, or n walls to keep water out of their cities in around 2500 B.C. They construct human-made islands to raise the cities above possible flood waters.

-Archaeologist have found the ruins of more than 100 settlements along the Indus and it tributaries mostly in the modern-day Pakistan.

- The largest cities were Kalibangan, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Their Indus Valley civilization is sometimes called Harrapan civilization.

-One of their great achievements of the Indus Valley people was their sophisticated city planning. The cities of the early Mesopotamian's were a jumble of buildings connected by a maze of winding streets.

-Cities featured a fortified area called citadel, which contained the major buildings of the city. They were constructed of oven-baked bricks cut in standard sizes, unlike the simpler, irregular, sun-dried mud bricks of Mesopotamian's.

-Early engineers also created sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems. These systems could rival any urban drainage systems built before the 19th century. The uniformity in the cities' planning and construction suggests that the Indus peoples had developed a strong central government.

Harrapan Planning

-Partially build on mud- brick platforms to protect it from flooding. The brick wall is about 3 and a half miles long surrounded it. Inside was a citadel , which provided protection for the royal family and also served as a temple.

-Streets were as wide as 30 feet. Walls divided residential districts from each other. Houses are in various size .

-Narrow lanes separated rows of houses, which laid out in block units. Houses featured bathroom where waste water flowed out to the street and then to the sewage pits outside the city walls.

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Delta: a broad, marshy, triangular area of land formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of the river

Narmer: an ancient king who united Upper and Lower Egypt

Pharaoh: the Egyptian god-king who has complete control over the empire

Theocracy: a type of government in which rule is based on religious authority

Pyramid: a huge structure or a tomb for the Pharaohs

Mummification: a way to preserve the corpse by drying it and preventing it from decaying

Hieroglyphic: a more flexible writing system

Papyrus: a paper-like material made from reeds that grew along the Nile

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Pharaoh's power declined by 2180 B.C., which ended the Old Kingdom

Strong Pharaohs regained power during the Middle Kingdom (2040 B.C. to 1640 B.C.)

Dug a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea to improve transportation and trades

Built huge dikes for irrigation and created thousands acres of farmland from draining the swamps of Lower Egypt

In about 1640 B.C., people from Palestine called Hyksos conquered Egypt

The New Kingdom rose up after the Hyksos lost power in 1523 B.C.

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Slaves were usually captives from wars

Could changed social classes by marriage or success in their jobs

Slaves could earn freedom for their loyal service

Highest positions required the ability to read and write

Women held many of the same rights as men

Egyptian Writing

Scribes developed a writing system called the hieroglyphics

Wrote on papyrus reeds

Egyptian Science and Technology

Created an accurate calender to keep track of the floods and plan their plating season

Developed the system of writing numbers for counting, which helped them with the taxes

Mathematical knowledge helped the Egyptian's engineers and architect construct pyramids and palaces

Egyptian doctors were able to check the heart rate by feeling the pulse and were able to heal broken bones, cure wounds and fevers, and perform surgeries to treat some condition

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Religion and Life

Were polytheistic and worshipped more than 2000 gods/goddesses

Two most important gods were Re, the sun god, and Osiris, or god of the dead. The most important goddess was Isis who represented the ideal mother and wife

Built temples to honour the them

Believes in the afterlife and the dead would be judge for their deeds

Anubis or the god and guide of underworld will weigh the dead's heart; if the heart tipped the scale, it shows that the heart was filled with sins

Kings and queens built pyramid while other Egyptians built smaller tombs

Royal and elite Egyptians' bodies were preserved by a process called mumification

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Egyptians lived in farming villages dated as far back as 5000 B.C.

By 3200 B.C., the villages in ancient Egypt were ruled by two separate kingdoms, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt

The king of Lower Egypt wore a red crown, and the Upper Egypt wore a tall white crown shaped like a bowling pin

Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt became one kingdom around 3000 B.C.

King Narmer created a crown from the red and white crowns, which symbolized a united kingdom

King Narmer made a spot called Memphis where Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt the capital, and established the first Egyptian Dynasty

Ancient Egypt lasted for over 2600 years and was made up of 31 dynasties

Pharaohs Rule as Gods

For Egyptians, kings were gods

Pharaohs were considered as powerful as the gods of heaven

Egypt's religions, government, and army were controlled by the Pharaoh

Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh was responsible for the kingdom's well-being

Pharaoh caused the sun to rise, the Nile to flood, and the crops to grow

It was also the Pharaoh's duty to promote truth and justice

Builders of the Pyramids

Egyptians believed the Pharaoh had an eternal life force called ka, which continued to take to part in the governing of the kingdom

During the Old Kingdom, the resting place was a structure called a pyramid

Pyramids were built from 2 million perfectly cut stone blocks that weigh varies from 2 1/2 tons to 15 tons and were stacked to a height of 481 feet and covered more than 14 acres

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desert climate between Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea (SW Asia)

however, there is an arc of rich land in the desert area that is perfect for farming. It is called the Fertile Crescent.

Mesopotamia is a plain that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers ("Land between the rivers")

Environmental Challenges

unpredictable flooding and periods with little rain

no natural barriers for protection

limited natural resources

Solving Problems Through Organization

dug irrigation ditches

built city walls with mud bricks

traded grain, cloth, and tools with other people in exchange for raw materials

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From 3000 to 2000 B.C., the Sumerian city states were at constant war against each other.

The weakened cities were soon loosing to attacks from other civilizations from surrounding areas

Sargon of Akkad

At 2350 B.C., an Akkadian conqueror defeated the city-states of Sumer and created the world's first empire by taking control of northern and southern Mesopotamia.

Before that, the Akkadians had adopted most of Sumerian culture, and Sargon's conquest helped the culture spread even more.

Sargon's dynasty lasted only about 200 years, due to internal fighting, invasions, and a famine.

Babylonian Empire

In 2000 B.C., nomadic warriors called the Amorites took control of Mesopotamia.

They established Babylon as their capital.

The Babylonian Empire was at its peak during the reign of Hammurabi. (1792-1750 B.C.)

Hammurabi's Code

He unified the groups within his empire with his single, uniform code of laws called the Code of Hammurabi.

The code consisted of his collection of existing rules, judgements, and laws.

Had 282 specific laws dealing with things such as family relations, business conduct, property issues, and crime. The laws also protected women and children from abuse.

The code applied to everyone, but the punishments varied according to class and gender.

Many of the punishments were based on the principle of retaliation (an eye for an eye)

The code concluded that the government was responsible for what happened in society.

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A Religion of Many Gods

The Sumerians believed that many gods controlled the different forces in nature. (polytheism)

The gods were described as immortal and powerful beings who had the same traits as humans, such as falling in love, having emotions, having children, and many others.

Thought that humans were servants of the gods.

To keep the gods happy, the Sumerians built ziggurats and had many sacrificing rituals.

After they died, Sumerians believed that their souls went to a gloomy place called the "land of no return" between the Earth's crust and the ancient sea.

Life in Sumerian Society

Social Classes

1. Kings, landlords, and priests

2. Wealthy merchants

3. Ordinary workers

4. Slaves

Women had more rights then many other civilizations

could work as merchants, farmers, or artisans (some upper-class women learned to read and write and became scribes)

could hold properties in their own names

was able to join priesthood

Sumerian Science and Technology

Invented the wheel, sail, and plow.

One of the first to use bronze

Developed arithmetic and geometry

Had many architectural innovations such as arches, ramps, columns, and the pyramid-shaped design of the ziggurat

Created cuneiform

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The Sumerians were one of the first groups to create a civilization

1. advanced cities

2. specialized workers

3. complex institutions

4. record keeping

5. improved technology

At about 5000 B.C., the Sumerians had built multiple cities, which were surrounded by fields for farming grain.

These city-states shared the same culture, but they had their own governments and rulers.

Each city-state had a ziggurat and priests who prayed to the gods.

Priests and Rulers Share Control

The earliest governments were controlled by priests

The people were very dependent on the gods, and the priests acted as a middleman between the gods and the rest of the population.

Priests demanded a part of each farmer's crops as tax and managed the irrigation system from the ziggurats.

At times of war, a powerful fighter ruled the city.

In the beginning, their power ended as soon as the war was over.

As the wars became more frequent at 3000 B.C, the Sumerians gave the commanders permanent control over the armies.

Over time, the military leaders became full-time rulers. They passed on their power along their family tree, creating the first dynasties.

The Spread of Cities

Food surpluses allowed Sumerians to increase long-distance trade, exchanging the extra goods with other things they needed.

By 2500 B.C., many cities were built all over the Fertile Crescent.

The Sumerians exchanged goods and ideas with other cities. This is a process called cultural diffusion.

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Ancient China was isolated from other civilizations by the many obstacles.

The eastern border was surrounded by large bodies of water, including the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.

The western border was surrounded by the Taklimakan Desert, the Plateau of Tibet, and the Himalayas.

The northern border was covered by the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Plateau.

River Systems:

China has two river systems that flowed from the western mountains to the Pacific Ocean: the Huang He (or Yellow River), and the Chang Jiang (or YangTze River).

The Huang He, which commonly floods, deposits silt on its banks.

This silt, which is very fertile, is known as loess. Additionally, the yellowish color of loess gives the Huang He its name.

Environmental Challenges:

China's isolation, though it protected settlers from outsiders, also had raised some problems of it own.

The Huang He's flood would often destroy the settlers' crops and shelters.

The settlers had to provide for themselves, since trading with outsiders would be too difficult.

Invaders would often come from the west and north to attack the Chinese, despite China's natural barriers.

China's Heartland:

The North China Plain, located between the Yangtze and Huang He, contains most of China's arable land. As such, it is known as China's heartland and was often the center of civilization in China.

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loess - A very fertile, yellowish silt that is deposited by the Huang He when it floods.

oracle bone - A piece of bone or tortoise shell used for divination by Shang kings and priests.

Mandate of Heaven - The divine approval that the Chinese believed a just ruler to have.

dynastic cycle - A cycle in which dynasties rise, decline, and get replaced.

feudalism - A political system in which the king gives his nobles land in return for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on their lands.

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The Nile River flows from the the highlands of East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea

Fertilized lands were located along the Nile

The Gift of the Nile

Rains and melting snows caused the Nile to rise during July and by October, the river receded; leaving behind rich black soil called silt

All fall and winter, Egyptians harvest their crops

Environmental Challenges

If the flood waters was lower than usual, people will starve due to the lack of silt

If the flood waters was too high, it would destroy houses, granaries, and the seeds for planting

Upper and Lower Egypt

The higher area in the south is called Upper Egypt

The Lower Egypt includes the delta which was an area formed by the deposition of silt

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Rivers, Mountains, and Plains

The tallest mountains and the large desert protected the Indus Valley from invasion

The mountains is guarded an enormous flat and fertile plain from by two rivers(Indus and Ganges). Each river is an important link from the interior of the subcontinent to the sea.

Indus river: flows southwest from the Himalayas to the Arabian sea. The Valley occupied by the Thar desert.

Farming is possible if its near the river

Monsoons

They are seasonal winds

October-February have winter monsoons (from northeast blows dry air westward across the country)

Middle of June to October wind shifts

blows eastward from the southwest

summer monsoons fail to develop

Environmental Challenges

Yearly floods spread deposits of rich soil over wide area. However, the floods along the Indus were unpredictable

The rivers sometimes changed course.

The cycle of wet and dry seasons brought by the monsoon winds was unpredictable. if there was too much rain, floods swept away whole villages.

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Fertile Crescent: A region in Southeast Asia between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. It has rich, fertile land for farming and is shaped like an arc around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Mesopotamia: A plain in the Fertile Crescent that was home to many civilizations throughout time. The name in Greek means "land between the rivers".

City-State: A city and its surrounding farmland with its own government and ruler. Some Sumerian city-states were Ur, Kish, Lagash, and Uruk. Even though each city-state is an independent political unit, they shared similar cultures such as

Dynasty: A series of rulers from the same family. Many Sumerian city-states were under the rule of dynasties after 2500 B.C.

Cultural Diffusion: The process in which a new idea or product spreads from one culture to another. The Sumerians used to exchange with many neighboring cultures all over the Fertile Crescent.

Polytheism: The belief in more than one god. The Sumerians believed that many gods controlled various forces in nature.

Empire: An empire brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one leader.

Hammurabi: The Babylonian Empire's (Amorites) ruler from 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C. He was famous for creating the code of Hammurabi.