Upload
amy-turner
View
295
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
River Valley CivilizationsIndus Valley and Huang He
Essential Questions
1. What was the layout of the Indus Valley civilization?
2. Why do we not have a lot of information about the Indus Valley civilization?
3. What is ancestor worship?4. What is the mandate of heaven?5. What is the dynastic cycle?
Location/GeographyIndus Valley
• south of Himalayan Mountains
• Indus and Ganges Rivers• Deccan plateau• monsoons (seasonal
winds)
Huang He• isolated from other
civilizations because of natural barriers
• Plateau of Tibet• Himalayan Mountains• Yangtze and Huang He
Rivers
ReligionIndus Chinese
• artifacts indicate links to modern day Hinduism
• worship the God Shiva• worshiped cattle
• family was strongly linked to religion
• spirits of ancestors determine fortune
• spirits demanded attention and respect
• used oracle bones to communicate with the gods
• carved questions bones, heated them up, and observed the cracks
• Mandate of Heaven – divine approval for a just ruler
IndusChina
Writing
• has not yet been deciphered
• each character represented an idea, not a sound
• there are no links between spoken and written Chinese
• should know 100,000 words to be a scholar
Indus China
Indus
China
Government/Law
• strong central government (because of planned cities)
• limited conflicts (because few weapons have been found)
• Xia dynasty was the first, cities grew
• Shang dynasty: first to leave written records, built elaborate palaces/tombs
• constantly raging war so they had walls around their cities for protection
• dynastic cycle – the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties
• Feudalism – a political system in which nobles use lands that belong to the king, provide loyalty to king, protection to workers
Indus China
Science/Technology
• domestication of sheep and goats
• sophisticated city planning
• cities in grid system• citadel = fortified area
with major buildings inside
• plumbing /sewage systems
• craftsmen made weapons, jewelry, religious items
• produced silk cloth • built roads and canals• coined money• iron used for weapons
Indus China
Social Classes
• social divisions were not great (because of common residential areas)
• prosperous society that produced nonessential goods
• two groups: nobles and peasants
• warrior-nobles were at the top with kings and owned the land
• peasants workers had no tools because metal was too precious, used for weapons
• grew millet, rice, wheat
Indus China