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