Transcript Indus River Valley

Indus River Valley
Time Period and Geographic Location
•Around 2500 B.C.
•Considered a Sub-Continent of Asia
•High mountain ranges separate it from the rest of Asia
•Present-day Pakistan and part of India
•Mountains to the North and desert to the East helped protect
the Indus Valley from invasion
Indus River Valley
Time Period and Geographic Location
•Around 2500 B.C.
•Considered a Sub-Continent of Asia
•High mountain ranges separate it from the rest of Asia
•Present-day Pakistan and part of India
•Mountains to the North and desert to the East helped protect
the Indus Valley from invasion
Indus River Valley
Indus River Valley
Geographic Locations continued
•Located near the Ganges and Indus Rivers
•Seasonal winds - monsoons - dominate India’s
climate, at times, bringing so much moisture,
that flooding occurs - the monsoon winds were
unpredictable
•Experience droughts during summer
monsoons fail to develop, much like Arizona
Indus River Valley
Economic Orientation
•Agriculture and Trade based
•Imported gold and silver from Afghanistan
•Imported semi-precious stones from Persia
•Exported brightly-colored cotton
•Close to the sea, so it was easy to ship goods in and
out of the civilization
Indus River Valley
Government/Law System
•The history still remains somewhat of a mystery
•There is some evidence (planned cities and
protection for a royal family) of a central
government
Indus River Valley
Social Organization/Classes
•Social divisions were minor
•Fairly wealthy society - could afford nonessential items (i.e., toys)
•Discipline was the essence of schooling
Indus River Valley
Artistic & Technological Innovations
•Built strong walls along rivers to keep water
out of cities
•Sophisticated city planning - on a precise grid
system
•A citadel contained a city’s major buildings
•Highly sophisticated sewage and plumbing
systems
Indus River Valley
Artistic & Technological Innovations
•Walls divided residential districts
•Houses varied in size
•Developed a written language, but it still has
not been decoded
•Excellent transportation, via the sea, for
trade with other civilizations
Indus River Valley
Religious Organization
•Believed to be a theocracy, but there is no
evidence of any temples
•Priests probably prayed for successful
harvests and protection from floods
•Possible links to modern Hindu culture
Chinese River Valleys
Time Period & Geographic Locations
•Around 2,000 B.C.
•Isolated by natural barriers (i.e. oceans, seas, and mountains)
•Faced danger of flooding - The Yellow River (Huang He River)
is also known as “China’s Sorrow” because some floods have
devoured entire villages
•Only 10% of China’s land is suitable for farming
Chinese River Valleys
Economic Orientation
•Agriculture
•Trade with foreign civilizations
Chinese River Valleys
Government/Law System
•Xia - 1st Dynasty
•Xia leader was a mathematician and engineer
•Shang Dynasty rose to power (1,700 to 1,027 B.C.)
•1st family of Chinese rulers to leave written
records
•Built elaborate palaces and tombs
•Leaders able to raise and control large forces of
workers
Chinese River Valleys
Government/Law System
•Zhou (joh) took over in 1,027 B.C. but kept many of
the Shang practices/ideals
•“Mandate of Heaven” gave a just ruler divine
approval
•Created a feudalism system - nobles and lords
were granted the use of lands that belonged to the
king in return for military service for and
protection of the king
Chinese River Valleys
Social Organization/Class
•Higher classes lived in wood-framed houses located
within the city walls
•Peasants and craftspeople lived in huts outside the
city
•Family in central to Chinese culture
•respect for parents is #1 virtue
•men controlled property and made important
decisions
•Women were treated as inferiors
Chinese River Valleys
Social Organization/Class
•Girls’ marriages were arranged for them when they
were between 13-16 years old
•Producing a son for her husband’s family was the
only way a female could hope to improve her status
•Nobles’ children learned to write, but peasants’
children were largely uneducated
Chinese River Valleys
Artistic and Technological Innovations
•Flood control and irrigation systems
•Cities surrounded by walls for protection
•Chariots used by professional warriors
•Writing - each character represents one syllable or
idea
•No connection between spoken and written language
•People in all parts of China could learn the written
language, but had to know thousands of characters
Chinese River Valleys
Artistic and Technological Innovations
•Zhou Dynasty
•Roads and canals
•Coined money
•Blast furnaces produced cast iron for tools and
weapons
Chinese River Valleys
Religious Orientation
•There was a belief that spirits of family ancestors had
the power to bring good fortune or disaster
•The spirits weren’t revered as gods; treated more like
neighbors
•Every family member paid their respects to the
father’s ancestors
•The people consulted gods through the spirits
Chinese River Valleys
Religious Orientation
•Supreme god - Shang Di and many lesser gods
•Shang kings consulted gods through the use or
oracle bones (animal bones and tortoise shells)