Download File - Ms. Rutledge`s Class Social Studies

Early Civilizations in India and China
2500 BCE – 256 BCE
Cities of the Indus Valley
I. Geography of Indian Subcontinent
- Subcontinent – large land mass that juts out from a continent.
- Made up of current countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.
- Mountain ranges in northwest (Hindu Kush) and northeast (Himalayas) isolated.
- 3 Major Regions – well watered northern plain, dry triangular Deccan Plateau, coastal plains on
either side of Deccan Plateau.
- Monsoons – seasonal wind.
- Winter monsoons blow from the northeast and bring hot dry wind that withers crops.
- Summer monsoons blow from the southwest and bring heavy rain.
II. Indus Valley Civilization
- 2 main cities – Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
- Well Planned Cities – 3 miles in circumference built in a grid design, massive hilltop structures
(temple or fortress), huge warehouses to store grain.
- They also had modern plumbing systems with underground sewers and uniform system of weights
and measures.
- Farming – grew wheat, melon, barley, and dates and were the first to cultivate cotton and weave
it into cloth.
- Trade – built ships and traded with people along the coast (made contact with Sumer).
- Religious Beliefs – little is known about religion of these early cities.
- Veneration – special regard/worship; also worshiped a mother goddess and sacred animals
(cattle).
III. Decline and Disappearance
- 1750 BCE – decline without defined reason (earthquake, no trees left, or volcano).
- 1500 BCE – Aryans overran the Indus people.
Kingdoms of the Ganges
I. Aryan Civilization
- Migrated across Europe and Asia.
- Left little archaeology behind (Vedas tell us what we know).
- Veda – collection of prayers, hymns, and other religious teachings passed down orally, until a
written language was developed.
- 3 divisions in society – Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaisyas (farmers, herders,
and merchants).
- Conquered the Dravidians and called them Sudras.
- Castes – social groups into which people are born and cannot change.
II. Religious beliefs
- Worshipped many gods and goddesses through elaborate sacrifices that priests performed
- These sacrifices kept the world “in order”
- If sacrifices were not performed properly – bad events would follow
- Brahman – supreme reality, the single spiritual power behind everything
- Mystics – people who seek spiritual truth (used Yoga and Meditation to find spiritual truth).
III. Expansion and Change
- Rajahs – Aryan tribal leaders.
- Aryans eventually changed from being nomadic warriors to sedentary farmers.
- Learned crafts, iron-working skills, and established kingdoms.
- 500 BCE – developed written language known as Sanskrit.
IV. Epic Literature
- Mahabharata – story of Aryan family who struggles for control of the Ganges region.
- Bhagavad-Gita – story that reflects on beliefs about a person’s duty (dharma) and the immortality
of the soul.
- Ramayana – Story of husband (Rama) who rescues kidnapped wife (Sita). Rama and Sita
become the “ideals” of what a husband and wife should be.
Early Civilization in China
I. Geography of China
- Middle Kingdom – China was separated by physical barriers (ocean, deserts, long distances, and
vast mountain ranges) and considered themselves the center of the Earth.
- Main Regions: Huang He/Yellow River (named for loess) and Yangzi river valleys were the center
of Chinese civilization.
- Loess – fertile soil that makes the river valley good for farming.
- Due to frequent flooding, the Chinese built dikes (walls) to keep river from flooding.
- However, when the dikes are built, the river slows down, which causes more loess to deposit on
the bottom of the river. This, in turn, raises the water level. Then taller walls needed to be built
because the river level grew higher…which starts the cycle over again.
- If a dike broke, or water level grew too high, terrible floods ensued, which gave the Huang He the
nickname, the “River of Sorrows”.
II. Shang Dynasty (1650 BCE – 1027 BCE)
- Government: Weak central government, strong local government (ruled by clans).
- Clan – group of families who claim a common (often mythical) ancestor
- Social Classes: similar to other civilizations, royal families and warriors were the upper class, while
farmers, merchants, and artisans were the lower class.
III. Religious Beliefs
- Shang Di (Emperor of the Sun) – Chief of the many gods, Shang Di would not answer the prayers
of regular people, he would only listen to the king’s prayers.
- However, peasants would pray to their ancestors and ask them to pray to Shang Di for them.
- Yin and Yang – two forces reflect the balance and harmony in the universe. Yin represents the
Earth, darkness, and female forces. Yang represents Heaven, light, and male forces.
IV. Writing
- Ancient Chinese used systems of pictographs and ideographs (found on Oracle Bones).
- Oracle Bones – priests wrote questions on bones, heated them, then when the bone cracked,
interpreted the cracks to form an answer
- Divination – Using a system of beliefs and rituals to predict the future
- Chinese writing system made up of characters, which represent a word or an idea. Chinese
language has over 10,000 characters!!!
- Calligraphy – fine handwriting, in Ancient China this developed into an elegant art form.
V. Zhou Dynasty (1027 BCE – 256 BCE)
- Rebelled against a cruel Shang king (he was cruel and gods allowed the Zhou to overthrow him.
- Mandate of Heaven – Divine right to rule
- Dynastic Cycle:
- Aging Dynasty: becomes weak and/or corrupt, loses control...This causes them to lose the
Mandate of Heaven
- Problems – floods, famine, earthquakes, invasion, bandits, and revolts begin to happen since the
rulers no longer have the Mandate of Heaven
- New Dynasty – claims the Mandate of Heaven, takes control and restores peace, gives land back
to peasants, builds public works for the good of the people
- New Dynasty eventually becomes Aging Dynasty, and cycle repeats
- Feudal State: Zhou rewarded supporters by giving them control over regions.
- Feudalism – system of government where local lords own and govern their own region, but owe
support, loyalty, and other duties to the king.
- Economic Growth: Iron working skills (500 BCE) used fro plows – population increases due to
large scale irrigation projects.
- Chinese begin to use copper coins for the first time under the Zhou
VI. Achievements
- Silk – The Chinese discovered how to make silk thread from the cocoons of silkworms (valuable
export).
- Calendar – Astronomers studied the movement of the stars and planets and created a very
accurate calendar
- Books – made the first books by binding thin strips of wood or bamboo and then painting
characters