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Chapter 3 Notes
Early Civilizations in
India and China
Section 1
Cities of the Indus Valley
Geography of the Indus Valley
Subcontinent –
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India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Bhutan
Hindu Kush and Himalayan Mountains
Regions
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Northern Plain
South of mountains; fertile region
watered by rivers (Indus, Ganges,
Brahmaputra)
Rivers are sacred; Ganges
(“mother of the people”)
Deccan
Plateau; most recognizable
feature on map of India
Rivers do not reach this far to
provide irrigation
Unproductive, sparsely populated
Coastal Plain
On either side of the Deccan
Heavy seasonal rains, fishing,
farming, trade
Geography Continued
The Monsoons
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Monsoons –
Winter: hot, dry air from NE; withers crops
Summer: blows in from SW; pick up moisture in Indian Ocean; daily downpours
If rains came late: famine, starvation
If rains came too often: deadly floods
Cultural Diversity
–
Many groups of people, languages, and tradition
Indus Valley Civilization
-
Emerged 2500 B.C.; lasted 1000
years then vanished (discovered 1922)
Covered largest area of any civ.
until the rise of Persia
Well-planned Cities
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Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro; twin
capitals
Massive hilltop structure; huge
warehouses for grain
City built in grid pattern; uniform
houses (plumbing, sewers)
Merchants used uniform system of
weights and measures (coin system)
Powerful rulers (priests or kings)
planned city pattern and grain supply
Skilled in math for surveying city layout
Indus Valley Civ. Cont.
Farming and Trade
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Wheat, barley, melons, dates; first
people to cultivate cotton and weave
it into fibers for cloth.
Cargos of cotton cloth, grain, copper,
pearls, and ivory sent to Sumer
Religious Beliefs
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Polytheistic
Mother-goddess; source of all creation
Sacred animals: bull (veneration )
Decline and Disappearance (1750 B.C.)
Quality of life suffered
Environmental Damage
– Too many cut trees, volcano, earthquake
Aryans
– Superior weapons and knowledge
– Overran the Indus region
Section 2
Kingdoms of the Ganges
Aryan Civilization
Warlike People
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Destroyed Indus Valley and built new Indian Civilization
Fought in chariots with bow and arrow
Nomads
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Sought water and pasture for cattle, sheep, goats; valued cattle greatly (measured wealth)
Aryan Society
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Vedas –
3 basic groups
Brahmins – priests; claimed they alone could conduct ceremonies needed to win favor
with gods
Kshatriyas – warriors
Vaisyas – herders, farmers, merchants, and artisans
Sudras- Dravidians or non-Aryan people; farm workers, servants laborers
Castes -
Aryan Civ. Cont.
Aryan Religious Beliefs
– Polytheistic; gods and goddesses
that embodied natural forces such
as sky, sun, storm, and fire.
Indra – god of war; chief Aryan
deity; use thunderbolt to destroy
demons and to
announce arrival of rain
Varuna – god of order and
creation
Agni – god of fire; messenger who
communicated human wishes to
the gods
Monkey and snake gods
– Brahmins offered sacrifices of
food and drink to appease gods;
asked for health, wealth, and
victory in war
– Brahman –
– Mystics -
Expansion and Change
Rajahs –
From Nomads to Farmers
– Adopted customs of people they conquered; learned to settle
into villages to grow crops and breed cattle
– Learned to make iron tools weapons
– 500 B.C.: new Indian Civilization; consisted of many rival
kingdoms; acculturation
– Developed a written language, Sanskrit; priests began writing
sacred texts
Epic Literature
- Mix history, mythology, adventure, and religion
Mahabharata
– India's greatest epic; battle for kingdoms, reflects important
Indian religious beliefs about the immortality of the soul and
importance of duty
Ramayana
– Taught morals and lessons
– Rama – model of virtue or ideal king
– Sita – ideal women who remained loyal and obedient to husband
Section 3
Early Civilization of China
Geography of China
Legend of Yu – significance
Zhongguo – the Middle Kingdom
– China was most isolated of all civilizations; thought they were center of the world
and sole source of civilization
Geographic Barriers
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Mountains – Tien Shan (west) and Himalayas (southwest)
Desert – Gobi (north)
Jungles – divided China and SE Asia
Ocean – Pacific (east)
Still had contact with outsiders; traded with Middle East; nomadic invaders
conquered China from time to time
Geography Cont.
Main Regions
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Valleys of Huang He and Yangzi;
heartland of China, fertile farming
region, irrigation, and transportation
Xinjiang, Mongolia, Manchuria
Harsh climates, rugged terrain
Nomads and subsistence farmers
Tibet; Himalayan region; Chinese
called it Xizang
“River of Sorrow”
–
Huang He Valley: Neolithic people
learned to farm
Control flow of river
Loess –
Loess settled at bottom of river
raising water level; constantly
repairing dikes to keep from
overflowing; destroyed crops and
brought starvation; reflected in
Chinese writing
China Under Shang Dynasty
- 1650 B.C.-1027 B.C. –gained control of
corner of Northern China along Huang He
Government
– Led by powerful kings who led
nobles into battle
Controlled only small area
Clans –
Resembled city-states of
Sumer
– Large palaces and rich tombs;
walled cities
Artifacts suggest
noblewomen had
considerable status
Shang Dynasty Cont.
Social Classes
– Royal Family
– Noble Warriors
Leather armor, bronze weapons, chariots
– Artisans and Merchants
Produced goods for nobles; bronze weapons, silk robes, jade jewelry,
exchanged food and crafts for goods not found in NE China
– Peasants
Included most people; farming villages, everyone worked in fields, repair
dikes, fought wars alongside lords
Shang Dynasty Cont.
Religious Beliefs
– Developed complex religious
beliefs
Prayed to many gods and nature
spirits
Shang Di and mother goddess –
chief spirit; brought plants and
animals to earth
King seen as link between people
and Shang Di; gods this great
could not respond to mere mortals
Honor ancestor spirits; “ancestor
worship”
Yin and yang – well being of
universe depended on maintaining
balance
– yin: Earth, darkness, female
forces
– Yang: Heaven, light, male
forces
Shang Dynasty Cont.
System of Writing
– Used both pictographs and
ideograms
– Consulting the Ancestors
Oracle bones –
earliest writing found like this
– A difficult study
Written Chinese is 4000 years old;
has tens of thousands of
characters
Only well-to-do families could
afford to learn skills of reading and
writing
– A force for unity
Everyone used same system of
writing; may not have same
spoken language
The Zhou Dynasty (1027 – 257 B.C.)
Mandate of Heaven –
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Justified changing of rulers or dynasties
Dynastic cycle –
Floods, famine, or other catastrophes were signs
Provide good government and treat the multitudes of people well
A Feudal State
– Feudalism –
– After about 250 years, lords exercised real power and profited from lands
Economic Growth
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Iron working reached China about 500 B.C.
Grow new crops (soybeans); large-scale irrigation works
Used money for first time; coin system made trade easier
Increase in population; Huang He heartland overflowed into Central China,
farmed Yangzi basin
Zhou Dynasty Cont.
Chinese Achievements
– Mathematics and Science
Decimal system, writing numbers,
movement of planets, accurate calendars
Took ideas to India, Japan, and Korea
– Silkmaking – 1000 B.C.
Cocoons of silkworms, mulberry trees;
women did most of the work
Became China’s most valuable export;
Silk Road; kept a secret
– The First Books
Thin strips of wood or bamboo, drew
characters on flat surface with brush and
ink
Book of Songs – describe planting and
harvesting, praise kings or court
ceremonies