Download The Indus River Valley

The Indus
River
Valley
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
Political Systems
• Identically planned cities and
construction
suggests
a strong
central
government
Economic
• Traded long
distances
• Artifacts found
show that Sumer
and Indus traded
for about 350
years
Religious
• Artifacts show
links to modern
Hindu Culture
– Shiva- is a
major Hindu
god
• Worshipped
Cows
Social Structures
• Civilization was generally
stable
• Same kinds of houses
suggests little social
differences
• Toys were found for
children – this shows
prosperity since they can
make things they do not
NEED to survive
Achievements Intellectual
• Solved the problem of plumbing
• Built extensive plumbing systems
– Private bath and toilet for every house
– Toilets made of brick with wooden
seats
– Pipes connected underground sewer
system
Achievements
• Sophisticated city planning – very
detailed and organized
– Used a grid system
• Citadel – a fortified area surrounded by a
wall that protected the major buildings in
the city
– Public buildings, bath, granaries and
religious quarters
Harappa
Mohenjo Daro
Geography
• Wall of Mountains- separated India from the
rest of Asia
– Hindu Kush
– Himalaya 420,500 sq miles long
– Karakoram
• This created an Indian Sub-Continent
Geography
• Monsoons – trade winds that brought rain in
the summer and dry wind in the winter
• Major Rivers-
Indus
Ganges
Copyright
Copyright ©
© Clara
Clara Kim
Kim 2007.
2007. All
All rights
rights reserved.
reserved.
Political Systems
• Ruled by dynasties
– A dynasty is a ruling family
• As Mesopotamia, Egypt and Indus
were declining, Shang Dynasty in
China was rising to power
Shang Dynasty c.1700 - c.1100 BC
• The Shang set up the first dynasty in China
• Social Structure: Nobility, Warriors,
Merchants / Artisans, Peasants
• Religion –many gods and spirits, believed in
the two forces of nature – Yin and Yang
• First Chinese written communication
develops in the form of pictographs
Zhou Dynasty 1100 BC – 220 BC
– Mandate of Heaven: Justification
through right of God
– Dynastic Cycle: Pattern of the rise and
fall of dynasties
– Feudalism: nobles have permission
from Kings to own and work king’s land
– Began using iron to make tools Roads,
canals, irrigation systems are built
– Contributions: First books are written,
Calendar is developed, Learned how to
make silk, Confucianism develops
Qin Dynasty 250 BC
• Shi Huangdi – First Emperor of China
– creates a centralized government ending the
feudal system
– China is divided into military districts run by
appointed officials
• System of standardized weights and
measures is created, roads and canals are
improved
Qin Dynasty
• The Wall of China is built, greatest
achievement of the Qin and Han Dynasties.
– The wall was built to keep out invaders
– Stretches across northern China, reaches
heights of 35 feet,
Qin Dynasty
• Terracotta Army is also constructed to be
buried in the tomb with Shi Huangdi – the
First Emperor
• Over 8,000 life size warriors buried in the
tomb of Qin Emperor Shi Huangdi,
• Emperor believed he would still have
troops at his command
Terracotta
Army Video
FIRST GOLDEN AGE OF CHINA - TRADE ON SILK ROAD- BUDDHISM
SPREADS - MORE INFLUENCE--TRADE EXPANDED
Religion
• Family and Religion are closely linked
–Prayed to ancestors because they
thought their ancestors could bring them
luck or disaster
–Consulted the gods through ancestors
• Shang Di – Supreme God
Social Structures
• Society was sharply divided
between nobles and peasants
• Family was central to society
• Had arranged marriages
• Group was more important
than the individual
Achievements Intellectual
• Shang Dynasty was the first to
leave written records
• Oracle Bones: animal bone or
tortoise shells where priests
scratched questions for gods then
applied heat until it cracked. Then
they priests interpreted the cracks
Achievements Intellectual
• No connection between
written and spoken Chinese
–Advantage: Someone can read
Chinese without knowing how
to speak it
LOVE
HAPPY
Achievements
• Introduced the
chariot – a
major tool of
war
• Skilled in
IRON work,
silk and
weapons
Economic
• Because of China’s
isolation by natural
barriers, early
settlers had to
supply their own
goods within China
• Not much trade
outside of China
Sad Puppy… no one
to trade with… 
Geography
• Surrounded by natural barriers
on all cardinal directions
–North: Gobi Desert
–East: Pacific Ocean
–South: Himalaya Mountains
–West: Taklaman Desert and
Plateau of Tibet
GOBI DESERT
PACIFIC OCEAN
TAKLIMAKAN DESERT
HIMALAYA
MOUNTAINS
Geography
• Fertile plain found between 2
major rivers
–1. Huang He (Yellow River)
• Floods left behind LOESS: yellow
silt
–2. Yangtze River
• Flooded unpredictably
–Huang He (Yellow River)
Huang He (Yellow River)
Yangtze River
Yangtze River