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Ancient Civilizations India, China, & Mesoamerica Indus Civilization • • Developed between 30002500 BCE Two largest cities were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro • Well planned cities • Running water, sewers, and brick buildings • Grid pattern • Pictographic writing (still undeciphered) • • Has 400 symbols Clear social classes • Different types of houses: wealthy 2-3 stories, common people one room Economics • Advanced Agriculture • • • Wheat, rye, peas, rice (maybe) Domesticated animals: chickens, cattle, goats, sheep Abundant crops led to job specialization in cities (like E&M) • Craftsmen less skilled than Mesopotamia (stone arrows, poor spears) • Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • • Connected by villages Major trading centers with China, SE Asia, Southern India, and Mesopotamia • • • • Jade and jewels from SE Asia and China Wheeled carts for transportation Mesopotamia for olive oil, wool, and leather Persia for gold, silver, and copper End of Indus • • By 1500 BCE civilization had declined (unsure as to why: drought, earthquakes changed course of river, overuse of land, disease…) 1500 BCE a Indo-European group, the Aryans, overtook India • Culture of Aryans blended with the Indians • Sanskrit; literary language of India • Vedas became major books of Hinduism • Placed native Indians into inferior class • People divided into 4 Varnas and each Varna into subclasses called Jati • At the bottom were the Pariahs or Untouchables Caste System Scholars and priests Rulers and warriors Professionals Servants Pariahs Other Developments of the Aryans 1. Iron Metallurgy – for weapons and agricultural tools 2. Long Distance Trade networks 3. Literature – The Mahabharata and The Ramayana 4. Development of Hinduism Between about 500 – 324 BCE 1. Small, regional kingdoms (called maha-janapadas) in the Ganges Plain area 1. *. Many traded with other civilizations about whom we’ve already discussed 2. “Foreign” Control of parts of the Indus Valley by 1. the Persians (under Darius I) in the 500s BCE 2. Alexander the Great in the 300s BCE (Bactria) Greco-Bactrian Coin Trade Routes of the Ancient World China • China Has The “Longest Lasting Civilization in the World” • Chinese civilization formed almost 4000 years ago! • Like Ancient Egypt, ruled by royal dynasties until 1911 CE • Mandate of Heaven (Zhou)– principle that said that a ruler and his family were given “permission” from the gods if they governed properly Predynastic (Neolithic) China (ca. 8000 – 2205 B.C.E.) • • • Most isolated of the river valleys Huang He (Yellow River) and Chiang Jiang (Yangtze) rivers flood quite often Yangshao Culture (ca. 5000-2700 B.C.E.) • Agricultural Society • crops: millet, wheat, rice • • Animals: dogs, pigs, goats, horses Small Villages Located in river valleys • Villages enclosed by earthen, defensive walls More Predynastic China… • Longshan Cultures (ca. 3500 – 2200 B.C.E.) – a slightly more “advanced” Neolithic culture • Differences from Yangshao Culture • Agriculture: also had cattle and sheep • Technology: pottery wheel (easier to make pottery of better quality) • Evidence of ancestor worship?: burials under or inside foundations of homes • Evidence of an early legal code Huang He Civilization • Xia (shah) Dynasty 4000 Years ago • • • • • first, legendary dynasty Ruler Yu Irrigation and drained floodwaters Beginning of Chinese civilization No written records – existence is by legend Legend says that Yu united all the people of every tribe and ordered them to help him build canals in all the major rivers that were flooding and lead it out to the sea. He did this for 13 years, without going back to his home village. Legend says in those 13 years, he passed by his house three times without going in which is a sign of his perseverance in his work . Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE) • Writing: Oracle Bones • • • Cities – Walled cities, elaborate palaces and tombs • • • • Written on bone and used to foretell future Characters: a symbol= sound, word, object Anyang (the last “capital” of the Shang Dynasty) is the most famous Central rule to oversee irrigation and flood control Farming society ruled by a king and an aristocracy Ancestor worship developed More Shang • Technology – bronze metalworking, silk weaving, complex pottery, political and monumental architecture • Occupations – artisans, farmers, priests, government officials, and slaves • Social Classes are apparent through burials and architecture Religion and Social Institutions • Social Institutions • • • • • Government Kings led government from a “capital” King’s relatives ruled other cities in the name of the king Palaces for royalty in cities Religion • • King also led religion Very elaborate tombs for kings and nobility • Contain lots of goods, animals, and human retainers • • • Temples in cities Oracle bones Polytheistic – based on nature spirits and ancestor worship Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE) • • • Pronounced “joe” 800+ years, longest dynasty Mandate of Heaven • • • • Culture • • • • Confucius asking Laozi about etiquette Claimed they overthrew Shang by will of gods Took steps to centralize government, but local leaders ignored central government Set up an agricultural system (nobles & peasants) A.K.A. feudalism Mandarin is standardized as language Laozi and Confucius both lived during Zhou Emphasis on veneration of ancestors If you honored family, society would function well More Zhou • Technology: • • • • • • Chopsticks Iron Metallurgy Use cavalry & crossbow Expanded Chinese territory to Yangtze River Valley (wheat & rice growing areas added) Increased food production and use of iron Lost control of western half of empire, last two centuries known as “era of warring states” Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) • • • • • • • Ruler: Qin Shi Huangdi (1st Emperor) – brutal ruler Qin name applied to country’s name Unified the Chinese world Legalism – favored government force; viewed human nature as evil A highly centralized government Standardized coinage, weights, and measures Irrigation Qin Shi Huangdi • • • • • • Uniform writing system, & a law code Manufacture of silk cloth is encouraged Nucleus of the Great Wall is constructed Burned books and attacked culture National census, tax, and labor service Downfall: high taxes, attacks on intellectuals, killed men, brutal punishments, & revolts after Qin’s death Pre-Classical Mesoamerica • Location/Geography • • Mesoamerica = “Middle America” Religion - - common elements throughout Mesoamerica: • • • Polytheistic Chief or King = chief priest/shaman Human Sacrifice – two types • “auto sacrifice” – ritual bloodletting of cultural elites • captive sacrifice Here is a woman self-sacrificing by piercing her tongue More Pre-Classical Mesoamerica • Ritual Ball Game – • thought to represent the sun in the sky (played everywhere except for at Teotihuacan) • Calendar systems • • 260 day ceremonial calendar 365 day solar calendar Olmecs • The Olmecs (ca. 1150 – 700 B.C.E.) • Centered around the Gulf (of Mexico) Coast of Mexico • Cultural Elements • • Large, probably independent, agricultural villages Earthen mounds/pyramids with courtyards – Temple complexes (religion) • Government (chiefdom or monarchy) evidence: • • • Burial “goods” – obsidian, jade, and magnetite (traded “exotics”) differences in architecture basalt thrones More Olmecs: • • Social Class Differences – Nobility and commoners Elaborate Artwork • • • • Random Llama! Huge Basalt Heads – possibly the likeness of rulers Jade statues “Were-Jaguar” Motif – halfman/half-jaguar looking creatures on pottery and as subjects of statues Some very basic glyphs (symbols) – early writing (not fully translated yet) Early Andean South America • Location/Geography • • Western South America Zones: • Arid Coastal area • Altiplano: • a plateau region in South America, situated in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. • Mountains • Chavín • Centered around what is now coastal Peru Chavin • Cultural Elements: • • • • Major site = Chavín de Huántar Ceremonial Architecture – pyramids, plazas, earthen mounds No evidence of governmental or economic organization Artistic styles – spread throughout Chavín cultural zone So Why are the Olmec and Chavin Important??? • Both created the foundations for later civilizations and empires in their areas • Art • ceremonial architecture • religion Olmec werejaguar Dailies: Harappa and Shang • Which people did the Harappans trade with? • Why do we know the least about the Harappans? • What are the Varnas? • What are the Jati? • What 3 things did the Aryans bring to India? Dailies: Shang, Zhou, Qin • Why did Qin Shi Huangdi burn books? • What is feudalism? • What was the importance of the Xia dynasty? • Describe the Era of Warring States. • Why did the Chavin not invent the wheel?