4 early River Valley Civilizations

• Ancient China - Huang He River

• Sumerian Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)• Egyptian Civilization - Nile River• Harappan Civilization - Indus River

“The Four Early River Valley Civilizations”

• Mesopotamia [Sumer] (Tigris & Euphrates Rivers)• Egypt (Nile River)

ENTER

• Indus Valley (Indus River)• Ancient China (Huang He River)

A Chinese junk on the Huang He today.

An artist visualizes what the ancient Chinese village of Banpo on the Huang He may have looked like over 4,000 years ago.

LOVE

I. GeographyA.Challenges?

1. Isolation2. Barriers – Mountains and Deserts3. 10% arable land

Gobi Desert

Taklimakan Desert

Himalaya Mts. Pacific Ocean

II. Organized GovernmentA. Dynastic Cycle – established an order to the rule over

Chinai. Mandate of Heaven

B. Shang: Complex bureaucracyC. Zhou: Feudalism = little centralized authorityD. Qin: Autocratic; emperorE. Han: Civil Service Exam; bureaucracy under emperor

III. CitiesA.Cities were within territories that were governed by

aristocrats (provinces)B.Cities (States) worked together to construct walls to keep

out invaders – Qin

Left: The Ruins of a Shang Dynasty City in Zhengzhou

The Great Wall of China

• 30 Feet High• 40 Foot Towers• 1,500 miles long• Built in 7 Years• 500,000 workers died while making the Great Wall

IV. Organized ReligionA.Life after death and human ritualsB.Shang: animism combined with ancestor worshipC.Zhou Han: 3 philosophies on the nature of man and the

universe developed that influenced Chinese society1. Confucianism (preferred by the Han)2. Daoism3. Legalism (preferred by the Qin)

法家

V. Class Structure/Social StratificationA.Class system based on occupation

1. Kings and royals at the top2. Aristocracy – includes civil servants (landowners)3. Peasants – farmers4. Merchants & artisans5. Slaves – used for building projects

VI. WritingA.Simple script (Shang) complex written languageB.Pictographic & ideographicC.Only language that did not change its written roots

entirely

VII. Art/Architecture (Technological Advancements, too!)A. Bronze work (Shang) Iron work (Han)B. Trade networks & advancements

1. Fore-and-aft rigging; rudderC. Confucian LiteratureD. Great Wall & Emperor Shi Huangdi’s mausoleum

Silk Routes, over-land and over-sea

THE SILK ROAD

China silk, clothing, lacquer ware, spicesIndo-China spices, ivory, timber, pearlsNorth India precious stones, ivory, tortoise shell, incense,

spices, cloth, timberSouth India ivory, tortoiseshell, spices, precious stones,

cloth, timberArabia spices, slaves, precious stones

East Africa gold, ivory, exotic animals, slaves, incenseTrans-Sahara ivory, gold, slaves North Africa grain

South Europe olive oil, wine, glassware, coinageWest Europe silver, tin

North Europe slaves, amberAsia Minor silver, precious stones, timber, wine

THE SILK ROAD

• If you were to bury items in a large pit that would help archeologists in 2000 years identify who you were and what you were about, what would you bury?

• Pits of rare birds and animals

• Stable pits• Tombs of Emperor

Qin’s children• Mass graves of

laborers• Pit of two sets of

Bronze Chariots and Horses

• Pit of Stone Armor and Helmets

• Pit of Terra-Cotta Acrobats and a Bronze Tripod

• Pit of Civil Officials• Pit of Terra-Cotta

Army

• Knowing what was included in Shi Huangdi’s mausoleum, what can we assume to be true about the first emperor of the Qin dynasty? What kind of ruler/man was he?