Name: Date: The Shang Dynasty

Huang River Valley • The Huang River Valley is home to

________________________, one of the world’s earliest civil izations.

• _____________ know that the Shang settled there around 3000 B.C.

• The soil around the river has a _____________ color and is very _____________. It is called _________.

• Loess blows into the ________________________ and gives it a yellow color.

The First Dynasty

• One of the earliest settlements was located in ________________, which is along the Huang River.

• There are not written _______________ from this time period of Chinese history, but archaeologists have found ______________ in this area which is how they know people l ived there.

Peasant Life • During the Shang Dynasty, most people were stil l

_____________, or poor farmers. • They lived in vil lages and spent their days working in

the _________ and trying to control the flooding _______________.

• People l ived in small, wattle and ________ houses. Walled Cities

• While most people l ived in farming vil lages, _________, priests, and warriors l ived in walled cities.

• The cities had huge temples and ______________. • One Shang city discovered by archaeologists had a wall

30 feet high, 65 feet thick, and four and a half ____________ long.

                                 

-Archaeologists think this could have taken 10,000

____________ and about 18 _______ to build!

• Craftsman, workers, and farmers lived _____________ the walls in nearby _____________.

The Bronze Age • Around ________________, craftsmen began to mix

tin and copper to create a beautiful metal called _________________.

• Bronze was very valuable because it was stronger than ______ or ______________.

• The Shang Dynasty existed during the Bronze Age, which was a time when people made ___________, _________, ________________, and other items from bronze.

Religion • The early Chinese people were _________________. • They believed there was an individual _______ for the

sun, moon, stars, rivers, and mountains. • They also believed in a ____________________,

Shang Di. o They believed their ____________ could talk

directly to Shang Di. Ancestors • The Shang people thought it was very important to

______________ their ancestors.

• They thought their ancestors _______________ every part of their l ives, so the Chinese would make offerings to their ancestors at special _________________________.

Burials

• Shang _________ were buried with the things they would need in their next __________.

o Their tombs included _________________, __________________, _________________, etc.