Indus River Valley

Time Period and Geographic Location

•Around 2500 B.C.

•Considered a Sub-Continent of Asia

•High mountain ranges separate it from the rest of Asia

•Present-day Pakistan and part of India

•Mountains to the North and desert to the East helped protect the Indus Valley from invasion

Indus River Valley

Time Period and Geographic Location

•Around 2500 B.C.

•Considered a Sub-Continent of Asia

•High mountain ranges separate it from the rest of Asia

•Present-day Pakistan and part of India

•Mountains to the North and desert to the East helped protect the Indus Valley from invasion

Indus River Valley

Indus River Valley

Geographic Locations continued

•Located near the Ganges and Indus Rivers

•Seasonal winds - monsoons - dominate India’s climate, at times, bringing so much moisture, that flooding occurs - the monsoon winds were unpredictable

•Experience droughts during summer monsoons fail to develop, much like Arizona

Indus River ValleyEconomic Orientation

•Agriculture and Trade based

•Imported gold and silver from Afghanistan

•Imported semi-precious stones from Persia

•Exported brightly-colored cotton

•Close to the sea, so it was easy to ship goods in and out of the civilization

Indus River Valley

Government/Law System

•The history still remains somewhat of a mystery

•There is some evidence (planned cities and protection for a royal family) of a central government

Indus River Valley

Social Organization/Classes

•Social divisions were minor

•Fairly wealthy society - could afford non-essential items (i.e., toys)

•Discipline was the essence of schooling

Indus River Valley

Artistic & Technological Innovations

•Built strong walls along rivers to keep water out of cities

•Sophisticated city planning - on a precise grid system

•A citadel contained a city’s major buildings

•Highly sophisticated sewage and plumbing systems

Indus River Valley

Artistic & Technological Innovations

•Walls divided residential districts

•Houses varied in size

•Developed a written language, but it still has not been decoded

•Excellent transportation, via the sea, for trade with other civilizations

Indus River Valley

Religious Organization

•Believed to be a theocracy, but there is no evidence of any temples

•Priests probably prayed for successful harvests and protection from floods

•Possible links to modern Hindu culture

Chinese River Valleys

Time Period & Geographic Locations•Around 2,000 B.C.

•Isolated by natural barriers (i.e. oceans, seas, and mountains)

•Faced danger of flooding - The Yellow River (Huang He River) is also known as “China’s Sorrow” because some floods have devoured entire villages

•Only 10% of China’s land is suitable for farming

Chinese River Valleys

Economic Orientation

•Agriculture

•Trade with foreign civilizations

Chinese River ValleysGovernment/Law System

•Xia - 1st Dynasty

•Xia leader was a mathematician and engineer

•Shang Dynasty rose to power (1,700 to 1,027 B.C.)

•1st family of Chinese rulers to leave written records

•Built elaborate palaces and tombs

•Leaders able to raise and control large forces of workers

Chinese River ValleysGovernment/Law System

•Zhou (joh) took over in 1,027 B.C. but kept many of the Shang practices/ideals

•“Mandate of Heaven” gave a just ruler divine approval

•Created a feudalism system - nobles and lords were granted the use of lands that belonged to the king in return for military service for and protection of the king

Chinese River ValleysSocial Organization/Class

•Higher classes lived in wood-framed houses located within the city walls

•Peasants and craftspeople lived in huts outside the city

•Family in central to Chinese culture

•respect for parents is #1 virtue

•men controlled property and made important decisions

•Women were treated as inferiors

Chinese River ValleysSocial Organization/Class

•Girls’ marriages were arranged for them when they were between 13-16 years old

•Producing a son for her husband’s family was the only way a female could hope to improve her status

•Nobles’ children learned to write, but peasants’ children were largely uneducated

Chinese River ValleysArtistic and Technological Innovations

•Flood control and irrigation systems

•Cities surrounded by walls for protection

•Chariots used by professional warriors

•Writing - each character represents one syllable or idea

•No connection between spoken and written language

•People in all parts of China could learn the written language, but had to know thousands of characters

Chinese River ValleysArtistic and Technological Innovations

•Zhou Dynasty

•Roads and canals

•Coined money

•Blast furnaces produced cast iron for tools and weapons

Chinese River Valleys

Religious Orientation

•There was a belief that spirits of family ancestors had the power to bring good fortune or disaster

•The spirits weren’t revered as gods; treated more like neighbors

•Every family member paid their respects to the father’s ancestors

•The people consulted gods through the spirits

Chinese River Valleys

Religious Orientation•Supreme god - Shang Di and many lesser gods

•Shang kings consulted gods through the use or oracle bones (animal bones and tortoise shells)