ANCIENT INDIA

I. GEOGRAPHY

A. India’s natural barriers separated them from other civilizations.

1. Northeast – Himalayas

2. West – Hindu Kush Mountains

3. Southeast – Deccan Plateau

4. Southwest – Indian Ocean

B. Indus and Ganges Rivers

1. Rivers flooded once per year providing fertile soil for growing crops.

2. The floods were unpredictable

3. The floods were often uncontrollable.

C. Monsoons – Seasonal winds and rain

II. INTERACTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

A. Like Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Ancient Indians developed an intricate irrigation system.

B. Indians used the Khyber Pass, a passageway through the Hindu-Kush Mountains, to trade with Mesopotamia.

III. POWER AND AUTHORITY

A. Little is known about the government of the Indus Valley because:

1. Sanskrit, the Ancient Indian language is still undeciphered.

2. Natural Disasters – Disastrous floods and earthquakes may have destroyed any records.

B. Historians knew the Indus Valley had a strong central

government because:

1. Planned Communities, or cities built to a definite plan. Streets were laid out to precise grid. Modern examples include New York City and Washington D.C.

2. Sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems. These systems could rival any urban city built before the 19th Century.

MANHATTAN AND WASHINGTON D.C.

IV. RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL SYSTEMS

A. Early Indus River Valley people believed in Animism, or the belief that everything is alive and has a spirit.

B. Archaeologists have uncovered early images of Shiva and the sacred cow indicating early stages of Hinduism.

V. EMPIRE BUILDING – Early Indus River Valley people did not create an empire.

VI. REVOLUTION – No known major political or cultural changes until the invasion of the Indus River Valley by the Aryans.

VII. ECONOMICS

A. Ancient India was mostly an agricultural society due to their isolation.

B. Indian stamps and seals found in Mesopotamia indicated some trade with the middle east.

VIII. CULTURAL INTERACTION

A. Used the Khyber Pass to trade with Mesopotamia proved by the discovery of stamps and seals.

B. Artifacts such as clay toys suggest a relatively prosperous society that could afford to produce non-essential goods.

IX. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A. Sanskrit – India’s undeciphered writing

B. Planned Communities – Cities built on a precise grid.

C. Plumbing and sewage systems.

ANCIENT CHINA

I. GEOGRAPHY

A. China’s natural barriers isolated them from the rest of the civilized world.

1. Northwest – Gobi Desert

2. West – Taklamakan Desert and Plateau of Tibet

3. Southwest – Himalayas

4. East – South China Sea and Yellow Sea

B. Huang He (Yellow) and Yangtze Rivers

1. Provided fertile soil for growing crops.

2. Rivers flooded once per year

A. Floods were unpredictable

B. Floods were very uncontrollable

3. Rivers were called “China’s Sorrow” because of their disastrous floods.

II. INTERACTION WITH THE ENVIORNMENT

A. Most of the early dynasties of China were forced to provide all of their own goods because their geography prevented trade with other civilizations.

B. Like the other river valley civilizations, the Chinese developed an intricate irrigation system.

C. The rich soil provided crops of rice, wheat, and millet.

III. POWER AND AUTHORITYA. The first known dynasty of China

was the Shang

1. The Shang were governed by a ruling class of warrior nobles.

2. Noble families owned the land and sent a tribute to the Shang ruler in exchange for local control.

B. The second known dynasty of China was the Zhou.

1. The Zhou claimed their right to rule came directly from the gods. A just ruler had divine approval called the Mandate of Heaven.

2. The pattern of rise and decline and the replacement of dynasties is called the Dynastic Cycle.

PERIOD OF PROSPERITY

CAUSE FOR CHANGE NATURAL DISASTER/

REVOLUTION

MANDATE OF HEAVEN

PERIOD OF DECLINE

VOICE FROM THE PAST:

Heaven, unpitying, has sent down ruin on Yin (another name for Shang). Yin has lost the Mandate, and we Zhou have received it. I dare not say that our fortune would continue to prosper, even though I believe that heaven favors those who are sincere in their intentions. I dare not say, either that it would end in certain disaster…

The Mandate of Heaven is not easy to gain. It will be lost when men fail to live up to the reverent and illustrious virtues of their forefathers.

Duke of Shao, quoted in the Chinese Heritage

IV. RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL SYSTEMS

A. Religious beliefs were closely related to the family. Chinese believed the spirits of family ancestors had the power to bring good fortune or disaster to living members of the family. This belief system is known as ancestor worship.

B. The Shang consulted with the gods through the spirits of the ancestors using oracle bones, or animal bones or tortoise shells on which priests scratched questions for the gods.

C. The Shang also believed in animism, or the belief that everything is alive and has a spirit.

Oracle Bones and Ancestor Worship

V. EMPIRE BUILDING – Dynasties ruled China, but they did not conquer foreign lands.

VI. ECONOMICS – The Chinese trades only with among each other. They were a subsistent society.

VII. REVOLUTION – The Dynastic Cycle

VIII. CULTURAL INTERACTION

A. The Chinese believed they were the center of the universe and all outsiders were barbarians.

B. Respect for elders – The Elder men made important decisions and controlled family property.

C. Women were treated as inferiors, expected to obey their husbands and later their sons.

D. Marriages were arranged when a girl was between 13 and 16.

IX. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A. Calligraphy – Ancient Chinese writing

B. Silk

C. Coined Money

D. Cast Iron Weapons