The Indus Valley Chapter 5 (pages 142-147)

Geography and Climate Made up of the present day countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh Located on a subcontinent Separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalayan mountains The rivers of the Indus Valley were feed by snow melting from the mountains

Early Civilizations The first farming villages were built on top of large mounds Mounds were used to keep the villages above the flood waters Some villages had large walls around them Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were two of the most important cities in the Indus Valley

Economy People of the Indus Valley traded with people in nearby farming villages Traded goods were: cotton, lumber, grain and livestock Artisans produced goods made of bone, ivory, and shells

The City of Mohenjo-Daro Mohenjo-Daro was a planned out city Was built using a grid system-strait wide streets crisscrossed the city Each city had a section set aside for government and religious ceremonies They had a storage area for their grain Many workers were paid in grain The population at one point was 35,000 people Most building were made of baked mud bricks Only the wealthy people lived in the cities-everyone else lived in villages outside of the city

Homes and Innovations Some city homes had rooms for bathing City homes sometimes had a well inside They had brick drain pipes that ran along the city streets The city also had a trash collection service MD had a large public bathhouse that was 40 feet long and 8 feet deep Likely the Harappans had a strong central government

Mystery and the End The ending of the Harrapan civilization is still a mystery Some cities may have lost their water supply-this also impacted trade Possibly a natural disaster, earthquake, or monsoon caused an end to the civilization Invasions may have also led to the downfall of this civilization

The Huang He Valley Yu the Great is known as the legendary ruler of China who controlled the waters of the great flood The Shang Dynasty ruled China for over 600 years The Shang used bronze weapons and bronze tipped spears Artifacts found by archeologists are: bronze containers, marble, jade, and silk

Ancient China The ancient Chinese were polytheistic-ancestors pleaded with the gods to help living relatives Gods were based upon nature and directions The early Chinese used oracle bones to tell the future (made of dragon bones-really made of turtle shells or cow bones)

Ancient China Early Chinese writing consisted of characters Shang writing or characters represented whole words There were over 3,000 Chinese characters The Qin dynasty standardized the writing of the Chinese-easier to communicate for all people

The Fall of the Shang The last Shang ruler was a tyrant The Zhou overthrew the Shang claiming they had lost the mandate of heaven (the right to rule) Evidence that the ruler had lost the mandate of heaven could be an earthquake, loses in battle, or failure of crops to grow

Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica The Olmecs were the first civilization found in Mesoamerica Olmecs lived along the Gulf of Mexico They were polytheistic-the most powerful god was the Jaguar They created large stone heads Their houses were made of grasses and reeds

Olmecs (continued) They developed a counting system and calendar to keep track of the floods The Olmec cities developed into ceremonial centers Known as the rubber people-first to harvest rubber from the rubber tree The Olmec are known as the “Mother Civilization” of Mesoamerica

Mother Civilzation Olmec culture spread throughout Middle America by means of cultural borrowing Olmec ideas spread as other groups came in contact with them Some Olmec innovations like the tumpline are still used today The Mayan civilization was the first to borrow from the Olmec

The Mayan Civilization The Maya started out as farmers but eventually built cities throughout the Gulf of Mexico region They followed the Olmec gods and created two calendars (365 and 260 days) The Maya improved the Olmec number system by adding zero Mayan writing was made up of glyphs or picture symbols that represent objects, ideas, or sounds

The Mayan Civilization (continued) The Maya made paper from the bark of wild fig trees A Mayan scribe could made a codex, or hand lettered book of glyphs The Mayan civilization lasted over 600 years