How did geography influence the development of Ancient China?

How did geography influence the development of Ancient China? China is a very diverse land including deserts, mountains and fertile river basins. Most early people settled along the Huang He River.

Geographic Features Huang He River Yangtze River Gobi Desert Pacific Ocean Himalayan Mts. Jungles

How did geography influence the development of Ancient China? Huang He & Yangtze Rivers were used for transportation and irrigation. Irrigation was very important to produce rice and wheat. Rivers deposited a layer of rich soil, called loess. If you were going to invade China, how would you have your troops travel this type of terrain or environment?

The Yellow River (Huang He) The Huang He River takes its name from the vast quantities of loess which gathers along its route from the high mountains of Tibet to its mouth as it empties into the Yellow Sea.

The Huang He (Yellow River) Sometimes there was unpredictable flooding. Frequent rainfall made vast irrigation systems unneeded. Early people did dredge the river bed to reduce the frequency of flooding. Such projects helped initiate early governments.

How did geography influence the development of Ancient China? Ancient China was very isolated from other civilizations. Because of their isolation, the early Chinese believed they were the only civilization in the world. Ethnocentrism: the belief that your culture is superior to all others;

How did geography influence the development of Ancient China? Only 10-12% of the land was usable for farming. Chinese farmers used terrace farming techniques to produce rice during the Ming Dynasty. What other ancient civilizations have we learned about that used “terrace farming?”

Pronunciations Huang He hwahng he Shang shong Zhou Joe Loess less Henan hey – nahn Wei way Qin chin

The Earliest Settlements 8000 B.C.E., Neolithic pottery was discovered in China’s western Henan province. Also discovered was a set of tiny flutes made from the wing bones of a large bird. Farmers grew millet, wheat and rice and domesticated pigs, dogs, goats, and maybe horses. They lived in river valleys and had walls for defense. Warriors used chariots to defeat their enemies.

The Earliest Settlements Out of these early villages, larger political units gradually emerged. Ancient Chinese historical texts tell of three early dynasties: the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou. State formation may have begun under the Xia, 2205-1766 B.C.E. All were based primarily around the Huang He (Yellow River) valley in north China.

In 1976 archaeologists probing the area around Yinxu with a long shovel, called a , recovered some samples of red lacquer.[2] The burial pit uncovered, officially titled tomb number 5, is a single pit, 5.6 meters by 4 m, just outside the main royal cemetery. The tomb has been dated to around BCE 1200 and identified, from ritual bronze inscriptions, to be that of Fu Hao.[3][4] Her tomb, one of the smaller tombs, is one of the best-preserved Shang Dynasty royal tombs and the only one not to have been looted before excavation.[1] Inside the pit was evidence of a wooden chamber 5 meters long, 3.5 m wide and 1.3 m high containing a lacquered wooden coffin that has since completely rotted away.[5][6] The floor level housed the royal corpse and most of the utensils and implements buried with her. Rare Jade artifacts, such as those of the Liangzhu culture, were probably collected by Fu Hao as antiques and while some of the bronze artifacts were probably used by the lady and her household others inscribed with her posthumous name of Mu Xin were undoubtedly cast as grave good.[7] The artifacts unearthed within the grave consisted of: 755 jade objects (including Longshan, Liangzhu, Hongshan and Shijiahe cultural artifacts)[8] 564 bone objects (including 500 hairpins and 20 arrowheads) 468 bronze objects (including 130 weapons, 23 bells, 27 knives, 4 mirrors, and 4 tiger statues)[9] 63 stone objects 11 pottery objects 5 ivory objects 6,900 cowry shells (Shang Dynasty currency) Below the corpse was a small pit holding the remains of six dogs, and along the edge lay the skeletons of 16 human slaves, evidence of human sacrifice.[1] There is also evidence above ground of a structure built over the tomb that probably served as an ancestral hall for holding memorial ceremonies; this has since been restored.[10]

Early Evidence of Writing Oracle bones—bones of birds, animals, and shells of turtles—were inscribed with markings and writings for use in predicting the future. After they were marked, these bones were placed in a fire and tapped lightly with a rod until they began to crack. The crackers were then interpreted by specialists in predicting the future. Oracles bones were used as early as the Zhou Dynasty

Poem from Late Zhou Dynasty noting use of oracle bones in deciding the location of a new city Exit Ticket: Please write 1 paragraph that answers this question- “How did geography influence the development of Ancient China?” MUST be 7 sentences minimum. The plain of Zhou was very fertile, Its celery and sow thistle sweet as rice cakes. “Here we will make a start; here take counsel. Here notch our turtle.” It says, “Stop,” it says, “Halt. Build houses here.”