 Located on a subcontinent – land mass that is apart from the rest of the continent  Physical Features- Mountain Ranges, valleys and planes that hold 2 rivers- Ganges and Indus  Climate- Strong winds and season rains- monsoons

 Set up in a precise grid system  Planned  Citadel- (fort) major building of the city  Work offered: -farming, trading Peaceful- few weapons were found

 A. Social divisions in the society were not great  B. relatively prosperous  C. Religious artifacts revealed links to Hindu culture  ( Oldest religion, started on the Ganges River, reincarnation, freedom comes from lifetime of worship, knowledge and virtuous acts)  - Many gods (polytheists)  E. Trade developed with others  1. Stamps and seals identified different goods  2. Traded goods found in Sumer identified by stamps 

 Dates:  1750 B.C.- began to decline  1500 B.C.- collapsed  3 possible reasons for the decline:  1. Indus River changed its course  2. Overworked land by farmers led to a decline in food production  3. Invaded by a new group

 Geography of China:  Huge deserts, high mountains, Pacific Ocean  2 rivers:  1. The Huang He in the north ( Yellow River )  2. The Yangtze in Central China

 1. The small plain between the two rivers is where most of the farm land was located  2. The Chinese thought of themselves as the center of the civilized world

 Loess was fertile yellow soil blown into the river and as the river flooded it deposited the rich silt  Huang He could flood at any time and earned the nickname China’s Sorrow

 Shang- leader or emperor  Houses were built of wood, not mud bricks  Social Classes:  -Higher classes lived inside the city  -peasants lived outside the walls  Nobles were the ruling or higher class, led by the king.  This is who protected the cities  Often at war, very aggressive

 A. Family and Society 1. Most important virtue for Chinese society was respect for ones parents ( filial piety) 2. Women were treated as inferior a. Arranged marriages between the age of and moved in with husbands family

 Religious beliefs 1. Spirits of family ancestors could bring good or bad fortune 2. (Polytheists) Supreme god – Shang Di, as well as lesser gods

1. Came from oracle bones 2. Each character is an idea 3. Spoken language and written language was different 4. Estimate of 50,000 different idea characters

 About 1027 Zhou overthrew Shang, ruled until 256 B.C.  Justification of overthrow -Mandate of Heaven a. Just ruler right to rule by approval of god b. Could loose right to rule if you didn’t have approval

 Feudalism: political system in which the nobles would owe loyalty to the king for land.  Eventually the nobles would gain more control than the king and rebel

1. Built roads for trade and army 2. Created civil servant or Government jobs 3. Development of Iron a. Better weapons b. Farm tools