3. “Peking Man” (750,000 – 500,000 BCE) Sinanthropus pekinesis

4. Neolithic Pottery 3000 BCE to 2000 BCE

5. The 4 Old-World River Valley Cultures

6. Yellow River Civilization

7. North, South, East, West Natural barriers isolated China from all other civilizations. Pacific OceanPlateau of Tibet Gobi Desert Taklimakan Desert Himalaya Mountains Mongolian Plateau

8. China: Cultivating the Land China is geographically divided into two parts *Outer China is a sparsely settled region of high mountains, plateaus, steppes, and deserts. *Agricultural China or Inner China is where 95% of the Chinese people live. Click Red Stars to find more information.

9. China: Ruling the People Dynasties: Ancient China was governed by a ruling class of warrior nobles headed by a king. *Ruling families are referred to as dynasties. *The Shang Dynasty (1766 BC) was the first verifiable dynasty and ruled China for 600 years. The Shang dynasty was overthrown by Zhou who established a dynasty and introduced the idea of the Mandate of Heaven. *The Han dynasty centralized the Chinese government and established a bureaucracy which included eighteen different ranks of civil service jobs that civilians obtained by taking competitive examinations. Rulers of the Middle Kingdom Voyage Through the Dynasties

10. China: Philosophy and Religion Confucius was addressed as The Master all over China. His teachings were based on virtue and goodness. Confucius believed that the past tells us how to live in the present. His sayings were recorded in a book called The Analects. Analects Other Chinese philosophies include Taoism ( Daoism) and Legalism Buddhism spread to China from India.

11. China: Development of Writing *Earliest examples of Chinese writing are found on oracle bones. *Shang dynasty rulers consulted the gods through the use of oracle bones, animal bones and tortoise shells on which priests scratched questions for the gods. *Priests interpreted cracks to predict the future Oracle Bones DO NOT COPY The Chinese writing system is not alphabetic like English. It used symbols for words called characters. Each character stands for an idea, not a sound. The characters are read vertically in columns (down and up). The written language is not linked to the spoken language, so people all over China could learn the same system of writing, even if they spoke different languages.

12. China: Technology During the Shang dynasty, Chinese artisans learned to make beautiful objects from bronze to be used in religious ceremonies. Ancient Chinese Inventions Silk cloth was made by drawing the fine threads from the cocoon of a silkworm, spinning the fiber into yarn, and weaving them into fabric. Ancient Chinese learned how to build blast furnaces that allowed them to produce cast iron used for weapons and agricultural tools such as the mold board plow. BronzeSilk Iron

13. Activity Time Jigsaw! Using pg 50-53 in large text, you and your partner will answer your assigned question on chart paper –What environmental challenges did China’s early civilizations face? –Describe Shang Dynasty –What was life like in Ancient China? –Describe feudalism in China

14. EXIT: Describe Ancient China in ONE sentence.

15. Aim: How did the Chinese dynastic cycle develop? DO NOW: What does the word dynasty mean to you?

16. “T’ien Ming” The Mandate of Heaven 1.The leader must lead by ability and virtue. 2.The dynasty's leadership must be justified by succeeding generations. 3.The mandate could be revoked by negligence and abuse; the will of the people was important.

17. The Dynastic Cycle A new dynasty comes to power. Lives of common people improved; taxes reduced; farming encouraged. Problems begin (extensive wars, invasions, etc.) Taxes increase; men forced to work for army. Farming neglected. Govt. increases spending; corruption. Droughts, floods, famines occur. Poor lose respect for govt. They join rebels & attack landlords. Rebel bands find strong leader who unites them. Attack the emperor. Emperor is defeated !! The emperor reforms the govt. & makes it more efficient. Start here 

19. Yu, the Great – Founder of the XIA

20. XIA Plaque, 1700 BCE

22. Bronze Age Empires

23. Shang: 1523-1028 BCE

24. Oracle Bones

25. Oracle Bones Calendar

26. The Evolution of Chinese Writing during the Shang PictographsSemantic-Phonetics

27. Axe Scepter – 1100 BCE - jade Ceremonial Dagger – 1028 BCE

28. Shang Urn

29. Shang Bronzes

30. Ritual Wine Vessel – bronze, 13c BCE

32. Western Zhou: 1027-771 BCE

33. Eastern Zhou: 771-256 BCE

34. Ritual Food Vessel, bronze 11c BCE (Western Zhou)

35. Pendant of a Dancer - jade 3c BCE (Eastern Zhou)

36. Ritual Wine Vessel – 4c bronze, silver, gold, copper

37. Zhou Coins - bronze

38. Activity Using your textbook pg 52-55, create an outline using the following headings –Mandate of Heaven –Control though Feudalism –Technology and Trade –Period of Warring States

39. EXIT: What do you think contributed the most to the downfall of the Zhou Dynasty?