Essential Questions
1. What was the layout of the Indus Valley
2.
3.
4.
5.
civilization?
Why do we not have a lot of information
about the Indus Valley civilization?
What is ancestor worship?
What is the mandate of heaven?
What is the dynastic cycle?
Agenda
Essential Questions
Indus Valley/Huang He Notes
Indus/Huang He Venn diagram
River Valley Civilizations
Indus Valley and Huang He
Location/Geography
Indus Valley
 south of Himalayan
Mountains
 Indus and Ganges
Rivers
 Deccan plateau
 monsoons (seasonal
winds)
Huang He
 isolated from other
civilizations because
of natural barriers
 Plateau of Tibet
 Himalayan Mountains
 Yangtze and Huang
He Rivers
Religion
Huang He:
Indus:
 family was strongly linked to
 artifacts indicate
religion
links to modern
 spirits of ancestors determine fortune
day Hinduism
 spirits demanded attention and
 worship the God
respect
Shiva
 used oracle bones to communicate
 worshiped cattle
with the gods
 carved questions bones, heated them
up, and observed the cracks
 Mandate of Heaven – divine
approval for a just ruler
Writing
Indus:
 has not yet been
deciphered
Huang He:
 each character
represented an idea,
not a sound
 there are no links
between spoken and
written Chinese
 should know 10,000
words to be a scholar
Government/Law
 strong central
 Xia dynasty was the first, cities grew
 Shang dynasty: first to leave written
government
records, built elaborate
(because of
palaces/tombs
planned cities)
 limited conflicts  constantly raging war so they had
walls around their cities for
(because few
protection
weapons have
 dynastic cycle – the rise, decline,
been found)
and replacement of dynasties
 Feudalism – a political system in
which nobles use lands that belong
to the king, provide loyalty to king,
protection to workers
Science/Technology
 domestication of sheep  craftsmen made
and goats
weapons, jewelry,
 sophisticated city
religious items
planning
 cities in grid system
 citadel = fortified area
with major buildings
inside
 plumbing /sewage
systems
 produced silk cloth
 built roads and canals
 coined money
 iron used for weapons
Social Classes
 social divisions were
not great (because of
common residential
 two groups: nobles and
peasants
 warrior-nobles were at
areas)
 prosperous society
that produced
nonessential goods
the top with kings and
owned the land
 peasants workers had
no tools because metal
was too precious, used
for weapons
 grew millet, rice, wheat