I.

Cities of the Indus Valley

A. India civilization about 2600 BC
1. Stayed 700 years
2. Main Cities: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
a. Grid pattern
3. Complex plumbing systems
B. Indus farmers
1. Grain
C. 1750 BC: Life quality decline
1. Severe floods
D. 1700 BC: Abandoned cities
II. Kingdom of the Ganges
A. Migration from central Asia to northwestern India
1. Spoke Indo-European
2. Aryans: 500 BC
3. The Vedas: Collection of prayers, hymns, and other religious teachings
B. Society
1. Social Classes
a. Priests
b. Warriors
c. Herders, farmers, artisans, and merchants
d. Farm workers, servants, and other laborers
2. Castes: social groups that people are born into and cant leave
C. Religious Beliefs
1. Polytheistic: belief in many gods
2. Brahman: single spiritual power beyond the many gods that lived in all things
3. Mystics: individuals who devote their lives to seeking spiritual truth
III. Early Civilizations in China
A. Ancient Chinese land = The Middle Kingdom
B. Geography
1. Barriers blocked easy movement out of China
2. Chinese history began in Huang He valley
3. Strong central government caused by large water projects
C. The Shang and Zhou Dynasties
1. Shang dynasty: 1650 BC 1027 BC
2. Zhou dynasty: 1027 BC 256 BC
3. Dynasty: a ruling family
4. Dynastic Cycle: rise and fall of dynasties
D. Religion
1. Worshipped gods and nature spirits
2. Ancestors = good fortune
3. Yin = Earth and female forces
4. Yang = Heaven and male forces
E. Science and Technology
1. Shang
a. Studied planets, recorded eclipses, and created an accurate calendar
b. Developed bronze and silk
2. Zhou
a. Made the first books