Hittite Empire

• 1600 BCE-1178 BCE

Where
• Centered on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia
Religion
• Pagan
• Worshipped many Gods
Social/Political
• king, followed by the heir-apparent
Language
• Mesopotamian Cuneiform script
Written Language
• Semitic Mesopotamian Akkadian language
• various dialects of the Hittite confederation
Shang China
• 1600 BC–c. 1046 BC
Where
• Yellow River Valley, China
Religion
• Chinese Folk Religion
• Shamanism
• Divination and Sacrifice
• Polytheism
• Worship more than one God
• Upper Class Burial
• Richly furnished tombs
• hundreds of commoners, who may have been
slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse
Social/Political
• Monarchy
• Shang King
• Military commander & high priest
Language
• Old Chinese
The Olmec (Mesoamerica)
• 1400–400 BCE
Where
• Middle America
Religion
• Blood Letting and Sacrifice (speculation)
Social/Political
• Rulers
• No evidence of army
• Extensive trade
Language
• Evidence suggest Olmec may have been the first in
central America to have a writing system.
• Epi-Olmec (hieroglyphs)
• Cascajal block
Inca Empire
• 1438–1533
Where
• South America
Religion
• Sapa Inca was head of the state religion
• Reincarnation
Social/Political
• Federalist system
• 4 Unions
• Inca moral code – ama suwa, ama llulla, ama quella
(do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy)
Language
• Quechua languages
(The Olmec, etc.)