Ancient Civilization

1. Shang

1.1. The Chinese civilization rose around the Hunag River. China has two rivers, the Hunag and Chang river.

1.2. Shang had the first Chinese dynasty. Rule was passed from brother to brother, then to his oldest son.

1.3. Shang used pictographs for their original writing. By 1300 B.C. the Shang people had a fully developed writing system.

1.4. The oldest records from Shang are oracle bones. These oracle bones have helped scholars learn about the ancient people.

2. Egypt

2.1. Ancient Egypt was centralized around the Nile river. The river was treasured by the Egyptians. When it flooded, the moist ground was then used for crops.

2.2. Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs. They relied on bureaucracy, a tax collected from farmers. The tax was generally paid in food surplus.

2.3. Egyptians used hieroglyphics, a system of symbols that represent words or sounds. Most Egyptians did not know how to write.

2.4. During 3000 B.C. Egypt was split into two kingdoms. According to legends, the first Pharaoh (Narmer), united the two kingdoms.

3. Conceptual Question

3.1. What religions were most common in the ancient civilizations, were they the same?

4. Sumeria

4.1. Sumeria is a plain that is in between the Euphrates and Tigris river.

4.2. The first leaders of Sumeria were priests. Sometimes, after wars, the military leaders would keep control of the city. They became the first kings.

4.3. Summarian priest used pictographs to keep track of goods. The priests created cunniform.

4.3.1. Cunniform is a system of writing that uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things.

4.4. It is unknown whether Sumeria or Egypt created the first type of writing.

5. Indus

5.1. This civilization started near the Indus River. The Indus civilization is now current day India.

5.2. It is believed that the Indus River people had a strong central government. No royal tombs or statues have been found, this leads people to believe that the Indus people didn´t have kings.

5.3. Symbols have been found on pottery and stone seals. But, there aren´t enough of each symbol to be sure of their meaning.

5.4. Most cities had a large citadel (fortress). It is a mystery what purpose they served. They were generally on higher ground to be protected from floods.