Indus Valley

Chapter 1: AP WORLD Notes

Indus Valley:
Ancient India
Sites: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Along Indus River
Harappan Culture: Origins
Mixture
Geog advantages
Surplus -> urbanization
City Life
Problems in knowing 1) languages 2) flooding 3) no list of kings
Seals/Stamps
Highly organized, planned cities
Trade
Trading posts near resources
Standardized weights and measures
Decline
Arayan invaders

Yellow and Yangzi River:
China
Large cities develop, bureaucracy, writing (longer)
Geography different
Few pressures (drought)
Fewer domesticated animals
Isolated
Xia (Dynasty)
Longshan
Liangzhu
Shang @1600BCE
Kings: def Xia, highly personalized rule
Grew from need to settle disputes among towns
Zenith 1200 BCE
Metal industry, pottery, divination using animal bones (oracle bones), large palaces
Bronze foundries, jade/ivory
Kings made powerful by controlling metal/agriculture
Patrilineal and patriarchal
Ancestor worship justified king’s power

T/E and Nile:
| Mesopotamia | Egypt |
Geography | T/E Fertile CrescentMntns caused irreg flood | NileSahara = isolation, peaceReg flood |
Rivers | T/E: flooding (limited resources)   Conflict   walled cities   | Nile: flooding |
Architecture | Ziggurat | Pyramids |
Writing | Cuneiform | Hieroglyphics |
Education | Science/Astronomy emphasisNumber system*Cosmopolitan | MathematicsCalendar for floodingSelf-contained |
Religion | Beer relatedPolytheismNo afterlife, Gilgamesh | Beer relatedPolytheismOrdered afterlife, Book of the Dead |
Cities | UrUrukBabylon | MemphisThebes |
Literature | Epic of GilgameshKing in search of immortality | Book of the DeadRecitations to the gods |
Art | Sculpture | Statues, portraits |
Rulers | Regional kings,   city-statesPower connected to religionHammurabi’s Code | PharaohPharaoh controlled econ Theocracy |

Though Meso and Egypt were both polytheistic, the Mesopotamians concerned themselves with surviving this life, while the Egyptians prepared... [continues]

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