THE BRONZE AGE: NEW CIVILIZATIONS IN THE EASTERN & WESTERN HEMISPHERES Mr. Ermer Miami Beach Senior High School World History AP.

THE BRONZE AGE: NEW CIVILIZATIONS IN THE EASTERN & WESTERN HEMISPHERES

Mr. Ermer

Miami Beach Senior High School

World History AP

The Huang He River Valley

China = isolated by natural barriers Himalaya mountains in SW Pamir Mountains, Tian Mountains, Gobi Desert in West Mongolian Steppe to the NW Pacific Ocean to the East

Minimal contact w/ rest of Asia = distinct development

Various climate zones (Subarctic to Subtropical) Loess deposits create fertile agricultural lands

Colors the Yellow River Northern China farms millet and wheat Southern China farms rice

Shang Dynasty (1750-1027 B.C.E.)

Neolithic Chinese (Xia Dynasty) Silk production, pounded earth walls, pottery, livestock, grain

Enters Bronze Age c. 2000 BCE (later than W. Asia) Earliest written records in China—pictograms & phonetic Warrior culture, military campaigns against nomads

POWs taken as slaves to Shang capital Decentralized political system, clan leaders rule locally Cities were administrative/religious centers—feng shui

Most common people lived in farming villages Divination and sacrifice Bronze = sign of authority

Shang Artifacts

Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 BCE)

1027: Last Shang king defeated by Zhou leader, Wu Zhou adopt many Shang cultural elements, add

new ones The Mandate of Heaven

Decline in divination, priestly power, sacrifice Continued decentralization of political power

800 BCE: Shift from Western capital to Eastern capital Zhou power destabelized, local leaders increase

power, war 480-221: Warring States Period

Long protective walls, mounted soldiers, steel production

Legalism

Chinese Society: Confucianism & Daoism

Aristocrats seek to influence Zhou leaders Kongzi “Confucius” (551-479 BCE) is such an

aristocrat Governments = family, hierarchy, human goodness,

anti-Legalist Ren (familial benevolence) = moral government

Daoism founded by Laozi, “follow the path (dao)” Accept the world as is, follow natural path

Clan-based kinship replaced by three-generation family Women subordinate to men, Confucius equates

to commoners Monogamous marriage, but men allowed concubines Yin and Yang = different roles for women and men

Kushite Nubia (3100-1100 BCE)

Connects N. Africa to Sub-Saharan Africa Heavily influenced by Egypt with sub-Saharan

elements Nile River = main geographic feature

Irrigated farmlands, cataracts, portaged trade Kush = powerful Nubian kingdom

Kerma (capital) = First urban center in tropical Africa Kushite craftsmen more advanced than Egyptians

Destroyed by New Kingdom Egyptian army Egyptian culture, religion, architecture adopted

by Kushites

Meroitic Nubia (800 BCE- 350 CE)

Egyptian power weakens, loses control of Nubia 712-660 BCE Nubian kings rule Egypt as pharaohs

Assyrian invasion ends Nubian rule in Egypt, kings retreat to Nubia

500s: New Nubian kingdom based in Meroë in the south Sub-Saharan culture begins to replace Egyptian model

Matrilineal family succession, women often ruled as queen Economy based on trade and agriculture 350: Meroitic kingdom collapses

Western nomads attack on camels Trade with Rome declines as it shifts to Red Sea Rise of Axum (Aksum) in Ethiopia lessens regional

influence

The Americas (1200-250 BCE)

First Americans migrated from Asia in waves Isolated in the western hemisphere

Mesoamerica & Andean region develop the most

Limited trade encourages urbanization Irrigation and large-scale building practiced Olmec and Chavin peoples project power

over regions

The Olmec (1200-400 BCE)

Dominated Mesoamerica Microclimates produce variety of climate zones

Leads to trade and cultural exchange The Olmec centered on Atlantic coast of southern Mexico

Influence stretches much further to Pacific & Central America Production of corn, beans, and squash Urban centers eventually abandoned, destroyed, buried Cities designed on basis of celestial bodies (stars) Kingship based on secular and religious power

Large stone heads carved to honor individual leaders Olmec culture influenced later Mesoamerican cultures

The Chavin (900-250 BCE)

Mountains, arid coastal plains, dense interior jungles Complex social institutions, regional exchange,

shared labor Chavin capital, Chavin de Huantar, 10,300

ft. in Andes On trade routes connecting coast to mountain

valleys Communal shared labor used for infrastructure

building Llamas domesticated as beasts of burden Terraced agriculture, adobe brick