Chapter 2: New Civilizations in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 2200-250 BCE Flashcards

1
Q

Where did the first Chinese civilization arise?

A

The Shang Dynasty, which rose along the Huang He River around 1750 BCE.

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2
Q

What form of government did the Shang Dynasty have?

A

A warrior aristocracy- a king ruled the core area,and the royal family governed distant outer regions.

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3
Q

What was the Shang military like?

A

The Shang were exceptionally warlike and engaged in near constant battles with the nomads to the north and west, taking PoW for slaves.

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4
Q

Cities in Early China were laid out according to?

A

Feng sui. Cities were laid out in a grild aligned with the North star.

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5
Q

What was the Early Chinese writing system called?

A

Pictographs, with pictures representing objects and syllables. Only the elites knew it.

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6
Q

What was the king’s relationship between the living and the dead/ Gods in the Shang Dynasty?

A

The king acted as an intermediary between the people, their ancestors, and the Gods.

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7
Q

What was divination?

A

The seeking of the future/ will of the Gods by interpreting natural phenomena using oracle bones.

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8
Q

What were the two primary facets of ancient Chinese religion?

A

Ancestor worship and divination.

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9
Q

What material signified nobility and authority during the Shang Dynasty?

A

Bronze.

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10
Q

What were the primary trade goods of the early Chinese?

A

Silk and jade. The Shang Dynasty also excelled in producing bronze objects.

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11
Q

Why did China consider itself the “Middle Kingdom?”

A

China viewed itself as the center of the universe and thus superior to other nations.

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12
Q

What dynasty followed the Shang as rulers of China?

A

The Zhou dynasty followed the Shang, arising out of nomads from the west (Wei River Valley) and conquering much of China by 1045 BCE.

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13
Q

What did the Zhou Dynasty preserve from the Shang?

A

They preserved Shang culture, like the Semites in Mesopotamia adopted the Sumerian legacy.

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14
Q

The Shang used what to justify seizing power?

A

They used propaganda, such as the Mandate of Heaven. They claimed that a ruler was chosen by a deity and supported by the Gods if he served his people well. Corruption, violence, etc like the last Shang ruler signaled divine displeasure and validated replacement.

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15
Q

The Zhou continued some Shang rituals, which led to a decline in what?

A

Divination and priests. There was a separation of religion and government.

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16
Q

What happened during the Western Zhou Era?

A

All government officials were seen as models of morality, and the government was decentralized- members and allies of the royal family ruled.

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17
Q

What happened during the Eastern Zhou Era?

A

The Warring States period and the replacement of bronze with iron/ steel.

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18
Q

What was China’s Warring States Period?

A

A series of civil wars. It arose after a series of weak Zhou emperors failed to prevent collapse, and lead to the fall of the Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty.

19
Q

The expansion of bureaucracy during the Zhou Dynasty was justified by what?

A

Legalism- every aspect of society should be controlled with personal freedom sacrificed for the good of the state.

20
Q

Legalism is?

A

a political philosophy that maintains that humans are naturally evil and will only behave properly if compelled by strict laws and harsh punishments.

21
Q

Confucianism drew parallels between what?

A

Family and state- both are hierarchies.

22
Q

Confucianism is?

A

a philosophy with a more optimistic view of goodness of human nature than Legalism. It sought to keep political and social order by improving.

23
Q

Daoism is?

A

an alternative school of thought to Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty. It said that the world should be accepted as it was found, avoiding useless struggle and violence- passive: the world is always changing and lacks any absolute morality or meaning.

24
Q

What did the emergence of private property in Chinese society lead to?

A

More patriarchy- arranged by Confucian thought.

25
Q

Yin and Yang

A

Complementary nature of male and female roles in natural order. Male= sun: active, bright, shining
Female= moon: passive, shaded, reflective
They were seen as equally dominant at first, but the male principal came to be seen as superior to female.

26
Q

Where was Nubia?

A

Nubia was a kingdom to the south of Egypt, originally conquered by them around 1500 BCE.

27
Q

What was Nubia’s relationship with Egypt?

A

They traded with Egypt during the Old Kingdom.
Egypt became more aggressive during the Middle Kingdom, and sought control of gold mines.
During the New Kingdom Egyptians destroyed Kush and the capital, extending their control to the fourth cataract. Egypt ruled for 500 years and imposed their culture on the natives.

28
Q

Egyptian authority collapsed and the Kingdom of what rose?

A

The Kingdom of Meroë rose, and their culture gradually replaced Egyptian.

29
Q

What did the Meroitic people worship?

A

They worshipped Egyptian Gods and Nubian deities.

30
Q

What system of rule did the Nubians have?

A

A matrilineal system- the king was succeeded by the son of his sister. Nubian queens sometimes ruled alone or with their husband.

31
Q

How did humans reach the Western hemisphere?

A

Through migrations through Asia.

32
Q

The civilizations of the Americas were what?

A

They were isolated for at least 15,000 years. Technology passed between civilizations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, but people in the Americas were alone.

33
Q

What was Olmec?

A

Olmec was first and most influential Mesoamerican civilization. The Olmecs are believed to have influenced later cultures such as the Maya and Aztecs.

34
Q

The Olmecs are primarily remembered for what massive carvings?

A

Monumental stone heads.

35
Q

The Olmecs laid out their cities in alignment with what?

A

Star paths. They had a strong belief in the significance of astronomical events.

36
Q

What did the organization of collective labor lead to?

A

It led to an increased reliable food production and a more diverse diet.

37
Q

The Olmec elite used elaborate religious rituals to do what?

A

To control. Rulers and their kin were associated with Gods through blood. They also performed bloodletting and human sacrifice.

38
Q

The Olmec Gods were what?

A

The Olmecs were polytheistic. They had deities with dual male and female natures, and human and animal blended characteristics.

39
Q

What is Caral?

A

The first city in the Americas. It arose in central Peru along the Supe River near the Andes around 2600 BCE. They were skilled in metallurgy, weaving, and pottery.

40
Q

Who were the Chavìn?

A

The Chavìn were an early Andean/ South American culture that rose around 1000 BCE. They had an extensive road network and raised crops by carving terraces into hills and mountains. They used the llama as a domesticated animal, were known for their elaborate weaving, and were polytheistic. Their main deity was a jaguar.

41
Q

LLAMAS!!!!

A

Llamas were the only domesticated beasts of burden in the Americas. They promoted specialization and provided meat, wool, and decreased labor needed to transport goods.

42
Q

The Olmec participated in what type of sacrifice?

A

Human sacrifice.

43
Q

What burial rituals did the Shang participate in?

A

They sacrificed animals and people, and put bronze objects in tombs. They worshipped ancestors, and the king was an intermediary between people and ancestors.

44
Q

The diverse environment in the Americas led to what?

A

It was challenging, and encouraged specialized production, complex social institutions, cultural values, etc.