An Explosion of Complexity: The Indus Valley and China

Question 1

What is special about Great Zimbabwe?

Answer 1

Stone walls.

Question 2

What is special about the Island of Crete?

Answer 2

Dated to 4000-5000 BP, Temples of Knosses.

Question 3

What are the Justifications for Reconstruction?

Answer 3

National symbolic value, continuing function or re-use, education and research, tourism promotion (safety, money), site preservation.

Question 4

What are Arguments against Reconstruction?

Answer 4

The evocative value of ruined buildings, the difficulty of achieving authenticity, the ethical issue of conveying erroneous information, the destruction of original evidence, the disruption of landscape values, distorted site interpretation, and cost.

Question 5

What is the time period and site of the Indus Valley Civilization?

Answer 5

4500-4000BP. Harappa, Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan and Dholavira, India (5000 BP – 3800 BP).

Question 6

What is important about the Indus River?

Answer 6

3000 km long, source in Tibet, China. Starts in the Himalayas and heads to Arabian Sea. Flows through part of India and Pakistan, provides water for irrigation. Important to the Indus Valley Civilization (4500 BP – 4000 BP) .

Question 7

What is important about Mohenjo-Daro?

Answer 7

Indus Valley Civilization, dated 4500-4000 BP. Excavated in 1922, it had advanced city planning and water management included sewers, great baths, wells. It had standardized weights and measures.

Question 8

What is important about Harappa?

Answer 8

Dated 4500-4000 BP, Indus Valley Civilization. Mounded ruins - Tell – a set of ruins where, with each new generation, more is built on top. First site to be rediscovered with the Indus Valley Civilization. Indus Valley Civilization is sometimes referred to as the Harappan Civilization. City is in a grid-like pattern, Harappan seals used as a stamp, as a way to (perhaps) indicate ownership. Indus script has not been translated.

Question 9

What is important about Dholvira, India?

Answer 9

5000-3800 BP, Indus Valley Civilization. Thought to be a ‘thriving metropolis for 1200 year, evidence of water conservation. Large rock cut reservoirs.

Question 10

What caused the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization?

Answer 10

By 3800 BP the Indus Valley Civilization is no longer mentioned in the Mesopotamian tablets. Looked for evidence of flooding, environmental changes. Perhaps everyone just moved. No longer a peaceful realm?
Suggested that, due to lack of bodies found with trauma, this region was very peaceful, not quite true. Not everyone was treated the same, social differentiation.

Question 11

What is the Lognshan Culture?

Answer 11

China, 5000 BP. Connection to Huang He (Yellow River), connection to water source. Evidence of complexity and socioeconomic inequality. Over 10 000 burial, with differences in wealth/grave goods.

Question 12

What is important about the Huang He?

Answer 12

Yellow River, over 5000 km in length. Name = silt in river gives yellow appearance. Second longest river in China.Thousands of years of construction of levis. Modification of water source, environmental changes can lead to periods of flooding. Breaches of levis → serious consequences.

Question 13

What is important about the Shang Dynasty?

Answer 13

3600 BP. Evidence of social complexity; few rulers over a large area. Falls into historical period of this part of the world; written documents.
Probably elite rulers before, but no documents to back it up. Earliest archaeologically recorded dynasty. Symbols of wealth, status, and power, burial goods interred with Shang nobility:
• Jade
• Bronze
• Ceramics
• Chariots
• Human sacrifices
Different social classes; idea of nobility. System of writing identified 100 years ago → different characters found associated with this Dynasty. System of writing has been maintained in current Chinese culture. Characters found on bronze objects, bones, and tortoise shells, oracles bones. Look at cracks in the bones to tell the future. Connection with ancestors.

Question 14

What is important about Jade in Ancient China?

Answer 14

Translucent and tough → comes in many colours; usually green. Collection of different minerals, mainly calcium and magnesium, iron
Associated with high status, especially when it has been carved and prepared in a special way.

Question 15

When was the unification of China?

Answer 15

221 BCE, 2210 BP. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang, considered to be the first emperor. Took over the throne very young, standardized weights and measures. Introduced uniform writing script. Didn’t have human sacrifices near him burials; had terracotta warriors. Evidence of changing ways of thought.

Question 16

What were the Terracotta Warriors?

Answer 16

Dated to 210 BCE, 2210 BP. 1974, near modern Xi’an. Army of life-size terracotta soldiers and horses. Almost 8 000 terracotta (baked clay) soldiers were buried
Thought that they are associated with the burial of the first emperor (buried close by). Before he took over the throne, people of nobility were buried among their court (human sacrifices → beheaded)
Very heavy → over 600 pounds, would break easily. A mold wasn’t used → individually made. Made by coiling lumps of clay in a certain way. Thought to be made very close by → local material (red clay). Soldiers that have been analyzed all have different faces. Makers stamped each warrior they made → name stamps. Many people working on it → other people dealing with other needs → sign of complexity. Were very colourful, Chinese purple - one of two man made colours before 2000 BP. Chinese purple and Egyptian blue contain mostly the same ingredients → few differences. Differences are great enough to show purple was independently made in China.

Question 17

What is important about the Great Wall of China?

Answer 17

Idea conceived by Emperor Qin. Best preserved section was built during the Mind dynasty, 1368-1644 AD (700 – 400 BP). Not one long wall, many parts that are not connected. Never kept enemies out; perhaps a psychological barrier.

Question 18

What is the Silk Road?

Answer 18

Trade Route. Trade happened in this region for thousands of years Not one road. Transmission of ideas. Intellectual and cultural exchange. Silk in Ancient China was hugely important. Fibres were used for thousands of years.