Hong Ming
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RELIGION


Use of oracle bones- the shoulder bone of an ox onto which the priest scratched questions for a person’s ancestors
After the bone was heated, the priest interpreted the cracks

All of the Shang citizens shared a religion, at the core of which was the belief that their ancestors lived in a spirit world and, if they worshipped them and gave them sacrifices, the spirit of their ancestor would guide them and keep away as many bad things as they could. To worship their ancestors, the Shang people would place food in a bronze vessel called the Fang Ding Zun, and put wine into a bronze container called the Jia. Every time someone royal died, there would be human and dog sacrifices to help them in the spirit world. They also believed in two other gods, Ruler Above and God of Earth.

From the images given, such as the ritual vessels and the inscbied ox scapula, we know that there is an existand of priests. Conduct a research to learn more about the religion that the people of Shang Civilisation practiced. Blog your answers supported by pictoral or written sources as your evidence.

The Shang worshipped the “Shang Di,” who was the supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places.8 They also worship8ped their ancestors because they believed that although their ancestors lived in heaven after their death, they were still actively involved in the affairs of family and descendants. The kings communicated with their ancestors using oracle bones and made frequent sacrifices to them. As in many other societies, they sacrificed animals to royal ancestors and to various nature gods,9 using sacrifices to ask the ancestors or gods for help and to feed the ancestors or gods to keep them strong.10 They believed that if they failed to properly worship their ancestors, their family and the kingdom would experience many disasters.
Because the Shang believed in the afterlife and ancestor worship, they thought very seriously about burial and what was to accompany the deceased to his or her grave. The vast and elaborate tombs of the Shang royal family are signs of their strong beliefs. Among the many treasures buried in important people’s tombs were the remains of many other people. Some were nameless individuals who had been captured during battle and used as human sacrifices at burials. Others were relatives or lower-ranking dependents of the deceased. This practice of burying lower-ranking people reflected the Shang’s belief that those related to a king or lord by blood or service in life were expected to continue that relationship in death.

Discuss and write down why, how and what had happened to have caused an end to the Shang Dynasty.
The fall of the Shang dynasty was much like that of the Xia dynasty, the last king was a cruel tyrant. Instead of the people overthrowing the king, he was killed by a king from a rival kingdom, the Chou kingdom. The Chou dynasty was part of the Shang kingdom; its civilization was a combination of the Shang culture and that of non-Chinese civilizations.

Shang dynasty video(just for ur information......

part 2

part 3 last part

With your group members , discuss and write down why, how and what had happened to have caused a rapid end to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Present your findings on the powerpoint slides .Support your conclusion with evidence .

a) the indus river changed course and floods no longer fertilized the fields near the cities (river dried up completely)
b)Monsoons (seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall during the summer months) (still occur today in Pakistan)
c) Invaders (belief that Aryan nomads traveled through mountains and attacked the peaceful people for they were very peaceful so they occupied very little or no weapons to defend themselves)
d) a natural disaster (maybe monsoon or earthquake or hurricane)

Question:
Has there been evidence of artifacts found which would indicate that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation had a system of communication? Support your answer with images or data collected and compiled by historians.


This fired steatite button seal from the Kot Dijian Phase (Period 2, 2800-2600 BC) shows a unique pattern that may be an early form of the Harappan script sign that may represent "house" or "temple."

A steatite unicorn seal from Harappa with Indus script. This seal was found in the central area of Mound E and dates to Period 3B or early 3C, around 2450-2200 BC. When pressed into clay the impression will be reversed. Since the Indus script may have been read from right to left, the last two signs visible at the top right hand edge of the seal would in fact be the last two signs of the inscription.

Three clay sealings from the Harappa Phase levels (2600-1900 BC) that may have come from large bundles of goods shipped to the site from a distant region. The clay does not appear to be the same type of clay as found near Harappa and each sealing has the impression of two different seals.

occupations: carving


:workers

:Making pots

You are to gather at least 3 more images taken by historians/archaelogists of bulidings/sturctures/artifacts found in the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Name then and explain its' possible usuage by the people in that civilisation.



They used timber to create the flat roofs of their buildings, there are brick stairways leading to the roofs of many houses, suggesting that roofs were used as recreational areas - as in early Anatolia. Houses were of various sizes, some were small, and others were large with interior courtyards and indoor bathrooms. Several craftsman workshops have been found, such as metalworking, carpentry, and shell-working.


The Great Bath:used for religious bathing.

The earliest furnace was excavated at Balakot, a site of the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to its mature phase (c. 2500-1900 BCE).

The furnace was most likely used for the manufacturing of ceramic objects.

Due to these ancient distillation furnaces, Indians pioneered the zinc extraction for the first time anywhere in the world.
Also residents of Mohenjo-daro used underground furnaces (hypocaust), possibly for heated bathing.

Recap Questions: Chapter 2


1a) What are primary and secondary sources?
Primary sources provide accurate and reliable information about a particular time period, situation,event or happening.There are 4 types of primary sources:written,pictorial,oral and atefacts.
1b)Secondary sources are usually a written record derived from a primary source.They are commonly referred to a second hand account.

2) How do historians make sure that their sources are reliable?

they ensure their sources are reliable by using the 3 C's:Credibility, Consistency and Corroboration.

Credibility:Is the person trustful?
Consistency:measure the two sources is saying the same thing in a same way.
Corroboration:whether the content of the source agrees with that of another.

3)Why is necessary for historians to revise their interpretations of past events?
They had to update themselves and ensure they do not make mistakes.

3)Why is necessary for historians to revise their intepretaions of past events?
They had to make sure they are updated and not make any mistake they had made previously.

Why do we learn history?

1.So that we can understand how people lived in the past.

Name 4 good reasons for studying history

1.We can learn from their mistakes and avoid doing it again in the future.
2.Understand other cultures better.
3.To understand how they invented their things and how they use it.
4.To make life more interesting and learn from the moral.