Ancient China: The Shang Dynasty

Ancient China
The Shang Dynasty

What do Shang artifacts reveal about this civilization?

Capital City

• Archaeologist excavated the ruins at Anyang in 1928.

• King's palace sat on a platform. Under human bones were found. This makes them believe that human sacrifices were made.

• Human sacrifice was also part of Shang burials.

• Nine royal tombs were found, buried with slaves, servants, & animals.

Multiple Select

It is believed the Shang's believed in life after death, which is why they were buried with metal vessels and containers of food, treasures, weapons, jade ornaments, bone carvings, pottery, sculptures, and chariots. Which two of these would a royal family member also be buried with?

• weapons, money, and food.

• Egyptian pharaohs, Greek God statues, and scribes.

• sacrificed slaves, servants, and animals

Shang Government

• Government led by a King, who made smaller kingdoms by his younger brothers & nephews.

• When the king died, power was passed to younger brother or son.

• Depended on strong armies to defend and expand.

• Armies had weapons of bronze, which they learned to make.

• Shang armies were terrifying.

Multiple Choice

Which of these two elements do you think were used to make bronze?

• Ink & Metal

• Copper & Tin

• Silver & Gold

• Iron & Diamonds

Social Class

• Nobles - Ruling Family.

• Artisans - Potters, Bronze Maker

• Traders - In charge of Trade

• Farmers - Largest class

• Slaves - Very bottom, many were prisoners of war. Spent their life building tombs & palaces.

Multiple Choice

Which of these members from the social class were skilled craftsmen who created beautiful art, such as jade jewelry?

• Slaves

• Artisans

• Nobles

• Farmers

Multiple Choice

Which of these social class members provided the Shang dynasty with its food supply?

• Artisans

• Traders

• Slaves

• Farmers

Multiple Choice

Which member from this social class acquired currency that the Shang used?

• Nobles

• Slaves

• Farmers

• Traders

Religion

• Religion centered on ancestor worship.

• Kings' tombs show that they believed in life after death.

• The King inherited the right to rule

• Kings used oracle bones to seek advise from ancestors (when to hunt, where to build cities, and whether to go to war. A holy man would or king would translate the message.

Multiple Choice

Oracle Bones were used to...

• behead prisoners and slaves during human sacrifices

• seek advice from ancestors.

• hunt turtles from above the water's surface

• carve religious art into the walls of temples

Writing

• Inscriptions on oracle bones are among the earliest known examples of Chinese writing.

• Early Chinese writing contained only pictographs, images that stand for objects.

• People were also using logographs, characters that stand for words.

• Written language helped unify the Chinese people. Spoken language varied place to place.

Multiple Choice

Characters that stand for words are...

• Pictographs

• Inscriptions

• Accents

• Logographs

Art

• Artists showed great skills in working with bronze.

• Beautiful vessels & other objects were made.

• Designs had pictures of mythical creatures.

• Many mask were used, which is believed to be symbols of all the beings in the world.

• Made remarkable pieces of jade, which represented a superior person.

Multiple Choice

It is said that masks were used by artisans in many of their designs. These masks represent all types of humans in the world.

• True

• False

Technology

Bronze was an important technology for the Shang. Bronze was used to make tools of war like arrowheads, spearheads, ax heads, and helmets. This skill is one of the reasons they were able to stay in power for more than 500 years.

Multiple Choice

Which of these items was NOT made with bronze by the Shang artisans.

The End

• The Shang were great in war and allowing the rich to stay rich.

• The constant war weakened the military power.

• Shang used cowrie shells for money. The king and nobles spent a lot of money on themselves.

• The Zhou (joh) got stronger & took control. It is said the king put all his jewelry on and jumped into flames of fire.

Multiple Select

Which three of these events led to the end of the Shang dynasty?

• Shang government spent too much money helping the poor.

• Zhou armies conquered the Shang.

• Constant fighting weakened the mighty Shang military.

• Overspending in the upper classes weakened the Shang economy.

Open Ended

What do Shang artifacts reveal about this civilization?