Sources of Authority Early States in East Asia East Asia Indus Valley Pakistan and India China Japan Central Asia Indus Valley Harappan Civilization Defining characteristic Well planned cities Unidentified rulers Undeciphered language Setting Indus River flows trough Indus Valley Trade networks with Mesopotamia Sea and land routes Agricultural plants and animals from ME Wheat barley sheep goats cattle Chronology Pre Harappan period 5 300 4 600ya First extensive settlements Surrounded by fortifications Harappan period 4 600 3 900 Uniform material remains throughout region Urban centers Collapse debated Invading forces Gradual decline Drainage systems Hygiene control Wells 5 large cities The City Structures in grid pattern 2 larges Harappa Mohenjo Daro Harappa Mohenjo Daro Built on walled mounds Walls for defense Elite Citadel overlooking city Possible granary structures Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro Large sealed basin Ritual cleanse Public pool Division of Space Dholavira India Walls separating neighborhoods Lower Middle Upper areas Large courtyards public gathering Movement restricted by status Writing Harappan script Not deciphered 400 signs short inscriptions Mark clay copper gold bronze stone Logographic words or ideographic concepts Depictions of deities and mythical animals Government Highly organized cities Used writing system Standardized measurements Stone weights Bricks all standard But structure remains unclear Unknowns Elite identity Claim to power Relations between social strata Elites did not construct monuments elaborately bury dead They displayed their statuses through headdresses jewelry Silk 2000 years before developed in China Elaborate textiles and clothing China Xia Shang Zhou 4 200 2 600ya Northern China Yi Lou valley Urban state societies emerge Early Urban Centers Yanshi and Erlitou Settlement hierarchy Urban center peripheral villages Regional settlement organization Xia Dynasty Erlitou Largest site in Yi Lou Valley Possible capital of Xia Dynasty Two palace enclosures Elite goods Bronze and jade Shang Dynasty Anyang Capital city of Shang Dynasty Palace temple area Residence temples ceremonial function House types Commoner elite Anyang Burials 1 000 simple burials Sacrificial victims Tomb of Fu Hao 11 deep burial pits both found in cemeteries Female buried in Palace temple area Found with bronze and jade Shang Dynasty 15 000 oracle bones Ceremony Heat creates cracks Oracle reads cracks Sanxingdui Near Anyang Major urban center Some unique Gilded bronze head Similar material remains to Anyang Carved script that talk about the question that was asked the predictions that was made and then the actual outcomes