This painting shows social structure because there is a royal in the painting and also servants on either side of him.
This artifact was from the Shang dynasty because it shows a ruler with servant, or slaves, beside him.

The Social Classes:
1. Nobles were the highest class after the ruling family. They often provided soldiers for the king. Nobles also lived in luxury.

2. Craftspeople did not include many people. It is made up of people who create weopons for the Shang warriors.

3. Traders traded mostly goods. They used cowrie shells as money. The shells were valuble because they came from far away places.

4. Farmers were the largest social class in the Shang society. They grew wheat, fruits, vegetables, etc. They grew crops on the land of nobles or the king. They used mostly wooden and stone tools to farm. Although they might grow lots of crops, they were only allowed to keep enough to feed their family and themselves.

5. Slaves were often captured in war. They spent most of their lives working for other people, building buildings and tombs. When their master died, the slaves might have been sacrificed so they'll could serve their master in the afterlife.

This oracle bone shows writing because it has characters that represent words. The oracle bones were the earliest known example that had Chinese characters in them.

This artifact was from the Shang dynasty because it was when Chinese characters were created. People used oracle bones to write on, like a tablet used to write on.

The Shang people used logographs and pictographs. Logograph are characters that symbolize words. They used logographs so they could communicate with everyone else using written characters.

The jade spear shows the Shang government because the Shang government was made up of the army. The jade spear symbolize the armies because it shows that there was a army, fighting with weapons.

The Shang government was made up of the army. The army was crucial to the Shang because it provided protection from enemies and also helped the Shang conquer more territory.

This sculpture of an elephant was from the Shang dynasty. It shows the technology of the Shang because they were one of the first people to create bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. This sculpture is from the Shang because they were where the first ones to create bronze.

Technology in the Shang dynasty was bronze because it helped the army. Craftspeople crafted weapons for the army, and also created decorative vessels.

This oracle bone also symbolizes religion. It symbolizes religion in the Shang dynasty because people believed in ancestor worship. They used oracle bones to tell the future. They believed that the advice given from the bone was from their ancestors. This oracle bone is from the Shang dynasty because it has a crack in it that Shang people used to tell the future.

The Shang people believed in ancestor worship. They held rituals and offered food to their ancestors. They used oracle bones to tell the future. They put a hot needle into the bone to crack it, and depending on the crack, they could tell what would happen. They believed that the message was advice from their ancestors.

This jade sculpture shows art during the Shang dynasty. Craftspeople made jade pendants to represent power, wisdom, and kindness. They sawed, filed, and sanded the hard jade to make beautiful jewelry. This jade was from the Shang dynasty because jade was treasured and wore often during the Shang dynasty.

Art in Shang was created mostly by the craftspeople. They made vessels out of bronze. They also created jewelry out of jade.

I think the Shang dynasty was a civilization because it had all its basic needs. They had a strong army with bronze weapons. They also had a social structure so people wouldn't fight over power. They had a religion they could follow, and could also communicate using the language they created. All these reasons add up to a good civilization.