ThE SHANG DYNASTY

RELIGION

• The Shang believed that when a person died, they would go to the afterlife.
• Ancestor worship was honoring ancestors through rituals
• King used oracle bone to ask advice on hunting, building new cities, and whether to go to war
• This room represents and has the bodies that were buried here.

ART

• showed great skill in working with bronze.
• produced outstanding jade pieces.
• The most common picture was an animal mask
• They made pots like this one.

WRITING

• The inscriptions on oracle bones are some of the earliest known examples of Chinese writing.
• People also used logographs that were characters that stand out for words.
• A written language played a major role in unifying Chinese people
• They used these to carve oracle bones.

GOVERMENT

• The government was led by a powerful King who controlled the land.
• Shang kings depended on strong armies to maintain their rule.
• The armies were powerful because of bronze weapons
• Armies were made up of many foot soldiers, archers, and fighters in chariots

TECHNOLOGY

• Working with bronze was an important technology
• They used bronze to make arrowheads, axe heads, and helmets.
• The bronze-making skill is one of the reasons they were to remain in power for more than 500 years
• This weapon is made of bronze.

NOBLES

• They were the highest ranking class after the ruling family
• They fought in the king's army and provided weapons, foot soldiers,
• They enjoyed a life of luxury

CRAFTSPEOPLE

• They were a small social class.
• Bronze and jade workers, potters, and stonemasons
• Bronze workers were valued because they made weapons

TRADERS

• Scholars believed that the Shang traded extensively.
• They mostly traded goods using a type of seashells

FARMERS

• They were the largest social class in Shang society.
• They kept only enough to feed themselves and their families

SLAVES

• Slaves had often been captured in wars.
• They spent their lives building tombs and palaces.

SHANG SOCIAL CLASSES

• Nobles
• Craftspeople
• Traders
• Farmers
• Slaves