Chapter 2 China and Americas

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38

Wall Painting of Nubians Arriving inEgypt with Rings and Bags of Gold,

Fourteenth Century B.C.E This image

decorated the tomb of an Egyptianadministrator in Nubia. (Courtesy of theTrustees of the British Museum)

How did early Chinese rulers use religion to justify and

strengthen their power?

How did the technological and cultural influences of

Egypt affect the formation of Nubia?

What role did nature and the environment play in the

development of early civilizations in the Americas?

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Around 2200 B.C.E. an Egyptian official named Harkhuf, wholived at Aswan on the southern boundary of Egypt, set out for aplace called Yam, far to the south in the land that later came to be

called Nubia. He had made this trek three times before, so he was fa-

miliar with the route and skillful in dealing with various Nubian

chieftains along the way. He brought gifts from the Egyptian pharaoh

for the ruler of Yam, and he returned home with three hundred don-

keys loaded with incense, dark ebony wood, ivory, panthers, andother exotic products from tropical Africa. While this exchange was

couched in the diplomatic fiction of gifts, we should probably regard

it as a form of trade and Harkhuf as a brave and enterprising caravan

39

CHAPTER OUTLINE

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2New Civilizationsin the Easternand Western

Hemispheres,2200250 B.C.E.

Early China, 2000221 B.C.E.

Nubia, 3100 B.C.E.350 C.E.

First Civilizations of the Americas: The Olmec and Chavn,1200250 B.C.E.

Comparative Perspectives

ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY: Divination in Ancient Societies

DIVERSITY AND DOMINANCE: Human Nature and Good Government in

the Analects of Confucius and the Legalist Writings of Han Fei

Harkhuf(HAHR-koof) Aswan (AS-wahn)



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leader. On this particular trip he returned with some-

thing so special that the eight-year-old boy pharaoh,Pepi II, could not contain his excitement. He wrote:

Come north to the residence at once! Hurry and bring

with you this pygmy whom you brought from the land

of the horizon-dwellers live, hale, and healthy, for the

dances of the god, to gladden the heart, to delight the

heart of king Neferkare [Pepi] who lives forever! When

he goes down with you into the ship, get worthy men to

be around him on deck, lest he fall into the water! When

he lies down at night, get worthy men to lie around himin his tent. Inspect ten times at night! My majesty de-

sires to see this pygmy more than the gifts of the mine-

land and of Punt!1

Although the precise location of Yam is uncertain,

scholars are beginning to identify it with Kerma, later

the capital of the kingdom of Nubia, on the upper Nile

in modern Sudan. From the Egyptian point of view,

Nubia was a wild and dangerous place. Yet we can seethat it was developing features of more complex polit-

ical organization, and this illustration demonstrates

how vibrant the commerce and cultural interaction

between Nubia and Egypt would later become.

In contrast to the river-valley civilizations of

Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley surveyed in

the previous chapter, the complex societies examined

in this chapter subsequently emerged in ecological

conditions quite a bit more diverse, sometimes inde-pendently, sometimes under the influence of the

older centers. Whereas the river-valley civilizations

were originally largely self-sufficient, each of the new

civilizations discussed in this chapter and the next

was shaped by the development of networks of long-

distance trade.

In the second millennium B.C.E. a civilization

based on irrigation agriculture arose along the valleyof the Yellow River and its tributaries in northern

China. In the same epoch, in Nubia (southern Egypt

and northern Sudan), the first complex society in

tropical Africa continued to develop from the roots

observed earlier by Harkhuf. The first millennium

B.C.E. witnessed the flourishing of the earliest complex

societies of the Western Hemisphere, the Olmec of

Mesoamerica and the Chavn culture on the flanks of

the Andes Mountains in South America. These soci-eties had no contact with one another, and they repre-

sent a variety of responses to different environmental

and historical circumstances. Thus, their stories will

necessarily be separate. However, as we shall see, they

have certain features in common and collectively

point to a distinct stage in the development of human

societies.

Early China, 2000221 B.C.E.

On the eastern edge of the great Eurasian landmass,Neolithic cultures developed as early as 8000 B.C.E.A more complex civilization evolved in the second mil-lennium B.C.E. Under the Shang and Zhou monarchsmany of the institutions and values of classical Chinesecivilization emerged and spread south and west. As inMesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley, the rise of

cities, specialization of labor, bureaucratic government,writing, and other advanced technologies depended onthe exploitation of a great river systemthe Yellow River(Huang He) and its tributariesto support intensiveagriculture. Although there is archaeological evidence ofsome movement of goods and ideas between westernand eastern Asia, developments in China were largely in-dependent of the complex societies in the Middle Eastand the Indus Valley.

China is isolated from the restof the Eastern Hemisphere byformidable natural barriers:the Himalaya mountain range

on the southwest; the Pamir and Tian Mountains andthe Takla Makan Desert on the west; the Gobi Desertand the treeless and grassy hills and plains of the Mon-golian steppe on the northwest (see Map 2.1). To the eastlies the Pacific Ocean. Although Chinas separation wasnot totaltrade goods, people, and ideas moved back

and forth between China, India, and Central Asiainmany respects its development was distinctive.

Most of East Asia is covered with mountains, mak-ing overland travel, transport, and communications

Geography andResources

40

Huang He (hwahng-HUH) Himalaya (him-uh-LAY-uh)Pamir (pah-MEER) Tian (tee-en)Takla Makan (TAH-kluh muh-KAHN) Gobi (GO-bee)



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difficult and slow. The great river systems of easternChina, howeverthe Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers andtheir tributariesfacilitate east-west movement. In the

eastern river valleys dense populations could practiceintensive agriculture; on the steppe lands of Mongolia,the deserts and oases of Xinjiang, and the high plateauof Tibet sparser populations engaged in different formsof livelihood. The climate zones of East Asia range fromthe dry, subarctic reaches of Manchuria in the north to

the lush, subtropical forests of the south, and they sup-port a rich variety of plant and animal life adapted tothese zones.

Within the eastern agricultural zone, the north andthe south have strikingly different environments. Eachzone produced distinctive patterns for the use of theland, the kinds of crops that could flourish, and the or-ganization of agricultural labor. The monsoons that af-fect India and Southeast Asia (see Chapter 1) drenchsouthern China with heavy rainfall in the summer, themost beneficial time for agriculture. Northern China, incontrast, where rainfall is much more erratic, receives

Early China, 2000221 B.C.E. 41

Yangzi(yang-zuh) Xinjiang (shin-jyahng)

China Nubia Americas

2500 B.C.E.

2000 B.C.E.

1500 B.C.E.

1000 B.C.E.

500 B.C.E.

C H R O N O L O G Y

80002000 B.C.E. Neolithiccultures

2000 B.C.E. Bronze metallurgy

17501027 B.C.E. Shang dynasty

1027221 B.C.E. Zhou dynasty

600 B.C.E. Iron metallurgy

4500 B.C.E. Early agriculture inNubia

2200 B.C.E. Harkhufs expeditionsto Yam

1750 B.C.E. Rise of kingdom ofKush based on Kerma

1500 B.C.E. Egyptian conquest ofNubia

1000 B.C.E. Decline of Egyptiancontrol in Nubia

750 B.C.E. Rise of kingdom basedon Napata

712660 B.C.E. Nubian kingsrule Egypt

300 B.C.E.350 C.E. Kingdom ofMero

3500 B.C.E. Early agriculture inMesoamerica and Andes

2600 B.C.E. Rise of Caral

1200900 B.C.E. Rise of Olmeccivilization, centered on SanLorenzo

900600 B.C.E. La Venta, thedominant Olmec center

900250 B.C.E. Chavncivilization in the Andes

600400 B.C.E. Ascendancy of

Tres Zapotes and Olmec decline

500 B.C.E.Early metallurgyin Andes



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less moisture. As in Mesopotamia and the Indus Val-ley, where technological and social developments un-folded in relatively adverse conditions, Chinas earlyhistory unfolded on the northern plains, a demandingenvironment that stimulated important technologiesand political traditions as well as the philosophical

and religious views that became hallmarks of Chinesecivilization. By the third century C.E., however, thegradual flow of population toward the warmer south-ern lands caused the political and intellectual centerto move south.

The eastern river valleys and the North China Plain con-tained timber, stone, scattered deposits of metals, and, aboveall, potentially productive land. Since prehistoric times, windsblowing from Central Asia have deposited a yellowish-brown

dust called loess(these particles suspended in the water givethe Yellow River its distinctive hue and name). Over the agesa thick mantle of soil has accumulated that is extremely fer-tile and soft enough to be worked with wooden diggingsticks. The lack of compactness of this soil accounts for theseverity of earthquake damage in this region.

In this landscape, agriculture demanded the coordi-nated efforts of large groups of people. In parts of north-ern China forests had to be cleared. Recurrent floods onthe Yellow River necessitated the construction of earthendikes and channels to carry off the overflow. To cope withthe periodic droughts, catch basins (reservoirs) were dugto store river water and rainfall. As the population grew,

42 CHAPTER 2 New Civilizations in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 2200250 B.C.E.

loess (less)

Mek

ong

HuangHe

(Yellow)

Yang zi

Xi

Wei

Bay of Bengal

Yellow

Se a

Ea st

ChinaSe a

South

China

Se a

Sea of

Ja pa n

Xi'anLuoyang

Anyang

Zhengzhou

.STMAY

ALA

MIH

TaklaMakan

Dese

rt

GOBI D

E SER

T

TIBETAN PLATEAU

MAN

CHU

RIAN

PLA

IN

PAM

IRS

M O N G O L I A N

S T E P P E

TIAN MTS.

NORTHCHINA

PLAIN

X I N J I A N G

HEN AN

CHINE

SE TURKISTA

N JAPAN

KOREA

INDIA VIETNAM

(ANNAM)BURMA

TAIWAN

GANSU

Southern limit ofwheat cultivation/northern limit ofrice cultivation

Shang dynasty

Early Zhou dynasty

Late Zhou, Warring States period

Winter monsoon winds

Summer monsoon winds

Excavated Zhou city sites

0 300 600 Km.

0 300 600 Mi.

Map 2.1 China in the Shang and Zhou Periods, 1750221 B.C.E. The Shang dynasty arose in the second millenniumB.C.E. in the floodplain of the Yellow River. While southern China benefits from the monsoon rains, northern China depends onirrigation. As population increased, the Han Chinese migrated from their eastern homeland to other parts of China, carrying

their technologies and cultural practices. Other ethnic groups predominated in more outlying regions, and the nomadicpeoples of the northwest constantly challenged Chinese authority.



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people built retaining walls to partition the hillsides intotiers of flat, arable terraces.

The staple crops in the northern region were millet,a grain indigenous to China, and wheat, which hadspread to East Asia from the Middle East. Rice requires awarmer climate and prospered in the south. The cultiva-tion of rice in the Yangzi River Valley and the south re-quired a great outlay of labor. Rice paddiesthe fieldswhere rice is grownmust be absolutely flat and sur-rounded by water channels to bring and lead away wateraccording to a precise schedule. Seedlings sprout in anursery and are transplanted one by one to the paddy,

which is then flooded. Flooding eliminates weeds and ri-val plants and supports microscopic organisms thatkeep the soil fertile. When the crop is ripe, the paddy isdrained; the rice stalks are harvested with a sickle; andthe edible kernels are separated out. The reward for thiseffort is a spectacular yield. Rice can feed more peopleper cultivated acre than any other grain, which explainswhy the south eventually became more populous andimportant than the north.

Archaeologists have identifiedseveral Neolithic cultural com-plexes in China, primarily onthe basis of styles of pottery

and forms of burial. These early populations grew millet,raised pigs and chickens, and used stone tools. Theymade pottery on a wheel and fired it in high-tempera-ture kilns. They pioneered the production of silk cloth,first raising silkworms on mulberry trees, then carefullyunraveling their cocoons to produce silk thread. The

early Chinese built walls of pounded earth by hammer-ing the soil inside temporary wooden frames until it be-came hard as cement. By 2000 B.C.E. they had begun tomake bronze (roughly a thousand years after the begin-nings of bronze-working in the Middle East).

Later generations of Chinese told stories about theancient dynasty of the Xia, said to have ruled the core re-gion of the Yellow River Valley. The validity of those sto-ries is difficult to gauge, though some archaeologistsidentify the Xia with the Neolithic Longshan cultural

complex in the centuries before and after 2000 B.C.E. Chi-nese history proper begins with the rise to power of theShang clans, which coincides with the earliest writtenrecords anywhere in China.

The Shang originated in the part of the Yellow RiverValley that lies in the present-day province of Henan.

The Shang Period,17501027 B.C.E.

After 1750 B.C.E. they extended their control north intoMongolia, west as far as Gansu, and south to the YangziRiver Valley. Shang society was dominated by a warrioraristocracy whose greatest pleasures were warfare, hunt-ing (for recreation and to fine-tune skills required forwar), exchanging gifts, feasting, and wine-filled revelry.

The king and his court ruled the core area of theShang state directly. Aristocrats served as generals, am-bassadors, and supervisors of public projects. Othermembers of the royal family and high-ranking nobilitygoverned outlying provinces. The most distant regionswere governed by native rulers who swore allegiance to

the Shang king. The king was often on the road, travelingto the courts of his subordinates to reinforce their loyalty.


Bronze Vessel from the Shang Period, 13th11th Century B.C.E.

Vessels such as this large wine jar were used in rituals that allowed

members of the Shang ruling class to make contact with their ances-

tors. Signifying both the source and the proof of the elites authority,

these vessels were often buried in Shang tombs. The complex shapes

and elaborate decorations testify to the artisans skill. (Tokyo National

Museum Image: TNM Image)

Shang (shahng) Henan (heh-nahn) Gansu (gahn-soo)


ll h d / /


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Frequent military campaigns provided the warrioraristocracy with a theater for brave achievements andyielded considerable plunder. The nomadic peoples whooccupied the steppe and desert regions to the north andwest were periodically rolled back and given a demon-stration of Shang power. (Chinese sources refer to thesepeoples as barbarians. Modern readers should be waryof the Chinese claim that these nomads were culturallybackward and morally inferior to the Chinese.) Largenumbers of prisoners of war were taken in these cam-paigns and used as slaves in the Shang capital.

Various cities served as the capital of the Shang king-

dom. The last and most important was near modernAnyang (see Map 2.1). Shang cities were centers of polit-ical control and religion. Surrounded by massive walls ofpounded earth, they contained palaces, administrativebuildings and storehouses, royal tombs, shrines of godsand ancestors, and houses of the nobility. The commonpeople lived in agricultural villages outside these cen-ters. Because stone was in short supply, buildings wereset on foundation platforms of pounded earth and con-structed with wooden posts and dried mud. These cities,

which were laid out on a grid plan aligned with the northpolar star and had gates opening to the cardinal direc-tions, are an early manifestation of the Chinese concernwith the orientation of buildings known as feng shui,and they symbolized the order imposed by gods andmonarchs.

A key to effective administration was the form ofwriting developed in this era. Pictograms (pictures rep-resenting objects and concepts) and phonetic symbolsrepresenting the sounds of syllables were combined toform a complex system of hundreds of signs. Only a

small, educated elite had the time to master this sys-tem. Despite substantial changes through the ages, thefundamental principles of the Chinese system still en-dure today. As a result, people speaking essentially dif-ferent languages, such as Mandarin and Cantonese,can read and understand the same text. In contrast, thecuneiform of Mesopotamia and the hieroglyphics ofEgypt were eventually replaced by simpler alphabeticscripts.

The Shang ideology of kingship glorified the king as

the indispensable intermediary between the people andthe gods. The Shang royal family and aristocracy wor-shiped the spirits of their male ancestors. They believedthat these ancestors were intensely interested in the for-tunes of their descendants and had special influencewith the gods. Before taking any action, the Shang rulers

used divination to determine the will of the gods (seeEnvironment and Technology: Divination in Ancient So-cieties). They made ritual sacrifices to their gods and an-cestors in order to win divine favor. Burials of kings alsoentailed sacrifices, not only of animals but also of hu-mans, including noble officials of the court, women, ser-vants, soldiers, and prisoners of war.

Possession of bronze objects was a sign of authorityand nobility. Bronze weapons allowed the state to assertits authority, and bronze vessels were used in ritualsseeking the support of ancestors and gods. The quantityof bronze objects found in Shang tombs is impressive.

The relatively modest tomb of one queen contained 450bronze articles (ritual vessels, bells, weapons, and mir-rors)remarkable because copper and tin, the principalingredients of bronze, were not plentiful in northernChina. (Also found in the same tomb were numerous ob-jects in jade, bone, ivory, and stone; seven thousandcowrie shells; sixteen sacrificed men, women, and chil-dren; and six dogs!) The Shang elite expended huge ef-fort to find and mine deposits of copper and tin, refinethem into pure metal, transport the ingots to the capital,

and commission the creation of weapons and beauti-fully decorated objects.Artisans worked in foundries outside the main

cities. They poured the molten bronze into clay moldsand joined together the hardened pieces as necessary.Shang artisans made weapons, chariot fittings, musicalinstruments, and the ritual vessels used in religious cer-emonies. Many of these elegant vessels were vividly dec-orated with stylized depictions of real and imaginaryanimals.

Far-reaching networks of trade sprang up across

China, bringing the Shang valued commodities such asjade, ivory, and mother of pearl (a hard, shiny substancefrom the interior of mollusk shells) used for jewelry,carved figurines, and decorative inlays. Some evidencesuggests that Shang China may have exchanged goodsand ideas with distant Mesopotamia. The horse-drawnchariot, which the Shang may have adopted from west-ern Asia, was a formidable instrument of war.

Shang domination of centraland northern China lastedmore than six centuries. In theeleventh century B.C.E. the last

Shang king was defeated by Wu, the ruler of Zhou, a de-pendent state in the Wei River Valley. The Zhou line of

The Zhou Period,1027221B.C.E.


Anyang (ahn-yahng) feng shui (fung shway) Zhou (joe) Wei (way)


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Divination in Ancient Societies

The ancient inhabitants of China, the Middle East, Europe,and the Americas, as well as many other peoples through-out history, believed that the gods controlled the forces of

nature and shaped destinies. Starting from this premise, theypracticed various techniques of divinationthe effort to in-terpret phenomena in the natural world as signs of the godswill and intentions. Through divination the ancients soughtto communicate with the gods and thereby anticipateeveninfluencethe future.

The Shang ruling class in China frequently sought infor-mation from shamans, individuals who claimed the ability tomake direct contact with ancestors and other higher powers.The Shang monarch himself often functioned as a shaman.

Chief among the tools of divination used by a shaman wereoracle bones. The shaman touched a tortoiseshell or theshoulder bone of an animal (sometimes holes hadbeen drilled in it ahead of time) with the heatedpoint of a stick. The shell or bone would crack,and the cracks were read as a message fromthe spirit world.

Tens of thousands of oracle bones survive.They are a major source of informationabout Shang life; usually the question, the

resulting answer, and often confirmationof the accuracy of the prediction were in-scribed on the back of the shell or bone.The rulers asked about the proper per-formance of ritual, the likely outcome ofwars or hunting expeditions, the prospectsfor rainfall and the harvest, and the mean-ing of strange occurrences.

In Mesopotamia in the third and second millennia B.C.E.the most important divination involved the close inspectionof the form, size, and markings of the organs of sacrificedanimals. Archaeologists have found models of sheeps liversaccompanied by written explanations of the meaning of var-

ious features. Two other techniques of divination were fol-lowing the trail of smoke from burning incense and examiningthe patterns that resulted when oil was thrown on water.

From about 2000 B.C.E. Mesopotamian diviners foretoldthe future from their observation of the movements of thesun, moon, planets, stars, and constellations. In the centuriesafter 1000 B.C.E. celestial omens were the most importantsource of predictions about the future, and specialists main-tained precise records of astronomical events. Mesopotamianmathematics, essential for calculations of the movements of

celestial bodies, was the most sophisticated inthe ancient Middle East. Astrology, with itsdivision of the sky into the twelve seg-

ments of the zodiac and its use ofthe position of the stars and planetsto predict an individuals destiny,

developed out of long-standingMesopotamian attention to themovements of celestial objects.Horoscopescharts with cal-

culations and predictionsbased on an individuals dateof birthhave been foundfrom shortly before 400 B.C.E.In the Hellenistic period

(32330 B.C.E.), Greek settlersflooding into western Asia built

on this Mesopotamian founda-tion and greatly advanced thestudy of astrology.

Little is known for certainabout the divinatory practices ofearly American peoples. The Olmec

produced polished stone mirrorswhose concave surfaces gave off re-

flected images that were thought to em-anate from a supernatural realm. Painted

basins found in Olmec households have been

45

Chinese Divination Shell After inscribing

questions on a bone or shell, the diviner

applied a red-hot point and interpreted the

resulting cracks as a divine response. (In-

stitute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica)


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kings (ca. 1027221 B.C.E.) was the longest lasting andmost revered of all dynasties in Chinese history. Just asthe Semitic peoples in Mesopotamia had adopted andadapted the Sumerian legacy (see Chapter 1), the Zhoupreserved the essentials of Shang culture and added newelements of ideology and technology.

The positive image of Zhou rule was skillfully con-structed by propagandists for the new regime. The earlyZhou monarchs had to justify their seizure of power to

the restive remnants of the Shang clans. The chief deitywas now referred to as Heaven; the monarch was calledthe Son of Heaven; and his rule was called the Man-date of Heaven. According to the new theory, the rulerhad been chosen by the supreme deity and would retainhis backing as long as he served as a wise, principled,and energetic guardian of his people. The proof of divinefavor was the prosperity and the stability of the king-dom. If the ruler misbehaved, as the last Shang ruler haddone, his right to rule could be withdrawn. Corruption,

violence, arrogance, and insurrection, such as had oc-curred under the last Shang king, were signs of divinedispleasure and validated the rulers replacement by anew dynasty that was committed to just rule.

The Zhou kings continued some of the Shang rituals,but there was a marked decline in the practice of divinationand in extravagant and bloody sacrifices and burials. Thepriestly power of the ruling class, the only ones who hadbeen able to make contact with the spirits of ancestors dur-ing the Shang period, faded away. The resulting separationof religion and government promoted the development of

important philosophical and mystical systems in the Zhouperiod. The bronze vessels that had been sacred imple-ments in the Shang period now became family treasures.

The early period of Zhou rule, the eleventh throughninth centuries B.C.E., is sometimes called the WesternZhou era because of the location of the capitals in thewestern part of the kingdom. These centuries saw the de-velopment of a sophisticated administrative apparatus.The Zhou built a series of capital cities with pounded-earth

foundations and walls. The major buildings all facedsouth, in keeping with an already ancient concern to ori-ent structures so that they would be in a harmonious rela-tionship with the terrain, the forces of wind, water, andsunlight, and the invisible energy perceived to be flowingthrough the natural world. All government officials, in-cluding the king, were supposed to be models of morality,fairness, and concern for the welfare of the people.

Like the Shang, the Zhou regime was highly decen-

tralized. Members and allies of the royal family ruledmore than a hundred largely autonomous territories.The court was the scene of elaborate ceremonials, em-bellished by music and dance, that impressed on ob-servers the glory of Zhou rule and reinforced the bondsof obligation between rulers and ruled.

Around 800 B.C.E. Zhou power began to wane. Ambi-tious local rulers operated ever more independently andwaged war on one another, while nomadic peoples at-tacked the northwest frontiers (see Map 2.1). The following

five hundred years are sometimes referred to as the East-ern Zhou era. In 771 B.C.E. members of the Zhou lineage re-located to a new, more secure, eastern capital nearLuoyang, where they continued to hold the royal title andreceived at least nominal homage from the real power bro-kers of the age. This was a time of political fragmentation,rapidly shifting centers of power, and fierce competitionand warfare among numerous small and independentstates. Historians conventionally divide Eastern Zhou intothe Spring and Autumn Period, from 771 to 481 B.C.E., af-ter a collection of chronicles that give annual entries for

those two seasons, and the Warring States Period, from480 to the unification of China in 221 B.C.E.

The many states of the Eastern Zhou era contendedwith one another for leadership. Cities, some of themquite large, spread across the Chinese landscape. Longwalls of pounded earth, the ancestors of the Great Wall of

46

Luoyang (LWOE-yahng)

compared to those attested for later Mesoamerican groups.In the latter, women threw maize kernels onto the surface ofwater-filled basins and noted the patterns by which theyfloated or sank, in order to ascertain information useful tothe family, such as the cause and cure of illness, the righttime for agricultural tasks or marriage, and propitiousnames for newborn children.

It may seem surprising that divination is being treatedhere as a form of technology. Most modern people would

regard such interpretations of patterns in everyday phe-nomena as mere superstition. However, within the contextof the laws of nature as understood by ancient societies (thegods control and direct events in the natural world), divina-tion involved the application of principles of causation tothe socially beneficial task of acquiring information aboutwhat would happen in the future. These techniques wereusually known only to a class of experts whose special train-ing and knowledge gave them high status in their society.


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China, protected the kingdoms from each other andfrom northern nomads. The Chinese also learned fromthe steppe nomads to put fighters on horseback. By 600B.C.E. iron began to replace bronze as the primary metalfor tools and weapons. There is mounting evidence thatironworking came to China from the nomadic peoples ofthe northwest. Subsequently, metalworkers in southernChina, which had limited access to copper and tin formaking bronze, were the first in the world to forge steelby removing carbon during the iron-smelting process.

In many of the states, bureaucrats expanded innumber and function. Codes of law were written down.Governments collected taxes from the peasants directly,imposed standardized money, and managed large-scalepublic works projects. The wealth and power of the stateand its demands for obedience were justified by an au-thoritarian political philosophy that came to be calledLegalism. Legalist thinkers maintained that human na-ture is essentially wicked and that people behave in an

orderly fashion only if compelled by strict laws andharsh punishments. Legalists believed that every aspectof human society ought to be controlled and personalfreedom sacrificed for the good of the state.

The governments of the majorZhou states took over many ofthe traditional functions of thearistocracy. To maintain theirinfluence, aristocrats sought a

new role as advisers to the rulers. One who lived through

the political flux and social change of this anxious timewas Kongzi (551479 B.C.E.)known in the West by theLatin form of his name, Confucius. Coming from one ofthe smaller states, he had not been particularly success-ful in obtaining administrative posts. His doctrine ofduty and public service, initially aimed at fellow aristo-crats, was to become a central influence in Chinesethought (see Diversity and Dominance: Human Natureand Good Government in the Analects of Confucius andthe Legalist Writings of Han Fei). Many elements in Con-fuciuss teaching had roots in earlier Chinese belief, in-

cluding folk religion and the rites of the Zhou royal family,such as the veneration of ancestors and elders and wor-ship of the deity Heaven. Confucius drew a parallel be-tween the family and the state. Just as the family is ahierarchy, with the father at its top, sons next, then wivesand daughters in order of age, so too the state is a hierar-chy, with the ruler at the top, the public officials as thesons, and the common people as the women.

Confucius took a traditional term for the feelings be-tween family members (ren) and expanded it into a universal

ideal of benevolence toward all humanity, which he believedwas the foundation of moral government. Government ex-ists, he said, to serve the people, and the administrator orruler gains respect and authority by displaying fairness andintegrity. Confucian teachings emphasized benevolence,avoidance of violence, justice, rationalism, loyalty, anddignity. Confucius, who held a far more optimistic view ofthe basic goodness of human nature than the adherents ofLegalism, sought to affirm and maintain the political andsocial order by improving it.

It is ironic that Confucius, whose ideas were to be-come so important in Chinese thought, actually had lit-tle influence in his own time. His later follower Mencius(Mengzi, 371289 B.C.E.), who opposed despotism and

Confucianism,Daoism, andChinese Society


Warring States

Period Bronze Fig-

urine The figurine

of a youth, made of

bronze, was produced

in the Warring States

Period, but the jade

birds perched atop

the staffs were origi-

nally carved in the

Shang era. The youth

has braided hair and

is wearing boots and

an elaborately deco-

rated robe. The chain

may indicate that

these were live birds

rather than images.

(Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston)

Improve Your Grade

Primary Source:

The Book of Documents


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Human Nature and

Good Governmentin the Analects of Confucius andthe Legalist Writings of Han Fei

While autocracy (the rule of one man) was the standardform of government in ancient China and was rarelychallenged, political theorists and philosophers thought agreat deal about the qualities of the ideal ruler, his relation-ship to his subjects, and the means by which he controlledthem. These considerations about how to govern people wereinevitably molded by fundamental assumptions about thenature of human beings. In the Warring States Period, as themajor kingdoms struggled desperately with one another forsurvival and expansion, such discussions took on a specialurgency, and the Confucians and Legalists came to representtwo powerful, and largely contradictory, points of view.

The Analects are a collection of sayings of Confucius, prob-ably compiled and written down several generations after helived, though some elements may have been added even later.They cover a wide range of matters, including ethics, govern-ment, education, music, and rituals. Taken as a whole, they area guide to living a proper, honorable, virtuous, useful, and sat-isfying life. While subject to reinterpretation according to thecircumstances of the times, Confucian principles have had agreat influence on Chinese values and behavior ever since.

Han Fei (280233 B.C.E.), who was, ironically, at one timethe student of a Confucian teacher, became a Legalist writerand political adviser to the ruler of the ambitious state ofQin. Eventually he lost out in a power struggle at court andwas forced to kill himself.

The following selections illuminate the profound dis-agreements between Confucians and Legalists over the es-sential nature of human beings and how the ruler shouldconduct himself in order to most effectively govern his sub-jects and protect his kingdom.

Confucius

1:6 Confucius said: A young man should serve his parents athome and be respectful to elders outside his home. He shouldbe earnest and truthful, loving all, but become intimate withren [an inner capacity, possessed by all human beings, to do

good]. After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he canstudy literature and the arts.

4:18 Confucius said: When you serve your mother andfather it is okay to try to correct them once in a while. But ifyou see that they are not going to listen to you, keep yourrespect for them and dont distance yourself from them.Work without complaining.

2:5 Meng Yi Zi asked about the meaning of filial piety.Confucius said, It means `not diverging (from your par-ents). Later, when Fan Chi was driving him, Confucius toldFan Chi, Meng asked me about the meaning of filial piety,and I told him `not diverging. Fan Chi said, What did youmean by that? Confucius said, When your parents arealive, serve them with propriety; when they die, bury themwith propriety, and then worship them with propriety.

1:2 Master You said: There are few who have developedthemselves filially and fraternally who enjoy offending theirsuperiors. Those who do not enjoy offending superiors arenever troublemakers. The Superior Man concerns himselfwith the fundamentals. Once the fundamentals are estab-lished, the proper way (dao) appears. Are not filial piety andobedience to elders fundamental to the enactment of ren?

1:8 Confucius said: If the Superior Man is not `heavy,then he will not inspire awe in others. If he is not learned,then he will not be on firm ground. He takes loyalty andgood faith to be of primary importance, and has no friendswho are not of equal (moral) caliber. When he makes a mis-take, he doesnt hesitate to correct it.

4:5 Confucius said, Riches and honors are what all mendesire. But if they cannot be attained in accordance with thedaothey should not be kept. Poverty and low status are whatall men hate. But if they cannot be avoided while staying inaccordance with the dao, you should not avoid them. If a Su-perior Man departs from ren, how can he be worthy of thatname? A Superior Man never leaves ren for even the time ofa single meal. In moments of haste he acts according to it. Intimes of difficulty or confusion he acts according to it.

15:20 Confucius said: The Superior Man seeks withinhimself. The inferior man seeks within others.

16:8 Confucius said: The Superior Man stands in awe ofthree things:

(1) He is in awe of the decree of Heaven.(2) He is in awe of great men.(3) He is in awe of the words of the sages.



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humaneness and rightness, and he does not listen to thewords of scholars. . . .

Nowadays, those who do not understand how to governinvariably say, You must win the hearts of the people!. . . The

reason you cannot rely on the wisdom of the people is thatthey have the minds of little children. If the childs head is notshaved, its sores will spread; and if its boil is not lanced, it willbecome sicker than ever . . . for it does not understand thatthe little pain it suffers now will bring great benefit later. . . .

Now, the ruler presses the people to till the land and openup new pastures so as to increase their means of livelihood,and yet they consider him harsh; he draws up a penal codeand makes the punishments more severe in order to put astop to evil, and yet the people consider him stern. . . . He

makes certain that everyone within his borders understandswarfare and sees to it that there are no private exemptionsfrom military service; he unites the strength of the state andfights fiercely in order to take its enemies captive, and yetthe people consider him violent. . . . [These] types of under-taking all ensure order and safety to the state, and yet thepeople do not have sense enough to rejoice in them.

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

1. What do Confucius and Han Fei believe about the na-

ture of human beings? Are people intrinsically good

and well behaved, or bad and prone to misbehave?

2. What are the qualities of an ideal ruler for Confucius

and Han Fei?

3. By what means can the ruler influence his subjects in

Confucian thought? How should the ruler compel obe-

dience in Legalist thought?

4. What do Confucians and Legalists think about the

value of the past as a model for the present?

5. Why might Confuciuss passionate concern for ethical

behavior on the part of officials and rulers arise at a

time when the size and power of governments were

growing?

Source: Confucius selections from Hierarchy and Conduct in the Analects of Confu-

cius, translated by Charles Muller, as seen at http://www.human.toyogakuen-

u.ac.jp/~acmuller/contao/ analects.htm. Han Fei selections from Wm. Theodore de Bary

and Irene Bloom, Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol. 1, 2nd ed.

argued against the authoritarian political ideology of theLegalists, made Confuciuss teachings much better known.In the era of the early emperors, Confucianism became thedominant political philosophy and the core of the educa-tional system for government officials (see Chapter 5).

The Warring States Period also saw the rise of theschool of thought known as Daoism. According to tradi-tion, Laozi, the originator of Daoism (believed to havelived in the sixth century B.C.E., though some scholarsdoubt his existence), sought to stop the warfare of the age

by urging humanity to follow the Dao, or path. Daoistsaccept the world as they find it, avoiding useless strugglesand adhering to the path of nature. They avoid violenceif at all possible and take the minimal action necessary fora task. Rather than fight the current of a stream, a wiseman allows the onrushing waters to pass around him.This passivity arises from the Daoists sense that the worldis always changing and lacks any absolute morality ormeaning. In the end, Daoists believe, all that matters is theindividuals fundamental understanding of the path.

The original Daoist philosophy was greatly expandedin subsequent centuries to incorporate popular beliefs,magic, and mysticism. Daoism represented an importantstream of thought throughout Chinese history. By idealiz-ing individuals who find their own path to right conduct,it offered an alternative to the Confucian emphasis on hi-erarchy and duty and to the Legalist approval of force.

Social organization also changed in this period. Thekinship structures of the Shang and early Zhou periods,based on the clan (a relatively large group of related fam-ilies), gave way to the three-generation family of grand-parents, parents, and children as the fundamental socialunit. A related development was the emergence of theconcept of private property. Land was considered to be-long to the men of the family and was divided equallyamong the sons when the father died.

Little is known about the conditions of life for women

in early China. Some scholars believe that women mayhave acted as shamans, entering into trances to commu-nicate with supernatural forces, making requests on be-half of their communities, and receiving predictions ofthe future. By the time written records begin to illuminateour knowledge of womens experiences, they show womenin a subordinate position in the strongly patriarchalfamily.

Confucian thought codified this male-female hierar-chy. Only men could conduct rituals and make offeringsto the ancestors, though women could help maintain thehouseholds ancestral shrines. Fathers held authority overthe women and children, arranged marriages for their off-spring, and could sell the labor of family members. A manwas limited to one wife but was permitted additional sex-ual partners, who had the lower status of concubines. Theelite classes used marriage to create political alliances,and it was common for the grooms family to offer a sub-stantial bride-gift, a proof of the wealth and standing ofhis family, to the family of the prospective bride. A manDaoism (DOW-izm) Laozi (low-zuh)

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whose wife died had a duty to remarry in order to producemale heirs to keep alive the cult of the ancestors.

These differences in male and female activities wereexplained by the concept of yin and yang, the comple-mentary nature of male and female roles in the naturalorder. The male principle (yang) was equated with thesun, active, bright, and shining; the female principle(yin) corresponded to the moon, passive, shaded, andreflective. Male toughness was balanced by female gen-tleness, male action and initiative by female enduranceand need for completion, and male leadership by femalesupportiveness. In its earliest form, the theory consid-

ered yin and yang as equal and alternately dominant,like day and night, creating balance in the world. How-ever, as a result of the changing role of women in theZhou period and the pervasive influence of Confucianideology, the male principle came to be seen as superiorto the female.

The classical Chinese patterns of family, property,and bureaucracy took shape during the long centuries ofZhou rule and the competition among small states. Atthe end of this period the state of Qin, whose aggressiveand disciplined policies made it the premier poweramong the warring states, defeated all rivals and unifiedChina (see Chapter 6).

Nubia, 3100 B.C.E.350 C.E.

Since the first century B.C.E. the nameNubia has beenapplied to a thousand-mile (1,600-kilometer) stretchof the Nile Valley lying between Aswan and Khartoumand straddling the southern part of the modern nation ofEgypt and the northern part of Sudan (see Map 2.2). Theancient Egyptians called it Ta-sety, meaning Land of theBow, after the favorite weapon of its warriors. Nubia isthe only continuously inhabited stretch of territory con-necting sub-Saharan Africa (the lands south of the vastSahara Desert) with North Africa. For thousands of yearsit has served as a corridor for trade between tropicalAfrica and the Mediterranean. Nubia was richly en-dowed with natural resources such as gold, copper, andsemiprecious stones.

Nubias location and natural wealth, along withEgypts quest for Nubian gold, explain the early rise ofa civilization with a complex political organization,social stratification, metallurgy, monumental build-ing, and writing. Nubia traditionally was considered aperiphery, or outlying region, of Egypt, and its culture

was regarded as derivative. Now, however, most schol-ars emphasize the interactions between Egypt andNubia and the mutually beneficial borrowings andsyntheses that took place, and there is growing evidence

Nubia, 3100 B.C.E.350 C.E. 51

Qin (chin) Khartoum (kahr-TOOM)

Deir el-Bahri

Akhetaten (Amarna)

Napata

Mero

Sennar

Alma

WadiBan Naqa

Heliopolis

Memphis

Syene(Aswan)

Thebes

Luxor

Abu SimbelFaras

Dongolael Kurru

GebelBarkal

Nuri Danqeil

Aksum

Kerma

Amara

1st Cataract

2nd Cataract

3rd Cataract

4th Cataract

5th Cataract

6th Cataract

Nile

Atb

ara

Nile

Nile

M e d i t e r r a n e a nS e a

Re

d

S

ea

DeadSea

eli

Ne

ulB

eli

Net

ih

W

Dong

ola

Rea

ch

Jor

dan

SINAI

EASTERN

DESERT

N U B I A N D E S E R T

BAYUDA

DESERT

NILE DELTA

S A H A R A

ARABIAN

DESERT

WESTERN

DESERT

RE

D

SEA

HILLS

PALESTINE

LOWER EGYPT

UPPER EGYPT

LOWER

NUBIA

AKSUM

UPPER

NUBIA

KUSH

Gold

Copper

Alabaster

Granite

Copper

Copper

Basalt

Limestone

TurquoiseCopper

Copper

Gold

Gold

Gold

Gold

Height of the Napata

centered era,750650 B.C.EMerocentered era,300 B.C.E.350 C.E.

0 100 200 Km.

0 100 200 Mi.

Map 2.2 Ancient Nubia The land route alongside theNile River as it flows through Nubia has long served as a

corridor connecting sub-Saharan Africa with North Africa. The

centuries of Egyptian occupation, as well as time spent in

Egypt by Nubian hostages, mercenaries, and merchants, led

to a marked Egyptian cultural influence in Nubia. (Based on

Map 15 from The Historical Atlas of Africa, ed. by J. F. Ajyi

and Michael Crowder. Reprinted by permission of Addison

Wesley Longman Ltd.)



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that Nubian culture drew on influences from sub-Saharan Africa.

The central geographical fea-ture of Nubia, as of Egypt, isthe Nile River. This part of theNile flows through a landscape

of rocky desert, grassland, andfertile plain. River irrigation

was essential for agriculture in a climate that was se-verely hot and, in the north, nearly without rainfall. Sixcataracts, barriers formed by large boulders and rapids,obstructed boat traffic. Commerce and travel wereachieved by boats operating between the cataracts andby caravan tracks alongside the river or across the desert.

Early Culturesand Egyptian,Domination

23001100 B.C.E.

In the fourth millennium B.C.E. bands of people innorthern Nubia made the transition from seminomadichunting and gathering to a settled life based on grainagriculture and cattle herding. From this time on, themajority of the population lived in agricultural villagesalongside the river. Even before 3000 B.C.E. Nubia servedas a corridor for long-distance commerce. Egyptiancraftsmen of the period were working in ivory and inebony woodproducts of tropical Africa that had tohave come through Nubia.

Nubia enters the historical record around 2300 B.C.E.in Old Kingdom Egyptian accounts of trade missions to

southern lands. At that time Aswan, just north of theFirst Cataract, was the southern limit of Egyptian con-trol. As we saw with the journey of Harkhuf at the begin-ning of this chapter, Egyptian noblemen stationed thereled donkey caravans south in search of gold, incense,ebony, ivory, slaves, and exotic animals from tropicalAfrica. This was dangerous work, requiring delicate ne-gotiations with local Nubian chiefs in order to secureprotection, but it brought substantial rewards to thosewho succeeded.

During the Middle Kingdom (ca. 20401640 B.C.E.),Egypt adopted a more aggressive stance toward Nu-bia. Egyptian rulers sought to control the gold minesin the desert east of the Nile and to cut out the Nubianmiddlemen who drove up the cost of luxury goodsfrom the tropics. The Egyptians erected a string ofmud-brick forts on islands and riverbanks south ofthe Second Cataract. The forts protected the southernfrontier of Egypt against Nubians and nomadic raidersfrom the desert, as well as regulated the flow of com-merce. There seem to have been peaceable relations

but little interaction between the Egyptian garrisonsand the indigenous population of northern Nubia,which continued to practice its age-old farming andherding ways.

Farther south, where the Nile makes a greatU-shaped turn in the fertile plain of the Dongola Reach(see Map 2.2), a more complex political entity wasevolving from the chiefdoms of the third millenniumB.C.E. The Egyptians gave the name Kush to the king-dom whose capital was located at Kerma, one of the

earliest urbanized centers in tropical Africa. Beginningaround 1750 B.C.E. the kings of Kush marshaled a laborforce to build monumental walls and structures ofmud brick. The dozens or even hundreds of servantsand wives sacrificed for burial with the kings, as well asthe rich objects found in their tombs, testify to thewealth and power of the rulers of Kush and suggest abelief in some sort of afterlife in which attendants


Gebel Barkal This model of Gebel Barkal, the Holy Mountain

of Nubia, made of sandstone and with traces of the original paint,

was deposited in the Temple of Amon at Gebel Barkal by a Nubian

king. The original door is missing, as well as a seated figurine

inside, possibly an image of Amon. Resting on a band represent-

ing a swamp with papyrus reeds, the doorway is flanked on either

side by relief images of a winged goddess and a king wearing a

short kilt. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)



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and possessions would be useful. Kushite craftsmenwere skilled in metalworking, whether for weapons orjewelry, and their pottery surpassed anything pro-duced in Egypt.

During the expansionist New Kingdom (ca. 15321070B.C.E.) the Egyptians penetrated more deeply into Nubia(see Chapter 3). They destroyed Kush and its capital andextended their frontier to the Fourth Cataract. A high-ranking Egyptian official called Overseer of SouthernLands or Kings Son of Kush ruled Nubia from a newadministrative center at Napata, near Gebel Barkal, theHoly Mountain, believed to be the home of a local god.

In an era of intense commerce among the states of theMiddle East, when everyone was looking to Egypt as theprime source of gold, Egypt exploited the mines of Nubiaat considerable human cost. Fatalities were high amongnative workers in the brutal desert climate, and the armyhad to ward off attacks from desert nomads.

Five hundred years of Egyptian domination in Nubialeft many marks. The Egyptian government imposedEgyptian culture on the native population. Children fromelite families were brought to the Egyptian royal court toguarantee the good behavior of their relatives in Nubia;they absorbed Egyptian language, culture, and religion,which they later carried home with them. Other Nubiansserved as archers in the Egyptian armed forces. The man-ufactured goods that they brought back to Nubia havebeen found in their graves. The Nubians built towns onthe Egyptian model and erected stone temples to Egypt-ian gods, particularly Amon. The frequent depiction ofAmon with the head of a ram may reflect a blending ofthe chief Egyptian god with a Nubian ram deity.

Egypts weakness after 1200B.C.E. led to the collapse of itsauthority in Nubia. In theeighth centuryB.C.E. a powerfulnew native kingdom emerged

in southern Nubia. The story of this civilization, whichlasted for over a thousand years, can be divided into twoparts. During the early period, between the eighth andfourth centuries B.C.E., Napata, the former Egyptian

headquarters, was the primary center. During the laterperiod, from the fourth centuryB.C.E. to the fourth cen-turyC.E., the center was farther south, at Mero, nearthe Sixth Cataract.

The Kingdomof Mero,800 B.C.E.350 C.E.

For half a century, from around 712 to 660 B.C.E.,the kings of Nubia ruled all of Egypt as the Twenty-fifthDynasty. They conducted themselves in the age-oldmanner of Egyptian rulers. They were addressed byroyal titles, depicted in traditional costume, and buriedaccording to Egyptian custom. However, they kept theirNubian names and were depicted with physical fea-tures suggesting peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. Theyinaugurated an artistic and cultural renaissance, build-ing on a monumental scale for the first time in cen-turies and reinvigorating Egyptian art, architecture,and religion. The Nubian kings resided at Memphis,

the Old Kingdom capital, while Thebes, the New King-dom capital, was the residence of a celibate femalemember of the kings family who was titled Gods Wifeof Amon.

The Nubian dynasty made a disastrous mistake in701 B.C.E. when it offered help to local rulers in Palestinewho were struggling against the Assyrian Empire. TheAssyrians retaliated by invading Egypt and driving theNubian monarchs back to their southern domain by 660B.C.E. Napata again became the chief royal residence andreligious center of the kingdom. Egyptian cultural influ-ences remained strong. Court documents continued tobe written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and the mummifiedremains of the rulers were buried in modestly sizedsandstone pyramids along with hundreds of shawabtifigurines.

By the fourth century B.C.E. the center of gravityhad shifted south to Mero, perhaps because Merowas better situated for agriculture and trade, the eco-nomic mainstays of the Nubian kingdom. As a result,sub-Saharan cultural patterns gradually replaced Egypt-

ian ones. Egyptian hieroglyphs gave way to a new set ofsymbols, still essentially undeciphered, for writing theMeroitic language. People continued to worship Amonas well as Isis, an Egyptian goddess connected to fertil-ity and sexuality. But those deities had to share thestage with Nubian deities like the lion-god Apedemak,and elephants had some religious significance. Meroiticart combined Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and indigenoustraditions.

Women of the royal family played an important role

in Meroitic politics, another reflection of the influence ofsub-Saharan Africa. The Nubians employed a matrilinealsystem in which the king was succeeded by the son of hissister. Nubian queens sometimes ruled by themselvesand sometimes in partnership with their husbands.

Nubia, 3100 B.C.E.350 C.E. 53

Napata (nah-PAH-tuh) Gebel Barkal (JEB-uhl BAHR-kahl)Mero (MER-oh-ee) shawabti (shuh-WAB-tee)



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Greek, Roman, and biblical sources refer to a queen ofNubia named Candace. Since these sources relate to dif-ferent times, Candacewas probably a title rather than aproper name. At least seven queens ruled between 284B.C.E. and 115 C.E. They played a part in warfare, diplo-macy, and the building of temples and pyramid tombs.They are depicted in scenes reserved for male rulers inEgyptian imagery, smiting enemies in battle and beingsuckled by the mother-goddess Isis. Roman sourcesmarvel at the fierce resistance put up by a one-eyedwarrior-queen.

Mero was a huge city for its time, more than a

square mile in area, overlooking fertile grasslands anddominating converging trade routes. Much of the city isstill buried under the sand. In 2002 archaeologists usinga magnetometer to detect buried structures discovered alarge palace. Great reservoirs were dug to catch preciousrainfall. The city was a major center for iron smelting (af-ter 1000 B.C.E. iron had replaced bronze as the primarymetal for tools and weapons). The Temple of Amon wasapproached by an avenue of stone rams, and the en-closed Royal City was filled with palaces, temples, andadministrative buildings. The ruler, who may have beenregarded as divine, was assisted by a professional class ofofficials, priests, and army officers.

Mero collapsed in the early fourth century C.E. Itmay have been overrun by nomads from the westerndesert who had become more mobile because of the ar-rival of the camel in North Africa. Mero had alreadybeen weakened when profitable commerce with the Ro-man Empire was diverted to the Red Sea and to the ris-ing kingdom of Aksum (in present-day Ethiopia). Inany case, the end of the Meroitic kingdom, and of this

phase of civilization in Nubia, was as closely linked toNubias role in long-distance commerce as had been itsbeginning.

First Civilizations of the

Americas: The Olmec and

Chavn, 1200250 B.C.E.

Humans reached the Western Hemisphere through aseries of migrations from Asia. Some scholars be-lieve that the first migrations occurred as early as 35,000to 25,000 B.C.E., but most accept a later date of 20,000 to

13,000 B.C.E. Although some limited contacts with otherculturesfor example, with Polynesiansmay have oc-curred later, the peoples in the Western Hemispherewere virtually isolated from the rest of the world for atleast fifteen thousand years. The duration and compre-hensiveness of their isolation distinguishes the Americasfrom the worlds other major cultural regions. Whiletechnological innovations passed back and forth amongthe civilizations of Asia, Africa, and Europe, the peoplesof the Americas faced the challenges of the natural envi-ronment on their own.

Over thousands of years the population of the

Americas grew and spread throughout the hemi-sphere, responding to environments that includedfrozen regions of the polar extremes, tropical rainforests, and high mountain ranges as well as deserts,woodlands, and prairies. Two of the hemispheres mostimpressive cultural traditions developed in Mesoamer-ica (Mexico and northern Central America) and in themountainous Andean region of South America. Wellbefore 1000 B.C.E. the domestication of new plant vari-eties, the introduction of new technologies, and a lim-ited development of trade led to greater socialstratification and the beginnings of urbanization inboth regions. Cultural elites associated with thesechanges used their increased political and religious au-thority to organize great numbers of laborers to con-struct large-scale irrigation and drainage works, toclear forests, and to unleash the productive potentialof floodplains and steeply pitched hillsides. Thesetransformed environments provided the economicplatform for the construction of urban centers domi-nated by monumental structures devoted to religious

purposes and to housing for members of the elite. By1000 B.C.E. the major urban centers of Mesoamericaand the Andes had begun to project their political andcultural power over broad territories: they had becomecivilizations. The cultural legacies of the two most im-portant of these early civilizations, the Olmec ofMesoamerica and Chavn of the Andes, would persistfor more than a thousand years.

Mesoamerica is a region ofgreat geographic and climaticdiversity. It is extremely activegeologically, experiencing bothearthquakes and volcanic

eruptions. Mountain ranges break the region into mi-cro environments, including the temperate climates ofthe Valley of Mexico and the Guatemalan highlands,the tropical forests of the Peten and Gulf of Mexico

The MesoamericanOlmec, 1200400B.C.E.


Aksum (AHK-soom)



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coast, the rain forest of the southern Yucatn and Be-lize, and the drier scrub forest of the northern Yucatn(see Map 2.3).

Within these ecological niches, Amerindian peo-ples developed specialized technologies that ex-ploited indigenous plants and animals, as well asminerals like obsidian, quartz, and jade. Eventually,

contacts across these environmental boundaries ledto trade and cultural exchange. Enhanced trade, in-creasing agricultural productivity, and rising popula-tion led, in turn, to urbanization and the gradualappearance of powerful political and religious elites.Although a number of mil itarily powerful civil izationsdeveloped in Mesoamerica, the region was never uni-fied politically. All Mesoamerican civilizations, how-ever, shared fundamental elements of material culture,

technology, religious belief and ritual, political organ-ization, art, architecture, and sports.

The most influential early Mesoamerican civiliza-tion was the Olmec, flourishing between 1200 and 400B.C.E. (see Map 2.3). The center of Olmec civilizationwas located near the tropical Atlantic coast of what arenow the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

Olmec cultural influence reached as far as the Pacificcoast of Central America and the Central Plateau ofMexico.

Olmec urban development was made possible by ear-lier advances in agriculture. Original settlements de-pended on the regions rich plant diversity and on fishing.Later, by 3500 B.C.E or earlier, the staples of the Mesoamer-ican dietcorn, beans, and squashwere domesticated.Recent research indicates that manioc, a calorie-rich root

First Civilizations of the Americas: The Olmec and Chavn, 1200250 B.C.E. 55

Negro

Amazon

Or

inoco

Magd

ele

na

Caribbean Sea

Gulf of Mexico

Bay ofCampeche

PACIFIC

OCEAN

LakeTiticaca

AN

D

E

S

MTS

ISTHMUS OF

PANAMA

YUCATNPENINSULA

SIERRA

MADREOR

IENTA

L

SIE

RRA

MADREDEL SUR

Mexico City Veracruz

La VentaSan Lorenzo

Tres Zapotes

Chavn de Huantar

Caral

Lima

Quito

SOUTH

AMERICA

0 500 1000 Km.

1000 Mi.5000

Major Olmec sites,ca. 1200400 B.C.E.

Olmec-influenced sites

Chavn cultural zone,ca. 850250 B.C.E.

Chavn-influenced sites

Map 2.3 Olmec and Chavn Civi-

lizations The regions of Mesoamer-

ica (most of modern Mexico andCentral America) and the Andean

highlands of South America have

hosted impressive civilizations since

early times. The civilizations of the

Olmec and Chavn were the originat-

ing civilizations of these two re-

gions, providing the foundations of

architecture, city planning, and

religion.

Improve Your Grade

Interactive Map: Olmec

and Chavn Civilizations



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crop, was also grown in the floodplains of the region, mul-tiplying food resources. The ability of farmers to producedependable surpluses of these products permitted thefirst stages of craft specialization and social stratification.As religious and political elites emerged, they used their

prestige and authority to organize the population to dig ir-rigation and drainage canals, develop raised fields in wet-lands that could be farmed more intensively, andconstruct the large-scale religious and civic buildings thatbecame the cultural signature of Olmec civilization.

The cultural core of the early Olmec civilization waslocated at San Lorenzo but included smaller centersnearby (1200900 B.C.E.). La Venta, which developed atabout the same time, became the most importantOlmec center after 900 B.C.E. when San Lorenzo wasabandoned or destroyed. Tres Zapotes was the lastdominant center, rising to prominence after La Ventacollapsed or was destroyed around 600 B.C.E. The rela-tionship among these centers is unclear. Scholars have

found little evidence to suggest that they were either ri-val city-states or dependent centers of a centralized po-litical authority. It appears that each center developedindependently to exploit and exchange specializedproducts like salt, cacao (chocolate beans), clay for ce-ramics, and limestone. Each major Olmec center waseventually abandoned, its monuments defaced andburied and its buildings destroyed. Archaeologists in-terpret these events differently; some see them as evi-dence of internal upheavals or military defeat byneighboring peoples, and others suggest that they wererituals associated with the death of a ruler.

Large artificial platforms and mounds of packedearth dominated Olmec urban centers and served toframe the collective ritual and political activities thatbrought the rural population to the cities at specialtimes in the year. Some of the platforms also served asfoundations for elite residences, in effect lifting theelite above the masses. The Olmec laid out their citiesin alignment with the paths of certain stars, reflectingtheir strong belief in the significance of astronomicalevents. Since these centers had small permanent popu-lations, the scale of construction suggests that theOlmec elite was able to require and direct the labor ofthousands of men and women from surrounding set-tlements and dispersed family plots in the region. Thislabor pool was used primarily for low-skill tasks likemoving dirt and stone construction materials. Skilledartisans who lived in or near the urban core decoratedthe buildings with carvings and sculptures. They alsoproduced the high-quality crafts, such as exquisitecarved jade figurines, necklaces, and ceremonial knivesand axes, that distinguished Olmec culture. Archaeo-

logical evidence suggests the existence of a class ofmerchants who traded with distant peoples for obsid-ian, jade, and pottery.

Little is known about Olmec political structure, butit seems likely that the rise of major urban centers coin-cided with the appearance of a form of kingship thatcombined religious and secular roles. Finely crafted ob-jects decorated the households of the elite and distin-guished their dress from that of the commoners wholived in dispersed small structures constructed of sticks

and mud. The authority of the rulers and their kin groupsis suggested by a series of colossal carved stone heads,some as large as 11 feet (3.4 meters) high. Since eachhead is unique and suggestive of individual personality,most archaeologists believe they were carved to memo-rialize individual rulers. This theory is reinforced by thelocation of the heads close to the major urban centers,


Olmec Head Giant heads sculpted from basalt are a widely

recognized legacy of Olmec culture. Sixteen heads have been

found, the largest approximately 11 feet (3.4 meters) tall. Ex-

perts in Olmec archaeology believe the heads are portraits of

individual rulers, warriors, or ballplayers. (Georg Gerster/Photo

Researchers, Inc.)

La Venta (LA BEN-tah) Tres Zapotes (TRACE zah-POE-tace)



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especially San Lorenzo. These remarkable stone sculp-tures are the best-known monuments of Olmec culture.

The organization of collective labor by the Olmecelites benefited the commoners by increasing foodproduction and making it more reliable. People alsoenjoyed a more diverse diet. Ceramic products such asutilitarian pots and small figurines as well as smallstone carvings associated with religious belief havebeen found in commoner households. This suggeststhat at least some advantages gained from urbaniza-tion and growing elite power were shared broadly inthe society.

The Olmec elite used elaborate religious rituals tocontrol this complex society. Thousands of commonerswere drawn from the countryside to attend awe-inspir-ing ceremonies at the centers. The elevated platformsand mounds with carved stone veneers served as po-tent backdrops for these rituals. Rulers and their closekin came to be associated with the gods through blood-letting and human sacrifice, evidence of which is foundin all the urban centers. The Olmec were polytheistic,and most of their deities had dual (male and female)natures. Human and animal characteristics were alsoblended. Surviving representations of jaguars, croco-diles, snakes, and sharks suggest that these powerfulanimals provided the most enduring images used inOlmec religious representation. The ability of humansto transform themselves into these animals is a com-mon decorative motif. Rulers were especially associ-ated with the jaguar.

An important class of shamans and healers attachedto the elite organized religious life and provided practicaladvice about the periodic rains essential to agricultural life.

They directed the planning of urban centers to reflect astro-nomical observations and were responsible for developing aform of writing that may have influenced later innovationsamong the Maya (see Chapter 11). From their close obser-vation of the stars, they produced a calendar that was usedto organize ritual life and agriculture. The Olmec were alsothe likely originators of a ritual ball game that became an en-during part of Mesoamerican ceremonial life.

There is little evidence for the existence of an Olmecempire. Given the limited technological and agricultural

base of the society, it is unlikely that the power of theOlmec could have been projected over significant dis-tances militarily. However, the discovery of Olmec prod-ucts and images, such as jade carvings decorated with thejaguar-god, as far away as central Mexico provides evi-dence that the Olmec did exercise cultural influence overa wide area. This influence would endure for centuries.

Geography played an impor-tant role in the development ofhuman society in the Andes.The regions diverse environ-menta mountainous core,arid coastal plain, and dense

interior jungleschallenged human populations, en-couraging the development of specialized regional pro-duction as well as complex social institutions andcultural values that facilitated interregional exchangesand shared labor responsibilities. These adaptations toenvironmental challenge became enduring features of

Andean civilization.The earliest urban centers in the Andean region were

villages of a few hundred people built along the coastalplain or in the foothills near the coast. The abundance offish and mollusks along the coast of Peru provided a de-pendable supply of food that helped make the develop-ment of early cities possible. The coastal populationstraded these products as well as decorative shells for corn,other foods, and eventually textiles produced in thefoothills. The two regions also exchanged ceremonial prac-tices, religious motifs, and aesthetic ideas. Recent discov-eries demonstrate that as early as 2600 B.C.E. the vast sitecalled Caral in the Supe Valley had developed many of thecharacteristics now viewed as the hallmarks of later An-dean civilization, including ceremonial plazas, pyramids,elevated platforms and mounds, and extensive irrigationworks. The scale of the public works in Caral suggests apopulation of thousands and a political structure capableof organizing the production and distribution of maritimeand agricultural products over a broad area.

Chavn, one of the most impressive of South Amer-

icas early urban civilizations (see Map 2.3), inheritedmany of the cultural and economic characteristics ofCaral. Its capital, Chavn de Huantar, was located at10,300 feet (3,139 meters) in the eastern range of the An-des north of the modern city of Lima. Between 900 and250 B.C.E., a period roughly coinciding with Olmec civi-lization in Mesoamerica, Chavn dominated a denselypopulated region that included large areas of the Peru-vian coastal plain and Andean foothills. Chavn deHuantars location at the intersection of trade routes

connecting the coast with populous mountain valleysand the tropical lowlands on the eastern flank of the An-des allowed the citys rulers to control trade amongthese distinct ecological zones and gain an importanteconomic advantage over regional rivals.

Early South

AmericanCivilization: Chavn,900250 B.C.E.

First Civilizations of the Americas: The Olmec and Chavn, 1200250 B.C.E. 57

Chavn de Huantar (cha-BEAN day WAHN-tar)



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Chavns dominance as a ceremonial and commer-cial center depended on earlier developments in agricul-

ture and trade, including the introduction of maizecultivation from Mesoamerica. Maize increased the foodsupplies of the coast and interior foothills, allowinggreater levels of urbanization. As Chavn grew, its tradelinked the coastal economy with the producers ofquinoa (a local grain), potatoes, and llamas in the highmountain valleys and, to a lesser extent, with Amazon-ian producers of coca (the leaves were chewed, produc-ing a mild narcotic effect) and fruits.

These developments were accompanied by the

evolution of reciprocal labor obligations that permittedthe construction and maintenance of roads, bridges,temples, palaces, and large irrigation and drainageprojects as well as textile production. The exact na-ture of these reciprocal labor obligations at Chavn isunknown. In later times they were organized bygroups of related families who held land communallyand claimed descent from a common ancestor. Groupmembers thought of each other as brothers and sis-ters and were obligated to aid each other, providing amodel for the organization of labor and the distribu-tion of goods at every level of Andean society.

The increased use of llamas to move goods from oneecological zone to another promoted specialization ofproduction and increased trade. Llamas were the onlydomesticated beasts of burden in the Americas, and theyplayed an important role in the integration of the Andeanregion. They were first domesticated in the mountainousinterior of Peru and were crucial to Chavns develop-ment, not unlike the camel in the evolution of trans-Sa-haran trade (see Chapter 7). Llamas provided meat and

wool and decreased the labor needed to transport goods.A single driver could control ten to thirty animals, eachcarrying up to 70 pounds (32 kilograms); a human portercould carry only about 50 pounds (22.5 kilograms).

The enormous scale of the capital and the dispersalof Chavns pottery styles, religious motifs, and architec-tural forms over a wide area suggest that Chavn im-posed some form of political integration and tradedependency on its neighbors that may have relied inpart on military force. Most modern scholars believe

that, as in the case of the Olmec civilization, Chavns in-fluence depended more on the development of an at-tractive and convincing religious belief system andrelated rituals. Chavns most potent religious symbol, ajaguar deity, was dispersed over a broad area, and ar-chaeological evidence suggests that Chavn de Huantarserved as a pilgrimage site.

The architectural signature of Chavn was a largecomplex of multilevel platforms made of packed earth or

rubble and faced with cut stone or adobe (sun-dried brickmade of clay and straw). Small buildings used for ritual

purposes or as elite residences were built on these plat-forms. Nearly all the buildings were decorated with reliefcarvings of serpents, condors, jaguars, or human forms.The largest building at Chavn de Huantar measured 250feet (76 meters) on each side and rose to a height of 50feet (15 meters). About one-third of its interior is hollow,containing narrow galleries and small rooms that mayhave housed the remains of royal ancestors.

American metallurgy was first developed in the An-dean region. The later introduction of metallurgy in

Mesoamerica, like the appearance of maize agriculture inthe Andes, suggests sustained trade and cultural contactsbetween the two regions. Archaeological investigations ofChavn de Huantar and smaller centers have revealed re-markable three-dimensional silver, gold, and gold alloyornaments that represent a clear advance over earliertechnologies. Improvements in both the manufactureand the decoration of textiles are also associated with therise of Chavn. The quality of these products, probablyused only by the elite or in religious rituals, added to thereputation and prestige of the culture and aided in theprojection of its power and influence. The most commondecorative motif in sculpture, pottery, and textiles was ajaguar-man similar in conception to the Olmec symbol.In both civilizations and in many other cultures in theAmericas, this powerful predator provided an enduringimage of religious authority and a vehicle through whichthe gods could act in the world of men and women.

Class distinctions appear to have increased duringthis period of expansion. A class of priests directed reli-gious life. Modern scholars also see evidence that both

local chiefs and a more powerful chief or king domi-nated Chavns politics. Excavations of graves revealthat superior-quality textiles as well as gold crowns,breastplates, and jewelry distinguished rulers fromcommoners. These rich objects, the quality and abun-dance of pottery, and the monumental architecture ofthe major centers all suggest the presence of highlyskilled artisans as well.

There is no convincing evidence, like defaced build-ings or broken images, that the eclipse of Chavn (unlike

the Olmec centers) was associated with conquest or re-bellion. However, recent investigations have suggestedthat increased warfare throughout the region around200 B.C.E. disrupted Chavns trade and undermined theauthority of the governing elite. Regardless of whatcaused the collapse of this powerful culture, the tech-nologies, material culture, statecraft, architecture, andurban planning associated with Chavn influenced theAndean region for centuries.




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Summary 59

The civilizations of early China, Nubia, and the

Americas (the Olmec and Chavn) emerged in

very different ecological contexts in widely sepa-

rated parts of the globe, and the patterns of or-

ganization, technology, behavior, and belief that

they developed were, in large part, responses to

the challenges and opportunities of those

environments.

In the North China Plain, as in the river-

valley civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the

presence of great, flood-prone rivers and the lack

of dependable rainfall led to the formation of

powerful institutions capable of organizing large

numbers of people to dig and maintain irrigation

channels and build dikes. An authoritarian cen-

tral government has been a recurring feature of

Chinese history from at least as early as the Shang

monarchy.

In Nubia, the initial impetus for the forma-

tion of a strong state was the need for protection

from desert nomads and from the Egyptian rulerswho coveted Nubian gold and other resources.

Control of these resources and of the trade route

between sub-Saharan Africa and the north, as

well as the agricultural surplus to feed adminis-

trators and specialists in the urban centers, made

the rulers of Kerma, Napata, and Mero wealthy

and powerful.

While the ecological zones in Mesoamerica

and South America in which the Olmec and

Chavn cultures emerged were quite different,

both societies created networks that brought

together the resources and products of disparate

regions. Little is known about the political and

social organization of these societies, but archae-

ological evidence makes clear the existence of

ruling elites that gathered wealth and organized

labor for the construction of monumental

centers.

Scholars have debated why powerful civiliza-

tions appeared many centuries later in the West-

ern Hemisphere than in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Recent theories have focused on environmental

differences. The Eastern Hemisphere was home to

a far larger number of wild plant and animal

species that were particularly well suited to do-

mestication. In addition, the natural east-west

axis of the huge landmass of Europe and Asia

allowed for the relatively rapid spread of domesti-

cated plants and animals to climatically similar

zones along the same latitudes. Settled agricul-

ture led to population growth, more complexpolitical and social organization, and increased

technological sophistication. In the Americas, by

contrast, there were fewer wild plant and animal

species that could be domesticated, and the

north-south axis of the continents made it more

difficult for domesticated species to spread be-

cause of variations in climate at different lati-

tudes. As a result, the processes that foster the

development of complex societies evolved some-

what more slowly.

Comparative Perspectives

Throughout history, elites have used religion to bolstertheir position. The Shang rulers of China were indispen-sable intermediaries between their kingdom and power-

ful and protective ancestors and gods. Bronze vesselswere used to make offerings to ancestral spirits, androyal and elite families were buried in elaborate tombs

SU M M A R Y

How did early Chinese rulers use religion to justify and strengthen their

power?

How did the technological and cultural influences of Egypt affect the

formation of Nubia?

What role did nature and the environment play in the development of early

civilizations in the Americas?

ACE the Test



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that were intended to serve the occupant in the afterlife.Their Zhou successors developed the concept of theruler as divine Son of Heaven who ruled in accord withthe Mandate of Heaven.

The civilization that developed in Nubia was power-fully influenced by its interactions with the more com-plex and technologically advanced neighboring societyin Egypt. Nubia was engaged in trade with Egypt formost of its history, and Egyptians often sought to controland dominate the gold trade. In the New Kingdom pe-riod, the Egyptian government imposed Egyptian cul-ture, language, and religion on the native population, and

Nubian architecture came to be based on Egyptian mod-els. In the eighth century B.C.E. the kingdom of Meroemerged, and Nubia controlled all of Egypt for half acentury. While they kept their Nubian names, the rulersimitated the style of Egyptian rulers and kept many

Egyptian traditions. By the fourth century, power shiftedsouth to Mero and sub-Saharan African cultural influ-ences replaced Egyptian ones.

The people of the Americas lived in virtual isolationfrom the rest of the world for at least fifteen thousandyears. During this period, they learned to adapt to theirnatural environment on their own. The Olmec and Chavncivilizations both relied heavily on agriculture. TheOlmec organized their population to dig irrigation anddrainage canals and to cultivate the land. Chavn agri-culture depended on the introduction of maize cultiva-tion as well as trade with other regions. Llamas were

used to transport goods along newly constructed roadsand bridges. Artificial platforms and mounds of packedearth dominated both civilizations urban centers. Olmecshamans also directed the planning of urban centers tobe aligned with the stars.

KEY TERMS

loess p.00

Shang p.00

divination p.00

Zhou p.00

Mandate of Heaven p.00

Legalism p.00

Confucius p.00

Daoism p.00

yin/yang p.00

Kush p.00

Mero p.00

Olmec p.00

Chavn p.00

llama p.00

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Flashcards

SUGGESTED READING

Caroline Blunden and Mark Elvin, Cultural Atlas of China (1983),contains general geographic, ethnographic, and historical infor-mation about China through the ages, as well as many maps andillustrations. Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James B.

Palais, East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History (2006);Conrad Schirokauer,A Brief History of Chinese Civilization(1991);and John King Fairbank, China:A New History(1992), offer usefulchapters on early China. Valerie Hansen, The Open Empire: A His-tory_of China to 1600(2000), devotes substantial attention to an-

Chapter 2 China and Americas

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 2 China and Americas