AP World History China (Shang) Flashcards

7280903208	veneration	Shang practice of honoring their dead ancestors.	0
7280903209	oracle bones	Ancient Chinese nobles sought to tell the future by writing on bone fragments or pieces of turtle shell and throwing those bones into a fire; the fortune seekers saw messages about the future in the cracks that formed.	1
7280903210	bronze	An alloy of copper and tin; bronze weapons that gave Shang foot soldiers and charioteers a tactical advantage in combat.	2
7280903211	Mythical Period	The very earliest period in traditional Chinese history when—according to legend—the Xia dynasty ruled China	3
7280903212	Shang Dynasty	The first historically confirmed dynasty, supposedly began when the Shang overthrew the Xia sometime around 1760 BCE.	4
7280903213	loess	Both banks of the Yellow River had massive amounts of a fertile sediment that allowed Shang-era farmers to grow a large surplus of food.	5
7280903214	Zhou Dynasty	Overthrew the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BCE.	6
7280903215	divination	Predicting the future using oracle bones.	7
7280903216	I-Ching	The Book of Changes—was either written or compiled at this same time, around 1250 to 1150 BCE. It is a book of divination with roots going back to the fortune tellers of the rural areas and their oracle bones.	8
7280903217	Yin Xu	Site near Angyang where excavations have revealed instruments from the Shang period such as the ocarina—a wind instrument—drums, and cymbals.	9
7280903218	feudal system	The Shang a system in which duties are tied to land ownership, with sharp class divisions based on clan birthright	10
7280903219	Anyang	Important city that was a seat of governmental affairs for the surrounding areas.	11
7280903220	animism	Shang religion based on the idea that everything has a soul.	12
7280903221	shamanism	The belief in shamans who have the ability to communicate with the spiritual world; ancestor worship; and divination.	13