MEPX
Chapter 4 of 10All chapters
  1. 1How we know
  2. 2Mesopotamia
  3. 3Ancient Egypt
  4. 4The Indus and early China
  5. 5Ancient Greece
  6. 6Rome
  7. 7Persia and the Near East
  8. 8The ancient Americas
  9. 9Africa and wider Asia
  10. 10Why civilizations fall

Chapter 4 of 10

The Indus and early China

East of Mesopotamia.

The Indus valley

Cities including Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had grid streets, standardised bricks and drainage, with little evidence of palaces or grand tombs.

  • Its decline is linked to shifting rivers and changing monsoon patterns.
  • The script remains unread, so its language is unknown.

Shang and Zhou China

Bronze casting, oracle bone divination and the earliest Chinese writing appear under the Shang. The Zhou introduced the idea that rule depends on a mandate that can be lost.