To see all of the previous pictures , go to JULY 2009.
Thank You :)

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Religion .

The priests kept the records of the government and were also in charge of religion. They used oracle bones to predict the future by interpreting cracks produced by the bones by applying heat. They carved questions and their answers onto the bones.
The religion in the time of the Shang dynasty was based on ancestor worship and a worship of many gods; the main god was known as " Shang Ti " or " Lord on High ".
" Shang Ti " was the supreme god over the other gods such as the wind, the sun, the rain and many more.
The Shang Civilisation also believed in life after death.When the kings died,thousands of warriors were buried alive with their king. Even the slaves were buried with him.

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What happened c. 1150 BCE ?


The fall of the Shang dynasty was much like that of the Xia dynasty, the last king was a cruel tyrant. Instead of the people overthrowing the king, he was killed by a king from a rival kingdom, the Chou kingdom. The Chou dynasty was part of the Shang kingdom; its civilization was a combination of the Shang culture and that of non-Chinese civilizations.

Credits: http://library.thinkquest.org/12255/library/dynasty/shang.html

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An Indus Valley seal carved
on a large stone!

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The evidence shows that the Indus people had a writing system but unfortunately , no one can read the writings carved on the stones.

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The man /woman is a trader waiting for customers to make profit!

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The craftsman is carving a pot?

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Fishermen at sea fishing for food.

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Mound AB is covered with bricks and pottery, most of it dating from 3000 to 2000 B.C.

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This landscape on the eastern side of Mound AB is the focus of excavations during the next two years. Some of the earliest Indus seals and button seals were found in this area in 1996 and 1997, and it is providing numerous clues to the development of early Indus writing. A few hundred inscribed objects are found at the site each year, greatly increasing the known number of such artifacts. The National Geographic Society is funding work in this area.

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Corbeled drain at Mound ET gateway (3-D reconstruction and artist's conception).

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Mound ET Southern Gateway excavated in 1995 with corbeled drain (3-D reconstruction and artist's conception).

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Modern guard hut overlooking the "Granary." Many questions about ancient Harappa will never be answered. But with the first modern, multi-disciplinary excavations of an Indus city currently underway here, many misconceptions are being laid to rest and much new evidence is gathered each year. In a decade or two, we might well have an entirely new picture of the ancient Indus civilization.

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No "Great Bath" like that in Mohenjo-daro has been found in Harappa, and it is not known if one existed among the miles of ruins carted off for railway construction in the early 1850's. A large bath does however exist very near the mounds, constructed in the early part of the century as part of a Sikh Gurdwara, and now a high school.

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These doorways in modern Harappa show how a town grows into a mound. Dust and dirt in streets slowly collect and cover doorways. Ultimately they are abandoned and new doorways and buildings are constructed above them. This process is underway throughout the modern town.

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This bathing area in Harappa today is identical to ancient bathing areas.

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The surviving town provides many clues to ancient times. No doors have been found in excavations, but terracotta toys and other evidence suggest that ancient doorways were much like this one in modern Harappa, down to the lock or fastener at the bottom.

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In the distance, the modern town of Harappa survives on another set of mounds. During ancient times they were separated from Mound AB in the foreground by a river channel. Archaeologists suspect that those mounds were also first settled in ancient times, but no excavations have been carried out there.

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The mounds at Harappa remain largely unexcavated. Approximately half a percentage of the site's area is being unearthed each season by the ongoing Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP).

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This pile represents sorted and discarded pottery sherds from continuing excavations at Harappa since 1985.

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A good counterexample to "Great Granary" having been used to store grain is this actual granary popular in the villages surrounding Harappa. Grain is stored in earthen structures, and accessed as needed through a re-sealable hole at the bottom.

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These giant ringstones are similar to ones found in Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira. Local legend claims they were the rings of a giant 17th century saint (Baba Nur Shah) who is buried on Mound AB. Early excavators believed that were significant to the ancient Indus religion. Today, archaeologists think that they were used to secure wooden posts at gateways to the city. used to secure wooden posts at gateways to the city.

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What had happened to have caused a rapid end to the Indus Valley Civilisation ?

The Indus Valley Civilisation rapidly declined around 1500 BCE as people abandoned it. Archaeologists suggests that floods could have caused the declined of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Floods also have destroyed the irrigation systems that people depended on farming. Archaeological evidence such as constant rebuilding of walls and foundations of houses suggests that flood cause the decline.

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History recap question page 23.

1. What are primary and secondary sources?
- Primary sources are information provided by people who were involved in historical events or who witnessed the events.

2. How do historians make sure that their sources are reliable ?
- Historians conduct the credibility, consistency and corroboration test.

3. Why and when is it necessary for historians to revise their interpretations of past events?
- Historians revise their interpretations of past events to update their views when new evidence becomes available.

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