The Oldest Human Bones
People have been living in China for a very long time. So far, the oldest human bones that have been found there are about 350,000 years old. The bones, called “Peking Man,” were found at the delta of the Huang Ho River. We know it as the Yellow River. How did Peking Man and others come to live there? Scientists believe that many years ago, favorable physical characteristics such as climate and soil conditions made it possible for hunters and animal herders to settle down along the banks of the Yellow River and farm. The river provided many resources to early Chinese people, but it also often flooded and brought great misery to the people who depended upon it.
Yu Controls the Floods
Chinese history tells the story of a gigantic flood that occurred in China in 2205 BCE. It tells of a man named Yu who stopped the damage by helping to control the floods. He had the idea to create a system of ditches called canals to control how the water got to the crops. The system could also be used to drain flood waters away from fields and villages. Bring water to crops by digging or building things such as canals it is called irrigation. Yu’s idea for an irrigation system made the lives of farmers much easier. Because they could regulate or control the amount of water to crops, farmers could grow more food. Some eventually even had a surplus or extra food to buy animals to help them farm. Surplus could be traded for better tools or other products they wanted. There were more improvements as people began to think of other ways to save time and grow more crops to trade. This eventually allowed arts, crafts, writing, science and technology to develop. For Yu’s achievement, the emperor made him the next leader of the country. Yu’s family ruled over China for the next 400 years, renaming it Xia. That period in Chinese history is known as the Xia Dynasty.
But remember there were no written records that were kept at this time. Later people wrote down the story of Yu, his irrigation invention, and the Xia Dynasty.
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* About These Documents
This collection of documents was developed in collaboration with MCPS and ___. They provide additional information and explanation of the political, economic, and social systems of each dynasty. Students and teachers may find them helpful when completing the Dynasty Project in the sixth grade Unit 3 guide The Impact of Economics in Ancient and Modern China. The additional readings are provided to also supplement student understand of the achievements of ancient China and their influence on other civilizations.
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