Planned Communities: cities built to a definite plan with hundreds of small buildings with some as shops and some as homes.
Citadel: a fortress usually surrounded by thick brick.
Dynasty: a ruling family.
Ancestors: those from whom one is descended. They were believed to increase one's fortune.
Oracle Bones: a flat polished piece of bone with the questions to the ancestors of the king scratched onto them. They would drill a hole in the bone then stick a hot rod in the hole. This would cause cracks and these cracks were believed to be the ancestors' response. Someone then interpreted these cracks.
Nobles: people of high rank in a kingdom. They spent much of their time hunting either for fun or to practice for an upcoming battle. They often fought with each other about land. They rode into battle with bronze helmet and armor made from buffalo or rhino skins.
Harappans: earliest known people to grow cotton. Their lives were shaped around the Indus River. They built dikes and dams to control it.
Aryans: The group of people who conquered the Harappans in 1200 B.C.
Yű the Great: Man/god who expelled all the serpents and dragons in the Huang Ho Valley. He drained the land so the people could farm it. He founded the kingdom Xia and united most of northern china under his rule.
Wu: ruler of a former Shang territory. He led the attack against the last Shang emperor. It is said that the emperor was so cruel that the soldiers gave up without a fight. He believed that the gods wanted the Zhou dynasty to rule china.
Spirits: supernatural beings. The Shangs believed that these beings lived in mountains, rivers, and seas. They had to please the spirits or they would have a bad harvest.
