Although the male citizen, with his full legal status, right to vote, hold public office, and own property, may well have dominated Greek Society, the social groups which made up the population of a typical Greek city-state orpolis were remarkably diverse. Women, children, immigrants (both Greek and foreign), labourers, and slaves all had defined roles, but there was interaction (often illicit) between the classes and there was also some movement between social groups, particularly for second generation offspring and during times of stress such as wars. 

CLASSES

Although the male citizen had by far the best position in Greek society, there were different classes within this group. Top of the social tree were the ‘best people’, the aristoi. Possessing more money than everyone else, this class could provide themselves with armour, weapons, and a horse when on military campaign. The aristocrats were often split into powerful family factions or clans who controlled all of the important political positions in thepolis. Their wealth came from having property and even more importantly, the best land, i.e.: the most fertile and the closest to the protection offered by the city walls.

A poorer, second class of citizens existed too. These were men who had land but perhaps less productive plots and situated further from the city, their property was less well-protected than the prime land nearer the city proper. The land might be so far away that the owners had to live on it rather than travel back and forth from the city. These citizens were called the periokoi (dwellers-round-about) or even worse ‘dusty-feet’ and they collected together for protection in small village communities, subordinate to the neighbouring city. As city populations grew and inheritances became ever more divided amongst siblings, this secondary class grew significantly. 

A third group were the middle, business class. Engaged in manufacturing, trade, and commerce, these were the nouveau riche. However, the aristoi jealously guarded their privileges and political monopoly by ensuring only landowners could rise into positions of real power. However, there was some movement between classes. Some could rise through accumulating wealth and influence, others could go down a class by becoming bankrupt (which could lead to a loss of citizenship or even being enslaved). Ill-health, losing out on an inheritance, political upheavals, or war could also result in the ‘best’ getting their feet a little dusty.   

WOMEN

Female citizens had few rights in comparison to male citizens. Unable to vote, own land, or inherit, a woman’s place was in the home and her purpose in life was the rearing of children. Contact with non-family males was discouraged and women occupied their time with indoor activities such as wool-work and weaving. Spartan women were treated somewhat differently than in other states, for example, they had to do physical training (nude) like men, were permitted to own land, and could drink wine.

Women citizens had to marry as a virgin and marriage was usually organised by the father, who chose the husband and accepted from him a dowry. If a woman had no father, then her interests (marriage prospects and property management) were looked after by a guardian (kurios), perhaps an uncle or other male relative. Married at the typical age of thirteen or fourteen, love had little to do with the matching of husband and wife. Of course, love may have developed between the couple but the best that might be hoped for was philia - a general friendship/love sentiment; eros, the love of desire, was to be found elsewhere, at least for the male. Marriages could be ended on three grounds. The first and most common was repudiation by the husband (apopempsis orekpempsis). No reason was necessary, only the return of the dowry was expected. The second termination cause was the wife leaving the family home (apoleipsis) and in this case the woman’s new guardian was required to act as her legal representative. This was, however, a rare occurrence and the woman’s reputation in society was damaged as a result. The third ground for termination was when the bride’s father asked for his daughter back (aphairesis), probably to offer her to another man with a more attractive dowry. This last option was only possible, however, if the wife had not had children. If a woman was left a widow, she was required to marry a close male relative in order to ensure property stayed within the family.

Women, of course, were also present in the various other non-citizen classes. The group for which we have most information is that of sex-workers. Women were here divided into two categories. The first and perhaps most common was the brothel prostitute (pornē). The second, was the higher-class prostitute (hetaira). These latter women were educated in music and culture and often formed lasting relationships with married men. It was also this class of women that entertained men (in every sense) at the celebrated symposium.

CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS

Children of citizens attended schools where the curriculum covered reading, writing, and mathematics. After these basics were mastered, studies turned to literature (for example, Homer), poetry, and music (especially the lyre). Athletics was also an essential element in a young person’s education. At Sparta, boys as young as seven were grouped together under the stewardship of an older youth to be toughened up with hard physical training. InAthens, young adult citizens (aged 18-20) had to perform civil and military service and their education continued with lessons in politics, rhetoric, and culture. Girls too were educated in a similar manner to boys but with a greater emphasis on dancing, gymnastics, and musical accomplishment which could be shown off in musical competitions and at religious festivals and ceremonies. The ultimate goal of a girl’s education was to prepare her for her role in rearing a family.

An important part of a Greek youth’s upbringing involved pederasty - for both boys and girls. This was a relationship between an adult and an adolescent which included sexual relations but in addition to a physical relationship, the older partner acted as a mentor to the youth and educated them through the elder’s worldly and practical experience.  

LABOURERS

Greek society included a significantly larger proportion of labourers than slaves. These were semi-free workers, wholly dependent on their employer. The most famous example is the helot class of Sparta. These dependents were not the property of a particular citizen - they could not be sold as a slave could - and they often lived with their families. Generally, they formed arrangements with their employer such as giving a quantity of their produce to the farm owner and keeping the rest for themselves. Sometimes the quota required may have been high or low, and there may also have been some extra benefits to the serfs such as protection and safety in numbers. However, the serf-class or helots could never achieve any real security as they were given little or no legal status and harshly treated, even killed in regular purges (especially in Sparta), in order to instil a fear which would ensure continued subordination to the ruling class. In certain periods such as war, helots were required to serve in the armed forces and, fighting well, they could even earn an escape from their lot and join the intermediary social groups which existed below the level of full-citizen and included such individuals as children with parents of mixed status (e.g.: father-citizen, mother-helot).

SLAVES

In Greek society, slaves were seen as a necessary and perfectly normal part of city-life. Acquired through war andconquest, kidnap and purchase, slaves were simply amongst life’s losers. There were even intellectual arguments from philosophers like Aristotle, which propounded the belief that slaves were demonstrably inferior, a product of their environment and inherited characteristics. Greeks persuaded themselves that it was they who had the best environment and characteristics and the purest blood line and were, therefore, born to rule. 

It is impossible to say with accuracy how many slaves (douloi) there were in Greek society and what proportion of the population they made up. It is unlikely, due to the costs, that every single citizen had their own slave but some citizens undoubtedly owned many slaves. Accordingly, estimates of the slave population in the Greek world range from between 15 and 40% of the total population. However, a defence speech made in a court case in Athens by Lysias, and hints from others such as Demosthenes, strongly suggest that if every citizen did not have slaves then they certainly desired them and to be a slave owner was considered a measure of social status. Slaves were not only owned by private individuals but also by the state, which used them in municipal projects such as mining or, as in the case of Athens, the police force.   

The relationship between slaves and owners seems to have been much as in any other period of history with a mix of contempt, distrust, and abuse from the owners and contempt, theft, and sabotage from the enslaved. Source material is always from the viewpoint of the slave owner but there are references in literature, particularly in Greek comedy, of friendship and loyalty in at least some owner-slave relationships. Whilst the flogging of slaves is commonly referred to in Greek plays, there were also treatises written extolling the benefits of kindness and incentives in slave management.

Slaves worked in all spheres and over 200 hundred occupations have been identified. These include working in the home, in agriculture, industry workshops (e.g.: making shields, food, clothes and perfumes), mines, transport, retail, banking, entertainment, in the armed forces as attendants to their owner or as baggage carriers, as rowers in naval vessels or even as fighters. Farms were generally small affairs with even the richest citizens tending to own several small farms rather than one large estate, therefore, slaves were not concentrated into large groups as in later ancient societies.
 
For slaves there was, at least for some, a glimmer of hope to one day achieve their freedom. There are instances when slaves, particularly those involved in manufacturing and industry, living separately from their owners and given a certain financial independence, could pay for their freedom with money they had saved. Also, slaves in the army were sometimes given their freedom by the state following their victorious exploits.

FOREIGNERS

Aside from slaves, most Greek poleis would have had a number of free foreigners (xenoi) who had chosen to re-locate from other areas of Greece, the Mediterranean, and the Near East, bringing with them skills such aspottery and metalworking. These foreigners usually had to register their residence and so became a recognised class (lower in status than the full-citizens) called the metics (metoikoi). In return for the benefits of ‘guest’ citizenship they had to provide a local sponsor, pay local taxes, sometimes pay additional taxes, contribute to the costs of minor festivals, and even participate in military campaigns when necessary. Despite the suspicions and prejudices against foreign ‘barbarians’ which often crop up in literary sources, there were cases when metoikoi did manage to become full citizens after a suitable display of loyalty and contribution to the good of the host state. They then received equal tax status and the right to own property and land. Their children too could also become citizens. However, some states, notably Sparta, at times actively discouraged immigration or periodically expelledxenoi. The relationship between foreigners and local citizens seems to have been a strained one, particularly in times of wars and economic hardship.

The long straight roads built by the Romans wherever they conquered have, in many cases, become just as famous names in history as their greatest emperors and generals. Building upon more ancient routes and creating a huge number of new ones, Roman engineers were audacious in their plans to join one point to another in as straight a line as possible whatever the difficulties in geography and the costs in manpower. Consequently, roads used bridges, tunnels, viaducts, and many other architectural and engineering tricks to create a series of breathtaking but highly practical monuments which spread from Portugal to Constantinople. The network of public Roman roads covered over 120,000 km, and it greatly assisted the free movement of armies, people, and goods across theempire. Roads were also a very visible indicator of the power of Rome, and they indirectly helped unify what was a vast melting pot of cultures, races, and institutions.

THE ROMAN ROAD NETWORK

The Romans did not invent roads, of course, but, as in so many other fields, they took an idea which went back as far as the Bronze Age and extended that concept, daring to squeeze from it the fullest possible potential. The first and most famous great Roman road was the Via Appia (or Appian Way). Constructed from 312 BCE and covering 196 km (132 Roman miles), it linked Rome to Capua in as straight a line as possible and was known to the Romans as the Regina viarum or 'Queen of Roads'. Much like a modern highway, it did not go through less important towns along the way, and it largely ignored geographical obstacles. For example, the impressive 90 km stretch from Rome to Terracina was built in a single straight line. The road would later be extended all the way to Brundisium and thus reach 569 km in length (385 Roman miles).

Other famous roads in Italy were the Via Flaminia which went from Rome to Fanum (Fano), the Via Aemilia from Placentia to Augusta Praetoria (Aosta), the Via Postumia from Aquileia to Genua (Genoa), the Via Popillia from Ariminum (Rimini) to Padova in the north and from Capua to Rheghium (Reggio Calabria) in the south, and many more besides, all with extensions made over time. The roads became so famous that they even gave their names to places and regions. The network gradually spread across the empire from Britain to Syria, and certain roads became as well-known and well-travelled as those around Rome itself. For example, the Via Domitia (begun in 116 BCE) went from the French Alps to the Pyrenees and was invaluable for troop movements in the campaigns in Spain. There was also the Via Egnatia (begun in the mid-second century BCE), which crossed the Balkan Peninsula and ended at Byzantium, making it a vital land route between the western and eastern parts of the empire.

To achieve the objective of constructing the shortest routes possible between two points (often not visible one to the other), all manner of engineering difficulties had to be overcome. Once extensive surveying was carried out to ensure the proposed route was actually straight and determine what various engineering methods were required, marshes had to be drained, forests cut through, creeks diverted, bedrock channelled, mountainsides cut into, rivers crossed with bridges, valleys traversed with viaducts, and tunnels built through mountains. Once all that was done, roads had to be levelled, reinforced with support walls or terracing and then, of course, maintained, which they were for over 800 years.  

Besides permitting the rapid deployment of troops and, more importantly, the wheeled vehicles which supplied them with food and equipment, Roman roads allowed for an increase in trade and cultural exchange. Roads were also one of the ways Rome could demonstrate its authority. For this reason many roads began and ended in atriumphal arch, and the imperial prestige associated with realising the project was demonstrated in the fact that roads were very often named after the magistrate official who funded it; hence, for example, the Via Appia takes its name from the censor Appius Claudius Caecus.

ROAD DESIGN & MATERIALS

Major roads were around a standard 4.2 m wide, which was enough space for two wheeled-vehicles to pass each other. Roads were finished with a gravel surface sometimes mixed with lime or, for more prestigious sections such as near towns, with dressed stone blocks of volcanic tuff, cobbles, or paving stones of basalt (silice) or limestone. First a trench was dug and a foundation (rudus) was laid using rough gravel, crushed brick, clay materials or even wooden piles in marshy areas, and set between curb stones. On top of this a layer of finer gravel was added (nucleus) and the road was then surfaced with blocks or slabs (summum dorsum). Mountain roads might also have ridges running across the surface to give people and animals better traction and have ruts cut into the stone to guide wheeled vehicles.

Roads were purposely inclined slightly from the centre down to the curb to allow rainwater to run off along the sides, and for the same purpose many also had drains and drainage canals. A path of packed gravel for pedestrians typically ran along each side of the road, varying in width from 1-3 metres. Separating the path from the road, the curb was made of regular upright slabs. In addition, every 3-5 metres there was a higher block set into the curb which stopped wheeled traffic riding onto the footpath and allowed people to mount their horses or pack animals. Busier stretches of main roads had areas where traffic could pull over and some of these had services for travellers and their animals too. Milestones were also set up at regular intervals and these often recorded who was responsible for the upkeep of that stretch of the road and what repairs had been made.

BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, & TUNNELS

Lasting symbols of the imagination of Roman engineers are the many arched bridges and viaducts still standing around the empire. From early bridges such as the Ponte di Mele near Velletri with its single vault and modest span of 3.6 m to the 700 m long, 10-arch viaduct over the Carapelle River, these structures helped achieve the engineers' straight-line goal. The Romans built to last, and the piers of bridges which crossed rivers, for example, were often built with a more resistant prow-shape and used massive durable blocks of stone, while the upper parts were either built of stone blocks strengthened with iron clamps, used cheaper concrete and brick, or supported a flat wooden superstructure. Perhaps the most impressive bridge was at Narni. 180 m long, 8 m wide and as high as 33 m, it had four massive semicircular arches, one of which, stretching 32.1 m, ranks as one of the longest block-arch spans in the ancient world. Two of the best surviving bridges are the Milvian bridge in Rome (109 BCE) and the bridge over the river Tagus at Alcantara (106 BCE) on the Spanish-Portuguese border.

Tunnels were another essential feature of the road network if lengthy detours were to be avoided. The most important include three tunnels built in the 1st century BCE: Cumaea, which stretched 1,000 m in length, Cripta Neapolitano measuring 705 m, and Grotta di Seiano 780 m long. Tunnels were often built by excavating from both ends (counter-excavation), a feat which obviously required precise geometry. To make sure both ends met, shafts were sometimes drilled down from above to check the progress of the work, and shafts could also be used to speed up excavation and work at the rock from two angles. Nevertheless, when working through solid rock, progress was tediously slow, perhaps as little as 30 cm a day, resulting in tunnel projects lasting years.

CONCLUSION

Roman roads were, then, the arteries of the empire. They connected communities, cities, and provinces, and without them the Romans could surely not have conquered and held onto the vast territories they did over so many centuries. Further, such was the engineering and surveying skills of the Romans that many of their roads have provided the basis for hundreds of today's routes across Europe and the Middle East. Many roads in Italy still use the original Roman name for certain stretches, and even some bridges, such as at Tre Ponti in modern Fàiti, still carry road traffic today.

For the Incas finely worked and highly decorative textiles came to symbolize both wealth and status, fine cloth could be used as both a tax and currency, and the very best textiles became amongst the most prized of all possessions, even more precious than gold or silver. Inca weavers were technically the most accomplished the Americas had ever seen and, with up to 120 wefts per centimetre, the best fabrics were considered the most precious gifts of all. As a result, when the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century CE, it was textiles and not metal goods which were given in welcome to these visitors from another world.

Although very few examples of Inca textiles survive from the heartland of the empire, and we also know that many textiles were burnt  to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Spanish, we do have, thanks to the dryness of the Andean environment, many textile examples from the highlands and mountain burial sites. In addition, Spanish chroniclers often made drawings of textile designs and clothing so that we have a reasonable picture of the varieties in use.

WEAVERS

It seems that both men and women created textiles, but it was a skill women of all classes were expected to be accomplished at. The principal equipment was the backstrap loom for smaller pieces and either the horizontal single-heddle loom or vertical loom with four poles for larger pieces, such as rugs and blankets. Spinning was done with a drop spindle, typically in ceramic or wood. Inca textiles were made using cotton (especially on the coast and in the eastern lowlands) or llama, alpaca, and vicuña wool (more common in the highlands) which can be exceptionally fine. Goods made using the super-soft vicuña wool were restricted and only the Inca ruler could own vicuña herds. Rougher textiles were also made using maguey fibres.

The finest female weavers (aclla) from across the empire were forcibly relocated to the capital Cuzco to work in the Acllawasi or 'House of the Chosen Women'. Here, too, state sponsored workshops with subsidised workers produced clothing for the nobility and the army. It was here that the finest cloth was made by male specialists known asqumpicamayocs or 'keepers of the fine cloth'. The Incas had three categories of cloth: the roughest was chusi  (used primarily for blankets); slightly less coarse and most common was awasca for daily use and the military but which was rarely decorative; and the finest cloth was qompi. The latter was divided into a further two categories - one grade for tribute, the other for royal and religious function. Many burials contained not only textiles but also oblong work-baskets which contained the tools necessary for weaving (spindles, bobbins, spools of thread, and metal pins and needles), indicating that weaving was a highly esteemed craft.

COLOURS & MEANING

The principal colours used in Inca textiles were black, white, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, and red. Blue is rarely present in Inca textiles. These colours came from natural dyes which were extracted from plants, minerals, insects, and molluscs. Hundreds of additional colour shades were made from mixing the base palette of pigments. Colours also had specific associations, for example, red was equated with conquest, rulership, and blood. This was most clearly seen in the Mascaypacha, the Inca state insignia, where each thread of its red tassel symbolised a conquered people. Green represented rainforests, the peoples who inhabited them, ancestors, rain and its consequent agricultural growth, coca, and tobacco. Black signified creation and death, while yellow could signal maize or gold. Purple was, as in the rainbow, considered the first colour and associated with Mama Oclla, the founding mother of the Inca race. Finally, foreigners at Cuzco could wear only black garments.

DESIGNS

Besides using dyed strands to weave patterns, other techniques included embroidery, tapestry, mixing different layers of cloth, and painting – either by hand or using wooden stamps. The Incas favoured abstract geometric designs, especially checkerboard motifs, which repeated patterns (tocapus) across the surface of the cloth. Certain patterns may also have been ideograms and so carried a specific meaning, but the issue continues to be debated by scholars. Non-geometrical subjects, often rendered in abstract form, included felines (especially jaguars and pumas), llamas, snakes, birds, sea creatures, and plants. Clothes were simply patterned, commonly with square designs at the waist and fringes and a triangle marking the neck. One such design was the standard military tunic which consisted of a black and white checkerboard design with an inverted red triangle at the neck.

Designs could be specific to family groups (ayllu), and one of the reasons for repeated designs was that textiles were often produced for the state as a tax and so textiles could be representative of specific communities and their cultural heritage. Just as today’s coins and stamps reflect a nation's history, so too Andean textiles offered recognisable motifs which either represented the specific communities making them or the imposed designs of the ruling Inca class ordering them. At the same time, just as the Inca imposed a political dominance over their conquered subjects, with art they imposed standard Inca forms and designs, but they did allow local traditions to maintain their preferred colours and motifs. It is also notable that, as with pottery decoration, Inca textiles did not include representations of themselves, their rituals, or such common Andean images as monsters and half-human, half-animal figures which are seen in other art forms.

Additional decoration could be added to articles in the form of tassles, brocade, feathers, and beads of precious metal or shell. Precious metal threads could also be woven into the cloth itself. As feathers were usually from rare tropical birds and condors, these garments were reserved for the royal family and nobility.

FUNCTIONS

Inca clothes were simple in style, and most were made using either cotton or wool. The typical male attire was a loincloth and a simple tunic (unqo) made from a single sheet folded over and stitched at the sides with holes left for the arms and neck. In winter a cloak or poncho was worn on top. Women typically wore a single large cloth wrapped around the body which was pinned at the shoulder and held in place with a waist belt or sash known as achumpi. On top of this a cloak could be worn, again pinned at the front. Both sexes wore cloth hats or headbands. This headgear could indicate clan groups or social status both in their design and with the addition of feathers and precious metal decorations.

Clothing was a great status symbol in Inca society and an easily recognisable indicator of a person's wealth and status. Rulers and nobility were also buried wrapped in multiple layers of fine textiles. Such was the value given to fine textiles that the Incas often required its production as tribute or tax (mit'a - working for the state) from conquered peoples. To this end specific quantities of wool or cotton were given to subject weavers each year so that they might produce a calculated quantity of textiles. Those textiles which involved the most labour to produce were considered the most valuable. Indeed, textiles were so valued that they became in effect a currency; for example, the state paid units of soldiers and those who had rendered a service with cloth.

Other goods made from textiles included bags, for the storage of, for example, coca leaves. These were frequently decorated with the addition of tassles. Sleeping mats, blankets, sacks, saddle bags, the uppers of shoes, and wallhangings were also made from textiles. Small votive figure dolls were also dressed in textiles and left in burial chambers. And textiles were given as gifts in important society rituals such as weddings, births, and rites of passage, and could be burned as votive offerings to the gods. Finally, mention should be made of the Inca quipu, the complex string recording device where knots and colours were used to record specific goods and messages. 

China is a country in East Asia whose culture is considered the oldest, still extant, in the world. The name `China’ comes from the Sanskrit Cina (derived from the name of the Chinese Qin Dynasty, pronounced `Chin’) which was translated as `Cin’ by the Persians and seems to have become popularized through trade along the Silk Road from China to the rest of the world. The Romans and the Greeks knew the country as `Seres’, “the land where silk comes from”. The name `China’ does not appear in print in the west until 1516 CE in Barbosa’s journals narrating his travels in the east (though the Europeans had long known of China through trade via the Silk Road). Marco Polo, the famous explorer who familiarized China to Europe in the 13th century CE, referred to the land as `Cathay’. In Mandarin Chinese, the country is known as `Zhongguo” meaning `central state’ or `middle empire’.

PRE-HISTORY

Well before the advent of recognizable civilization in the region, the land was occupied by hominids. Peking Man, a skull fossil discovered in 1927 CE near Beijing, lived in the area between 700,000 to 200,000 years ago and Yuanmou Man, whose remains were found in Yuanmou in 1965 CE, inhabited the land 1.7 million years ago. Evidence uncovered with these finds shows that these early inhabitants knew how to fashion stone tools and use fire. While it is commonly accepted that human beings originated in Africa and then migrated to other points around the globe, China’s paleoanthropologists “support the theory of `regional evolution’ of the origin of man” (China.org) which claims an independent basis for the birth of mankind. “The Shu Ape, a primate weighing only 100 to 150 grams and being similar to a mouse in size, lived [in China] in the Middle Eocene Epoch 4.5 to 4 million years ago. Its discovery posed a great challenge to the theory of African origin of the human race” (China.org). This challenge is considered plausible due to genetic links between the Shu Ape fossil and both advanced and lower primates, standing, then, as a `missing link’ in the evolutionary process. However one interprets this data (the Chinese conclusions have been disputed by the international community), the solid evidence provided by other finds substantiates a very ancient lineage of hominids and human beings in China and a high level of sophistication in early culture. One example of this is Banpo Village, near Xi’an, discovered in 1953 CE.  Banpo is a Neolithicvillage which was inhabited between 4500 and 3750 BCE and comprises 45 houses with floors sunk into the ground for greater stability. A trench encircling the village provided both protection from attack and drainage while man-made caves dug underground were used to store food. The design of the village, and the artifacts discovered there (such as pottery and tools), argue for a very advanced culture at the time it was constructed.

It has generally been accepted that the Chinese `Cradle of Civilization’ is the Yellow River Valley which gave rise to villages sometime around 5000 BCE. While this has been disputed, and arguments have been made for a more wide-spread development of communities, there is no doubt that the Henan province, in the Yellow River Valley, was the site of many early villages and farming communities. In 2001 CE, archaeologists uncovered two skeletons “buried in a collapsed house, which was covered with a thick layer of silt deposits from the Yellow River. In the layer of deposits, archaeologists found more than 20 skeletons, an altar, a square, pottery, and stone and jade utensils” (Chinapage.org). This site was only one of many prehistoric villages in the area.

THE FIRST DYNASTIES

From these small villages and farming communities grew centralized government; the first of which was the prehistoric Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE). The Xia Dynasty was considered, for many years, more myth than fact until excavations in the 1960’s and 1970’s CE uncovered sites which argued strongly for its existence. Bronze works and tombs clearly point to an evolutionary period of development between disparate Stone Age villages and a recognizable cohesive civilization. The dynasty was founded by Yu the Great who worked relentlessly for thirteen years to control the flooding of the Yellow River which routinely destroyed the farmer’s crops. He was so focused on his work that it was said he did not return home once in all those years, even though he seems to have passed by his house on at least three occasions, and this dedication inspired others to follow him. After he had controlled the flooding, Yu conquered the Sanmiao tribes and was named successor (by the then-ruler, Shun),  reigning until his death. Yu established the hereditary system of succession and, so, the concept of dynasty which has become most familiar. The ruling class and the elite lived in urban clusters while the peasant population, which supported their lifestyle, remained largely agrarian, living in rural areas. Yu’s son, Qi, ruled after him and power remained in the hands of the family until the last Xia ruler, Jie, was overthrown by Tang who established the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE).

Tang was from the kingdom of Shang. The dates popularly assigned to him (1675-1646 BCE) do not in any way correspond to the known events in which he took part and must be considered erroneous. What is known is that he was the ruler, or at least a very important personage, in the kingdom of Shang who, around 1600 BCE, led a revolt against Jie and defeated his forces at the Battle of Mingtiao. The extravagance of the Xia court, and the resultant burden on the populace, is thought to have led to this uprising. Tang then assumed leadership of the land, lowered taxes, suspended the grandiose building projects begun by Jie (which were draining the kingdoms of resources) and ruled with such wisdom and efficiency that art and culture were allowed to flourish. Writingdeveloped under the Shang Dynasty as well as bronze metallurgy, architecture, and religion.

Prior to the Shang, the people worshipped many gods with one supreme god, Shangti, as head of the pantheon(the same pattern found in other cultures). Shangti was considered `the great ancestor’ who presided over victory in war, agriculture, the weather, and good government. Because he was so remote and so busy, however, the people seem to have required more immediate intercessors for their needs and so the practice of ancestor worship began. When someone died, it was thought, they attained divine powers and could be called upon for assistance in times of need (similar to the Roman belief in the Parentes). This practice led to highly sophisticated rituals dedicated to appeasing the spirits of the ancestors which eventually included ornate burials in grand tombs filled with all one would need to enjoy a comfortable afterlife. The king, in addition to his secular duties, served as chief officiate and mediator between the living and the dead and his rule was considered ordained by divine law. Although the famous Mandate of Heaven was developed by the later Zhou Dynasty, the idea of linking a just ruler with divine will has its roots in the beliefs fostered by the Shang.

Teotihuacan, located in the Basin of Central Mexico, was the largest, most influential, and certainly most revered city in the history of the New World, and it flourished in Mesoamerica's Golden Age, the Classic Period of the first millennium CE. Dominated by two gigantic pyramids and a huge sacred avenue, the city, its architecture, art, and religion would influence all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures, and it remains today the most visited ancient site in Mexico.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

In relation to other Mesoamerican cultures Teotihuacan was contemporary with the early Classic Maya (250 - 900 CE) but earlier than the Toltec civilization (900-1150 CE). Located in the valley of the same name, the city first formed between 150 BCE and 200 CE and benefitted from a plentiful supply of spring water which was channelled through irrigation. The largest structures at the site were completed before the 3rd century CE, and the city reached its peak in the 4th century CE with a population as high as 200,000. Teotihuacan is actually the Aztecname for the city, meaning "Place of the Gods"; unfortunately, the original name is yet to be deciphered from surviving name glyphs at the site.

The city's prosperity was in part based on the control of the valuable obsidian deposits at nearby Pachuca, which were used to manufacture vast quantities of spear and dart heads and which were also a basis of trade. Other goods flowing in and out of the city would have included cotton, salt, cacao to make chocolate, exotic feathers, and shells. Irrigation and the natural attributes of local soil and climate resulted in the cultivation of crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomato, amaranth, avocado, prickly pear cactus, and chili peppers. These crops were typically cultivated via the chinampa system of raised, flooded fields which would later be used so effectively by the Aztecs. Turkey and dogs were husbanded for food, and wild game included deer, rabbits, and peccaries, whilst wild plants, insects, frogs, and fish also supplemented a diverse diet. In addition, the city displays evidence of textile manufacturing and crafts production. Teotihuacan also had its own writing system which was similar to, but more rudimentary than, the Maya system and generally limited in use to dates and names, at least in terms of surviving examples.

At its peak between 375 and 500 CE, the city controlled a large area of the central highlands of Mexico and probably exacted tribute from conquered territories via the threat of military attack. Teotihuacan's fearsome warriors, as depicted on murals, carry atlatl dart-throwers and rectangular shields, and they wear impressive costumes of feather headdresses, shell goggles, and mirrors on their backs. Evidence of cultural contact in the form of Teotihuacan pottery and luxury goods is found in elite burials across Mexico and even as far south as the contemporary Maya centres of Tikal and Copan.

Mysteriously, around 600 CE, the major buildings of Teotihuacan were deliberately destroyed by fire, and artworks and religious sculptures were smashed in what must have been a complete changing of the ruling elite. The destroyers may have been from the rising city of Xochicalco or from within in an uprising motivated by a scarcity in resources, perhaps acerbated by extensive deforestation (wood was desperately needed to burn huge quantities of lime for use in plaster and stucco), soil erosion, and drought. Whatever the reason, after this climatic event, the wider city remained populated for another two centuries but its regional dominance became only a memory. 

TEOTIHUACAN RELIGION

The most important deity at Teotihuacan seems to have been, unusually for Mesoamerica, a female. The Spider Goddess was a creator deity and is represented in murals and sculpture and typically wears a fanged mask similar to a spider's mouth. Other gods, who would become familiar in subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations, included the Water Goddess, Chalchiuhtlicue, who is impressively represented in a three-metre high stone statue, and the rain and war god Tlaloc. Clearly, there was a preoccupation with life-giving water in such an arid climate. Other deities often represented in Teotihuacan art and architecture include the feathered-serpent god known to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl, Xipe Totec, who represented agricultural renewal (especially maize), and the creator god known as the Old Fire God. The positioning of temples and pyramids in alignment with the sun on the June solstice and the Pleiades suggests calendar dates were important in rituals, and the presence of buried offerings and sacrificial victims illustrates the belief in the necessity to appease various gods, especially those associated with climate and fertility.

ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT & FEATURES

The city, covering over 20 square kilometres, has a precise grid layout oriented 15.5 degrees east of true north. The city is dominated by the wide Avenue of the Dead (or Miccaotli as the Aztecs called it) which is 40 metres wide and 3.2 km long. The avenue begins in agricultural fields and passes the Great Compound or market place, Citadel, the Pyramid of the Sun, many other lesser temples and ceremonial precincts, and, culminating at the Pyramid of the Moon, points towards the sacred mountain Cerro Gordo. Archaeology has discovered that the original avenue was much longer than is visible today and is dissected by another avenue which thus created a city of four quarters. The site is dominated by the two great pyramids of the sun and moon and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, but most buildings were more modest and take the form of small groups of buildings (over 2,000 of them) organised around a courtyard and the whole surrounded by a wall. It was here in the compound that daily cooking was done using clay braziers. Many compounds have one or two burial spaces suggesting that each was a family or kin group, and some cover several thousand square metres and so may be better described as palaces. Other compounds are more modest and use less fine building materials so that they may have been workshops for artisans. Many compounds also have large cisterns offering the possibility of independent water supply. The city had ethnic zones: Zapotecs in the western area and Maya in the eastern, for example. Typical features of the site's architecture include single-storey structures, flat roofs with occasional open portions, and decorative vertical rectangular panels set on a sloping support wall (talud-tablero) which were inset into the sloping facades of all types of religious buildings and which were much copied across Mesoamerica.