Agriculture
Although some people worked in specialized jobs, Shang society centered around agriculture, and most of the people were farmers. Farmers in the northern area of Shang territory, near the Yellow River, grew mainly wheat and millet. Some farmers in the region south of the Yellow River grew rice, but this was not an especially common food at the time.
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The Shang grew millet, wheat, rice, and barley as food. This ritual bronze cup held wines made from rice and millet. Wine and grains were offered as sacrifices in bronze ritual cups to the gods of the harvest.
Shang agriculture was the only part of the Shang economy considered too common to involve bronze tools. Bronze was used for storing and eating food, sacrificing, writing, and making weapons, but it was not used in cultivating land. This reflects the low social status of peasants in Shang society.
Shang agriculture was the only part of the Shang economy considered too common to involve bronze tools. Bronze was used for storing and eating food, sacrificing, writing, and making weapons, but it was not used in cultivating land. This reflects the low social status of peasants in Shang society.
A Bronze Age Culture
Bronze was an important part of Shang religion. Shang burial for nobles included many bronze vessels and weapons. Like ancient Egyptian civilization, the Shang believed in a journey to the afterlife, so they would put food and wine in the ritual vessels to feed their dead as they passed to the afterlife. Bronze was also used in making sacrifices of food, drink, animals and even humans to the gods. Food and drink wood be heated in a bronze cup to appease the gods.
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Bronze CastingBronze artifacts in the Shang dynasty were not made using the lost-wax method used elsewhere at the time. Instead, the Shang used piece-mold casting. A mold would be made out of clay for the model of the object. Then the mold would be taken apart to remove the model and pieced together again to form the mold for the new object. Designs could be easily and accurately carved on the mold before the casting took place. This allowed the Shang to make accurate inscriptions and drawings on their bronze objects.
Key to Military DevelopmentSince the discovery of bronze, the Shang were able to make harder weapons than their stone-based rivals. Along with horse-drawn chariots, this led to a superior military force that protected the surrounding area against foreign invasion.
Importance to ArchaeologyAlong with oracle bones and ruins, bronze artifacts were one of the few lasting sources of information about Shang society, where bamboo and silk decayed soon after the fall of the Shang. Inscriptions on bronze give insight into Shang writing, religion, government and culture.
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Monopoly Power
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and the government had the exclusive ability to mix these metals in Shang society. Because the Shang government controlled the facilities manufacturing bronze, it held significant power over the bronze-centered economy. Bronze allowed the Shang, and their successors the Zhou, to maintain a dependence of the people on them for military protection, religious rites, and some of the major writing supplies.
Jobs in Shang Society
Work in Shang society came in a variety of forms. While most workers were farmers, there were also nobles, soldiers, bronzeworkers, sculptors, architects, painters, potters, priests, and slaves. Nobles controlled large regions of land and supported the central government while collecting food, products and money from the peasants who worked their land. Soldiers served the central government on behalf of their local nobles and fought under military commanders from the central government. Bronzeworkers made the weapons used by the soldiers, as well as various containers and objects used by the priests. They sometimes had to place a piece of jade in the molten bronze as it cooled. Sculptors would carve these pieces of jade, as well as stone, bone, and ivory figures used for religion and decoration. Another career involved carving chariots from wood.
Architects of Shang buildings designed houses built from mud on a thin wood framework, which was connected to central wood supports. They also designed the tombs and palaces. Painters decorated these finer buildings with designs found on bronze artifacts, but few of these images remain intact today, so little is known about them. Similarly, the clay pottery made by the vital potters of the time has now been mostly destroyed, and only the bronze remains.
Priests were able to influence the kings' decisions through their analyses of oracle bones. In a society driven by ancestor worship, priests held a significant job of communicating with predecessors and gods. The priests used many of the resources grown by farmers or created by potters and bronzeworkers.
Slaves were often taken by the Shang during their wars with the nearby peoples. These slaves usually farmed the land but were, along with some peasants, required to participate in certain large building projects.
Architects of Shang buildings designed houses built from mud on a thin wood framework, which was connected to central wood supports. They also designed the tombs and palaces. Painters decorated these finer buildings with designs found on bronze artifacts, but few of these images remain intact today, so little is known about them. Similarly, the clay pottery made by the vital potters of the time has now been mostly destroyed, and only the bronze remains.
Priests were able to influence the kings' decisions through their analyses of oracle bones. In a society driven by ancestor worship, priests held a significant job of communicating with predecessors and gods. The priests used many of the resources grown by farmers or created by potters and bronzeworkers.
Slaves were often taken by the Shang during their wars with the nearby peoples. These slaves usually farmed the land but were, along with some peasants, required to participate in certain large building projects.