Important points about the Chinese civilisation

Rivers	Huang He (Yellow River) and the Yangtze
Neolithic cultures	Around 7000 BCE in both river valleys
Bronze Age	Copper/bronze metallurgy around 2000 BCE ; urban centres from 1600 BCE
Iron Age	From 600 BCE onwards
Bronze Age dynasties	Shang (1600-1046 BCE), Zhou (1046-256 BCE)
Iron Age dynasties	Qin (221-206 BCE), Han (206 BCE-220 CE)
Origin of the name 'China'	from the Qin (Ch'in) dynasty, the first imperial dynasty, credited with unifying the country
Sources of history	Oracles on animal bones and tortoise shells; records by official historiographers
Script	Characters stand for whole words or meaningful parts of words , not sounds - called logographic
Crafts	Jade objects, marble ornaments, bronze weapons, tools and ritual vessels
Great Wall	Walls from 680 BCE onwards, joined together; repaired till the 17th century CE
Silk	Known from 4000-3000 BCE ; major export in the 2nd century BCE under the Han - the Silk Route
Society	Sharply divided into classes by 1500 BCE - ruling class, nobles and aristocrats above farmers and labourers
Government	Zhou rulers were kings and priests, appointees of heaven, but removable; officials chosen by examination
Money	Metal currency under the Zhou; money economy by the 5th century BCE ; first paper currency in the world