People+and+Events+China+SC

=People and Events-=
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Even before the Sumerians settled in southern Mesopotamia, early Chinese cultures were building farming settlements along the Huang He. Around 200 B.C., some of these settlement grew into China's first cities. According to legend, the first Chinese dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, emerged about this time. Its leader was an engineer and mathematician named Yu. His flood-control and irrigation projects helped tame the Huang He and its tributaries so that settlements could grow. The legend of Yy reflects the level of technology of a society making the transition to civilizations.



Shang kings consulted the gods through the use of oracle hones, animal bones and tortoise shells on which priests had scratched questions for the gods. After inscribing a question on the bones, a priest applied a hot poke to it, which caused it to crack. The priests then interpreted the cracks to see how the gods had answered.