We also know that they engaged in robust trade, both domestic and foreign and even over the Hindu Kush and into the Persian Gulf areas. Between 1800-1700 BC, though, most of the cities were abandoned, perhaps from environmental reasons (deforestation, etc.) and perhaps from invasion from Central Asia (Bentley, et.al., pp. 49-50).
By 3000 BCE, Ancient China had developed larger regional states and political/social units called dynasties. Each succeding dynasty took over more and more territory, which allowed for a similar development in Chinese culture. Chinese political orgaqnizations were complex, and based on both the family and socio-cultural unit. Because of the abundance of population working in agriculture, though, they also turned to technological innovations that increased their own power, but also tended to shield them from outside influences. Some of these inventions include: iron casting, the compass, gunpowder, geological mining techniques, mechanical clocks, row farming in agriculture, silk farming and processing, and porcelain. One of the most amazing facts about Ancient China is that as early as 2300 years BP the Chinese had mastered the art of casting large objects in iron, something that was not done to the same level until the 1600s in Europe. This, of course, aided in navigation, cartography, and the ability to...
Gunpowder developed out of the experiments of Chinese shamans throwing mineral powers into a fire to produce special effects. The Chinese developed a very strong technology of what we would now term geology. In the search for salt wells, the Ancient Chinese developed a technology of driving bamboo poles into the earth, which also tapped natural gas, causing a technology of a new fuel source. Through astrology, the Chinese developed accurate mechanical clocks, and, because of cultural and religious views, was refined (Bentley, pp. 55-59).
Both China and India formed urban areas in similar time periods, they both developed philosophical traditions that have some similarity, and both had advanced building and scientific techniques for their time period. China, however, experienced some ebb and flow periods, but no real decline as early as the Indus Valley, likely due somewhat to geography. Both had stratified societies, both focused on agriculture. Both cultures celebrated nature and wanted to live in harmony, which buttressed their philosophical and religious views. China continued to advance, while the Harappan's were assimilated by other cultures.
REFERENCES
Bently, J., et.al. Traditions and Encounters -- a Brief Global History. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010, Electronic.
