Pools of wine, volcanic eruption, minotaurs, shipwrecks, ringing rocks, epic ocean voyages, and pyramids in North America! The world in 1700 BCE was a tapestry of diverse cultures. Many people were living in small nomadic communities and many people were living in giant empires. It was the height of what historians refer to as "The Bronze Age." We take a world tour to the Shang Dynasty in China, the Minoans on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, the Kerma civilization in Sudan, Poverty Point in the United States, and the Austronesian Expansion across Islands Southeast Asia.

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Note: Visit our site if you're after official episode sources. Links below are to peruse and to compliment the episode for more depth.

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Collapse of the Xia Dynasty and the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty 

• We get the story of the corrupt, depraved King Jie and his pool of wine from the Lienü Zhuan (Exemplary Women of Early China). This was written during the Han Dynasty by a scholar named Liu Xiang. Interestingly very similar stories are told about Shang dynasty King King Zhou Xin.
• The Shang Dynasty.
• The script on the oracle bones is related to modern Chinese scripts.
• Transfer of a dynasty and the Mandate of Heaven.
• Was this Mediterranean volcano the cause of the weather disruptions referenced in the Bamboo Annals?

Minoan civilization on the island of Crete

• The island later believed by the Greeks to be the birthplace of Zeus.
• Shipwreck carrying goods from all over the bronze age world.
• Scientists use ice cores and tree rings to date the Volcano. Here is a news article covering the same info.
• The iconic Minoan frescos are found as far as Egypt.
• Their script, linear A, remains mostly undeciphered.
• The culture seems to center around a giant palace at Knossos.
• Images of bulls are common in Minoan art. Example, example example, example, example example.
• Like many other “myths”the world over, the story of King Minos and the Minotaur has threads of historical reality woven through it.
• Mycenaeans.
• The Mycenaeans used the writing system of the Minoans to write their own language. This is referred to as Linear B.

Kingdom of Kerma in Nubia.

• Ancient rock art in Sudan shows cattle played a vital role in ancient Nubian cultures.
• Copper use in Kerma.
• Kerma Archeology Sites.
• Many pictures of the Deffufas of Kerma here. The Deffufas likely served as the religious centers of the city.
• The Amulets of the Kerma Culture.
• Watch beginning at 5:30 to see the rock gongs.
• Another video of rock gongs - these are in Nigeria.

Poverty Point

• Poverty Point is a UNESCO world heritage site.
• The largest of the works at Poverty Point is the pyramid known as Mound A.
• New studies shed light on the engineering of the mounds.
• Clay balls were used to heat underground ovens. These “Poverty Point Objects” or PPOs are the only artifact that seems to have traveled away from Poverty Point.

Austronesian Expansion out of Taiwan.

• The Austronesian Language family covers half the globe.
• The voyage from Luzon to the Mariana Islands was the longest trip out of sight of land humans had ever taken.
• Ancient paintings of sea turtles in the Mariana Islands.
• Within the larger Austronesian geographical area, a smaller area becomes known as the Lapita culture.
• Among other principle artifacts, they are known for their red slip pottery. Other examples here.
• Two neat tools for comparing country sizes. We are so incorrectly programed by our flat maps!

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