New
New
Year 3

Bronze dings

I can describe what archaeologists have found out about the Shang Dynasty from looking at their bronze dings.

New
New
Year 3

Bronze dings

I can describe what archaeologists have found out about the Shang Dynasty from looking at their bronze dings.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. One reason why we know so much about the Shang Dynasty is because of their use of bronze.
  2. Bronze dings were highly important to the Shang Dynasty.
  3. The large size of many dings has led archaeologists to believe they were used to offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors.
  4. If the ancestors of a family were pleased, life for that family would be prosperous.
  5. Dings required complicated moulds to produce. Wealthy Shang Dynasty used them to demonstrate their status.

Keywords

  • Ding - a ding is an object that can hold food, used for ceremonies or for display

  • Sacrifice - a sacrifice is something given to a god or an ancestor as an act of worship

  • Ancestor - an ancestor is a person who was in someone's family in past times

  • Status - a person's rank or importance compared to others is their status

Common misconception

Pupils may think that sacrifices were only offered to gods.

The belief that the ancestors held power over the living family was very strong in the Shang Dynasty. The people wanted to remember them, keep them happy and asked for blessings for their actions in life.

Students could draw and design their own ding or use clay and moulds to demonstrate how bronze dings were moulded into shape.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Shang Dynasty cities were surrounded by ...
fences
thin walls
Correct answer: thick walls
Q2.
Which of these were the locations of Shang Dynasty cities?
Correct answer: Anyang
Harappa
Mohenjo-Daro
Correct answer: Zhengzhou
Q3.
The Shang Dynasty started in the Valley in China.
Correct Answer: Yellow River, yellow river
Q4.
Which of these were inside the Shang Dynasty cities?
Correct answer: bronze workshops
Correct answer: temples
Correct answer: palaces
farmers houses
Correct answer: jade workshops
Q5.
The Shang Dynasty began later than the other major ancient civilisations.
Correct answer: True
False
Q6.
Bronze weapons and armour helped the Shang Dynasty kings to defend their ...
religion
Correct answer: empire
boats
tombs

6 Questions

Q1.
An object that can hold food, used for ceremonies or for display is called a...
ancestor
status
Correct answer: ding
Q2.
The Shang Dynasty people used bronze dings to offer sacrifices to their and ancestors.
Correct Answer: gods, god
Q3.
Select all the features of a bronze ding.
Correct answer: decoration
Correct answer: handles
Correct answer: bowl shape
Correct answer: legs
Q4.
The people of the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors could help them in life.
Correct answer: True
False
Q5.
Owning lots of bronze dings showed that a person had a status.
low
Correct answer: high
Q6.
Which of these is the definition for the word 'status'?
a person who was in someone's family in past times
Correct answer: a person's rank or importance compared to others
an object that can hold food, used for ceremonies or for display

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