What were the most significant political and social developments during the Shang Dynasty? Shang Dynasty

The most important political development for Shang China
was their control of the Bronze market and their ability to produce tools and weapons
from this metal. Shang rulers had exclusive control over the production of copper and
tin used to make bronze. Weapons made from bronze were far superior to any used by
adversaries and allowed the Shang to control much of the Yellow River
valley.

Control of Bronze was also something of a social
development. Only the wealthy and nobility were allowed to use it for tools; peasants
still used stone implements which were very inferior to bronze
tools.

The Shang also developed a method of building
structures known as "pounded earth." It was created by placing soil in a wooden frame
and pounding it with a wooden mallet until it had the consistency of rock. City walls
were made from pounded earth; but also residents for the wealthy and the nobility. The
peasants lived in underground dwellings.

Finally, the Shang
were one of the first Chinese cultures to fully develop a system of writing. For this
reason, much more is known of their culture and customs than earlier dynasties. Much of
the writing was in the form of Oracle Bones in which breaks in an animal bone when
heated was used to divine the will of the Shang deity.