1. Social Structure and Family Life
1.1. Sumerian
1.1.1. Men held the more political powerand made laws while women took care of the home and children. But some women receieved an education allowing them to become preistesses in the temples.
1.1.2. Preists were seen as surperiors since they could offer drinks, and food to the gods, thereore giving them a high status.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The king held the highest social status, because he was their political leader, and religious leader. Next to his high ranking was his nobles.
1.2.2. Warriors were seen as superiors because of them fighting for their people.
1.2.3. Most of the lower ranked people were peasants who had very little and could barely pay the taxes that was enforced by the king.
2. Economy and Trade
2.1. Sumerian
2.1.1. Sumeria lacked many raw materials so in order to get supplies they would exchange woven textiles for metals, timber, and stone.
2.1.2. Jobs included, pottery makers, black smiths, farmers, fishers, weavers, leather workers, and sailors.
2.1.3. Based on agriculture, and was heavily influenced by technoligical advances.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. Most of the income came from farming, and many of the farmers knew how to cultivate the silkworm and weave it into cloth for clothing.
2.2.2. Soon they managed to manufacture weapons, ritual vessels, jewelry, and other items that had importance to them.
2.2.3. Most of the work was done by the peasants, who had the nobles that would just order them aound telling them waht to do.
3. Religion
3.1. Sumerian
3.1.1. They believed that multiple gods could control natural forces, so they had preists/preistesses offer food and drinks to the gods, and would also hold them ceremonies.
3.1.2. Believed that the gods were human like. They fell in love, married, ate and drank. But, the gods had enormous power and could flood the whole place or bring them rich harvests.
3.1.3. Had temples and ziggurats which were used to worship their gods.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. The king was not only their political leader, but he was their religious leader as well.
3.2.2. Believed in a head god that was the ruler of all the other gods. They also worshipped their ancestors.
3.2.3. Making sacrifices to the gods, and their ancestors was very important to them, so that they were able to please them.
3.2.4. The Zhou banned all sacrifices, but did adopt certain Shang gods who served under the Zhou god of heaven.
4. Geography and Agriculture
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. These people were located along the Persian Gulf on the Fertile Crescent.
4.1.2. On the Fertile Crescent there is a large amount of very fertile lands, which is the midst of many deserts and mountains. Being on this land allowed the Sumerian people to farm and prosper.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Similar too the other similar civilizations in the Fertile Crescent the Chinese formed their civilizations in river valleys.
4.2.2. The rivers that china carried very rich soil that was brought over from desert winds, which allowed for Chinese farmers to grow crops productively.
5. Arts and Education
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. They developed a math system based on the number 60, like 60 minutes in an hour. They used geometry which helped them build structures.
5.1.2. Their architecture includes the uses of arches, ramps, and columns. Sumerian sculpture includes statues with large, wide-open eyes and small objects carved out of ivory.
5.1.3. They sign their artwork with cylinder seals to show their ownership.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. They developed Chinese writing that was closely tied to the use of oracle bones. The early shang texts used pictured symbols to represent onjects or ideas.
5.2.2. They worked with bronze and created decorative bronze vessels and objects. They're known as artifacts of the Shang dynasty.
6. Science and Technology
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. They had scientific advances such as the wheel for pottery. They invented the plow and learned to make bronze to make stronger tools and weapons.
6.1.2. They had a good amount of medical knowledge so they performed basic surgery. Their archaeological remains show that they even built sewers.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. Iron was something the Zhou learned how to use. Iron weapons helped strengthen the Zhou army.
6.2.2. Some weapons made from iron that they made were armament, chariots and fortifications. They also were involved in glass production.
6.2.3. They had engineering technology for irrigation, drainage, waterways, canals and dams.
7. Government and Leaders
7.1. Sumrians
7.1.1. The Sumer people where made up of city states, and where mainly governed by the priests who held a very high status among the people.
7.1.2. In time the chiefs of the city states began to become kings, which they had ceremonies to please the God's, they where also one of the first people to begin dynasties,
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. While the Shang were in control, China was ruled by a monarchy. At their capitol, the Shang kings would preform rituals intended to keep the kingdom safe.
7.2.2. After the Zhou conqured the Shang they didn't rule by monarchy they chose to rule by Mandate of Heaven, this stated that the gods would choose a just ruler and wouldn't allow anyone who was currupt.
7.2.3. The leaders of the Shang dynasty where lead mainly by the king and the governors he had appointed to rule distant lands. But also the large army the Shang king had possessed.
7.2.4. The leaders of the Zhou dynasty where lead by kings also, but also had introduced the dynastic cycle, which was the rise and fall of dynasties, it said that any dynasty that had lost power was because they were corrupt.