1. Geography and Agriculture
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. Eupherates River
1.1.2. Assur
1.1.3. Persian Gulf
1.1.4. Tigris River
1.2. Shang
1.2.1. The people had settled by the Yellow River
1.2.2. Farming was the most common way to get income
1.3. Zohu
1.3.1. The Zhou people were located on Wei River Valley
1.3.2. The land they settled on was surrounded by mountains
2. Religion
2.1. Shang
2.1.1. Ancestor Worship was most popular
2.2. Zohu
2.2.1. Confucianism (
2.2.2. Legalism (
2.3. Sumerians
2.3.1. Mythology: Gods, Goddesses, Constellations
2.3.2. Pantheon: Similar to mythology, Gods and Goddesses
2.3.3. Rites: Christianity and Masonic, they believe in one higher power
2.3.4. Cosmology: The environment of the earth as a closed dome, with each spiritual or element location containing a higher power
2.3.5. The majority of Sumerian deities belonged to a classification called the Anunna
3. Economy and Trade
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. Epic of Gilgamesh
3.1.2. Cedar from Lebanon
3.1.3. Slaves
3.1.4. Beads
3.2. Shang
3.2.1. The serfs and slaves did the trading
3.2.2. Farming & crop harvest was the most popular product-of-trade
3.3. Zohu
3.3.1. Agriculture, Bronze, Trade, Iron, and made weapons
3.3.2. Most of the work was done by peasents
4. Government and Leaders
4.1. Shang
4.1.1. The King or Wang was considered as religious leader as well as a ruler
4.1.2. The King, along with aristocrats & bureaucrats directed peasant work
4.2. Zhou
4.2.1. An emperor ruled as a leader
4.2.2. Government was hierarchy-based (had emperor sitting on top while lords and nobles took orders, and the peasants took orders from the lords and nobles
4.3. Sumerians
4.3.1. Before the time of the Sumerians, they had kings
4.3.2. Men were dominate, there for they were the leaders, and ruled over all others
4.3.3. Sumerians had political power, and were illiterate
4.4. the kings (once elected by people) became monarchs
5. Science and Technology
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. Used the wheel
5.1.2. They had gone by an irrigation system
5.1.3. They used waterskins
5.1.4. They had invented arrowheads
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. Created some great cities with huge populations
5.2.2. Made roads and canals for trading purposes
5.2.3. Masters of horse-drawn chariots
5.2.4. They had gone by the philosophical basis of Confucianism and Taoism
6. Art and Education
6.1. Shang/Zhou
6.1.1. Developed very sophisticated form of writing
6.1.2. Created first decimal system
6.1.3. Only royal family (sons) were able to get an education
6.1.4. Master bronze crafters
6.2. Sumerians
6.2.1. The schooling involved priesthood
6.2.2. Separate schooling for affluent families was also an option, but you had to pay for it
6.2.3. Most of the students were males
6.2.4. They mostly practiced writing, and they took their studies very seriously, studying and working day and night
6.2.5. School took place in temples
7. Social Structure and Family Life
7.1. Shang
7.1.1. The King & his nobles sat on top of the social ladder, most peasants had very little & couldn't pay the taxes the king had enforced
7.1.2. Warriors were also very powerful
7.2. Zhou
7.2.1. Social scale consisted of Kings, Nobles/Aristocrats, & Peasants
7.2.2. Overtime the emperor lost a major portion of his power to aristocrats
7.3. Sumerians
7.3.1. They wore Feather Head dresses
7.3.2. Lunar months
7.3.3. Evidence that they loved music
7.3.4. Male Dominance