1. Shang/Zhou
1.1. Folk religion during the Shang dynasty was polytheistic which meant believed in many gods
1.2. The Shang believed if that they hand a good life they would have a good spirit when they passed away,
1.3. If they had done things that were bad and caused bad deeds then they would have a bad spirit when they passed away.
1.4. They had a god that name was Shang Ti he was linked between people and heaven and it was important that they made that god hapy
2. Arts and Education
2.1. Shang/Zhou
2.1.1. Created bronze statues covered in gold leaf.
2.1.2. They made ritual art from bronze to show the importance of ancestors.
2.1.3. They made guang vessels to hold wine and other fluids.
2.1.4. They made art and small statues to place in burials to show respect to the dead.
2.2. Sumerians
2.2.1. Sumerians developed a writing system whose wedged-shaped strokes will influence the scripts in that area for the next 3000 years
2.2.2. Clay containers were made to hold Sumerians clay tokens. The containers could be sealed up and reopened which made it easy to carry the tokens.
2.2.3. Sumerians used multiple objects of the same types and marks to count the number of objects. 3300 BCE was the earliest texts of the Sumerian cities.
2.2.4. Writing systems during the early periods were constantly in flux.
3. Religion
3.1. Sumerian
3.1.1. The Sumerian religion regarded the universe as consisting of heaven and earth.
3.1.2. Sumerians believed all of the cosmos were controlled by a divine and immortal being.
3.1.3. Sumerians believed in a world where they would go after death referred to as the nether.
3.1.4. The Sumerians had temples known as ziggurats that contained an offering table.
4. Economy and Trade
4.1. Sumerian
4.1.1. Small clay objects with abstract shapes called clay tokens were used for counting agricultural and manufactured goods.
4.1.2. The Sumerian's economy was based on agriculture.
4.1.3. Hierachy of the social groups that was associated with the economic activity as well as with rank and power
4.1.4. Sumerians often traded obsidian for low resources for their villages suck as sinew.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. They introduced a currency system in the form of coins.
4.2.2. 90% of peasants lived on farms in family compounds.
4.2.3. Made iron tools because they were cheaper to manufacture.
4.2.4. Increased food from the efficiency of iron tools caused population growth.
5. Government and Leaders
5.1. Sumarians
5.1.1. The ancient Sumarians are credited for the invention of government.
5.1.2. They Invented government to organize labors and officials were appointed to sort out problems and work on construction projects.
5.1.3. The Sumerian government was a combination of monarchy and democracy ruled by a Priest-King.
5.1.4. The Priest-Kings received advice from a general assembly made up of elected men.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. For the Shang and Zhou dynasty they both hand emperors that ruled
5.2.2. The king was called Zhou Wu who killed the last king Shang dynasty and became ruler of the Zhou dynasty.
5.2.3. In the Shang dynasty their emperor was King Tang
5.2.4. In the Zhou dynasty their ruler emperor was Zhou Wu
6. Social Structure and Family
6.1. Sumerian
6.1.1. In Sumer the father/husband is the master of the household and makes all the major decisions.
6.1.2. The women in Sumer weren't quite equal but were very close to equal.
6.1.3. The Sumerian boys would attend a public school and girls would be home schooled.
6.1.4. The Sumerians shared a passion for cosmetics such as make-up and perfumes.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. Like many other ancient cultures the Shang had a social pyramid
6.2.2. The pyramid started with the king at the top followed by noble military men presits, merchants, then farmes
6.2.3. The Zhou king wanted everyone to follow the rules and he was very strict with the rules
6.2.4. The zhou also had a pyramid social structure
7. Geography and Agriculture
7.1. Sumerian
7.1.1. The Sumerians farmed wheat, barely, sheep, and cattle.
7.1.2. The Sumerians lived in the fertile crescent.
7.1.3. The Sumerian's climate was very hot and didn't rain often.
7.1.4. Sumer is surrounded on both sides with rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris were the two rivers.
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. The Shang people lived on farm lands instead of wandering nomads
7.2.2. The Shang farmed millet, wheat, rice, and barley crops which
7.2.3. they lived near the yellow and yangtze Rivers which lead to major food source for their crops
7.2.4. The Shangs domesticated animals were Pigs, Dogs, Oxen, and even silk worms.
8. Science and Thechnology
8.1. Sumerian
8.1.1. As far back as 6000 BC, boots and sandals are evidence for the use of leather.
8.1.2. Made many tools and weapons such as saws, chisels, hammers, and axes from metal.
8.1.3. Advances in technology made them able to make tools from bronze rather than wood.
8.1.4. Beer brewing was an advancement, discovered from wheats and grains from bread, fermenting.
8.2. Shang/Zhou
8.2.1. The first catapult was created.
8.2.2. They created iron tools at a fast and efficient pace.
8.2.3. They created and began using chopsticks as an eating utensil.
8.2.4. They made jade and bone tools very well.