1. Religion
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. The Sumerians believed in polytheism which is the belief in many gods and some of which they do not worship equally.
1.1.2. One of the things they do for polytheism is they build ziggurats and temples and that is were priests or priestess make offerings to the gods
1.1.3. If you were a priest or a priestess you held a very high status in the social class and you were treated with much respect.
1.1.4. They also believed that gods lived among them and did the same tasks that they did except the gods could grant special powers and had very special abilities
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The Shangs religion was very different from the Zhou's, they thought that kings saw the universe filled with ghosts and spirits
1.2.2. The Zhou's religion was much more terrestrial than the Shang's. They believed that human ancestors and deities
1.2.3. The Shang believed in human sacrifice and at the burial of leaders or deities they would sacrifice prisoners or prisoners of war
1.2.4. The Zhou had a king that followed the Mandate of Heaven which was as long as he was in power and as long as he pleased the gods he can stay at the leader spot
2. Government and Leaders
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. They believe that Gods protected certain parts of a city. Also to them Gods controlled all natural forces like weather
2.1.2. War chiefs began to rule as kings. these kings were served as Gods.
2.1.3. To them Gods had enormous power they could bring rich harvest or even floods.
2.1.4. Priests held a high status and governed city states.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. The Zhou introduced that the y rule by Mandate of Heaven. What that mean is that who they pick to rule was approved by a god
2.2.2. The Mandate of Heaven stated that the Gods would support a just ruler no one corrupt.
2.2.3. They used Mandate of Heaven to explain the dynastic cycle. That means the Gods would pick what dynasties would rise and fall if they become corrupt.
2.2.4. Any dynasties that lost power they claimed they had become corrupt and the gods made it become overthrown.
3. Science
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. They created irrigation canals, basins, and dikes to counteract the droughts and flooding which allowed for them to have more reliable harvest seasons.
3.1.2. They collected and wrote down an impressive amount of medical knowledge for their time. They even performed basic surgeries
3.1.3. Invented the wheel and the plow. The plow allowed for the Sumerians to maximize their harvest by being able to cover more land quicker with less effort.
3.1.4. Learned how to make bronze tools which allowed for stronger and more durable tools that could last longer without cracking.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Advanced engineering allowed for them to be able to build large stable structures such as tombs
3.2.2. They created a precise calendar based on the moons cycles.
3.2.3. After Shang dynasty, the Zhou dynasty learned how to cast iron and with this new stronger material, they were able to further advance their tools and make them much more durable. They also strengthened their army with iron by replacing their bronze armor and weapons with iron weapons and armor.
3.2.4. Farmers learned new techniques that allowed for them to increase the size of their harvest
4. Economy and Trade
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. They lacked many raw materials such as timber and metals.
4.1.2. Traded woven textiles as a trading item to get their much needed timber.
4.1.3. Had to make houses out of dried mud bricks because timber was scarce in their environment
4.1.4. The main jobs in sumer were pottery makers, stone-cutters, brick-layers, metalsmiths, farmers, fishers, shepherds, weavers, leather-workers, and sailors
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. They might have come up with the first currency system in their time by using shells as a currency.
4.2.2. They built roads and canals which could have been used for easier transport and trade.
4.2.3. They had square field plots to show land ownership easily.
4.2.4. Due to their invention of iron tipped plows, they were able to have a huge surplus of food, increase the population, and become a very wealthy civilization
5. Social Structure and Family Life
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. Large cities had begun to appear in summer by 3000 B.C. Commoners owned smaller amounts of land.
5.1.2. City states had grew, they increasingly fought over land and water. In order to gain and survival for their city.
5.1.3. Sumerian society was thought to have been made up of four social classes nobles, commoners, clients and slaves.
5.1.4. The nobles included the ruling family, priests, warriors and families who owned large areas of land and were usually very wealthy.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. Shang kings were surrounded by a court, or gathering of wealthy nobles who performed rituals intended to strengthen the kingdom and kept it safe.
5.2.2. Farmers learned new techonologies that increased the size of their harvest.
5.2.3. Most people spent their time in the fields tending to crops in order to feed themselves and their king.
5.2.4. As populations grew, so did cities over time. How? Well, due to a massive population people were able to produce more and more of the resources that were needed in order to evolve.
6. Arts and Education
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Sumerian architexture include the use of arches, ramps, and columns.
6.1.2. Most famous works of art are its cylinders seals, small stone cylinders engraved around with detail design.
6.1.3. Sumerians learned to use geometry, which was necessary to build elaborate structures and irrigation systems.
6.1.4. Education for wealthy families, studied and worked sun up to sun down. Sumerians focused on complex grammar and practiced writing.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. Encouraged the growth of visual arts like goldsmith, highly decorative bronze vessels.
6.2.2. Education was seen as a symbol of power, education often earned significantly greater income.
6.2.3. Knowledge of education was taught by the elderly, because they knew the most.
6.2.4. The Shang/ and Zhou era compromised the bronze age. Other cultural developments such as caligraghy and its cousins Chinese paintings.
7. Geography and Agriculture
7.1. Shang/Zhou
7.1.1. Like the Sumerians the Shang and the Zhou's civilization was along 2 rivers and the rivers were the yellow river and the Yangtze river
7.1.2. When the Yangtze and the Yellow river would flood and then go back to normal they would leave behind some minerals creating fertile soil
7.1.3. Since the Shang and the Zhou were not on the fertile crescent they had to rely more on the flooding of the yellow and Yangtze rivers for fertile farmland
7.1.4. The seasonal winds from the northern oceans caused a lot of rainfall and some of the rainfall had sediment in it causing more fertile soil.
7.2. Sumeria
7.2.1. Within the Fertile crescent therefore more fertile land and very good for farming
7.2.2. The sumerians lived in between the Tigris and Euphates rivers and since the rivers flood they also provide fertile soil
7.2.3. Sumer is surrounded on both sides with rivers. The rivers Euphrates and Tigris had,As these rivers moved out of their positions, sediment and silt was left behind making the area very fertile.
7.2.4. Sumerians climate was hot. Not only did the Sumerians deal with crazy rivers, but also had a harsh climate to deal with. It didn't rain often and when it did, it usually came as a storm from the Persian Gulf flooding the rivers.