1. Government and Leaders
1.1. Sumerian
1.1.1. Priests were highly praised and regarded in sumerian society, and early on they even ruled over the city-states. Until the warring between states saw the rise of prominent war chiefs as reigning kings
1.1.2. Kings served as chief representatives to the gods. One family line was regarded as royal, had a dynastical rule.
1.1.3. The Sumerians are often credited with the invention of government
1.1.4. In addition to the king, a very complex system of officials who organized building projects and divided the labor.
1.1.5. Cities and surrounding lands were formed into City-states, ruled by the king of that city.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The Shang had a dynastical rule with one central monarch surrounded by nobles.
1.2.2. Governors were appointed by the king to go and rule far off lands
1.2.3. The Shang were conquered by the Zhou in 1050 B.C, at which time the Zhou instated the "Mandate of heaven" which solidified their rule by describing their rule as the will of the Gods.
1.2.4. The dynasty cycle was said to be influenced by the "Mandate of Heaven" , in that whenever a ruler became unruly, unjust, or otherwise unfit for rule, that he would be cast down from power and be replaced.
1.2.5. The government was based off the feudal system, which rewarded the kings workers with small peices of land
2. Science
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. Developed a math system based on the number 60
2.1.2. Learned Geometry to build elaberate structures
2.1.3. Invented the wheel
2.1.4. Invented the plow
2.1.5. They built sewers
2.1.6. They could preform basic surgery
2.2. Shang
2.2.1. Developed chinese writing
2.2.2. Great advances in working with bronze
2.2.3. Created money system
2.2.4. created accurate calender based on the moon
2.2.5. Able to build huge structures such as tombs
2.3. Zhou
2.3.1. learned how to use iron
2.3.2. invented the catapult and the calvary
2.3.3. Farmers learned new ways to increase harvests
2.3.4. Introduced coins into china
2.3.5. Growth of cities led to roads and canals
3. Social structure/Family life
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. Nobles were at the top of social class, commoners were small land owners and farmers, clients were a large part of the sumerian population and owned small plots of land, the slaves built structures and were not paid.
3.1.2. Treasured family time, men were the head of the family.
3.1.3. Similarly to family structure, men help political power and made laws, while women kept the house and cared for children.
3.1.4. The people believed that the King was appointed by the gods, as such priests were very high up in society.
3.1.5. Children were expected to be respectful and well behaved and obey their parents.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Four social classes: The king and noble aristocracy, the military, the artisans/craftsmen, peasants.
3.2.2. The aristocracy was the most respected class and were in charge of governing areas of the dynasty.
3.2.3. Farmers were sometimes used for slave labor.
3.2.4. Under the Zhou a new social structure emerged, the shi were the scholars, the nong were the farmers and peasants, the gong were artisans and craftsmen, the shang were the merchants and traders.
3.2.5. The prince was the heir to the throne of china, he was vital for the life of the Dynasty.
4. Shang/zhou
4.1. The shang development the chinese writing for the use of their origin.
4.2. Artist created highly decorative bronze vessels for the use to fashion weapons.
4.3. The zhou made bronze sairfical,jar cups that were made under the shang emperors. They made the jar cups for their ancestors.
4.4. wrote long inscriptions about their own lives so their ancestors and descendants would know what they had done.
4.5. They also kept on making jade ornaments and decorations, in complicated shapes with carving on them.
5. Shang/ Zhou
5.1. Long rivers, fertile soil, temperate climates
5.2. Floods caused good fertile soil
5.3. Isolated valleys
5.4. Chang Jiang had plenty of rainfall
5.5. Grew rice, wheat, and millet
6. Geography and Agriculture
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Flat swampy region, Good for farming
6.1.2. Excellent farming in the southern areas
6.1.3. Rivers flooded land, made fertile soil
6.1.4. Plenty of water for crops
6.1.5. The rivers sometimes flooded the land making great soil
7. Arts and Education
7.1. Sumerian
7.2. Ruins and artifacts provide us with sumerian artistry.
7.3. Sumerian architecture includes the use of Arches,Ramps and columns.
7.4. Famous work of art are its cylinder seals,they were used as a administrative and used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay.
7.5. Sumerian sculpture includes statues with large wide open eyes as well as small objects carved out of ivory.
7.6. Sumerians
7.6.1. The sumerians practiced polytheism which means They worshipped multiple gods not just one
7.6.2. Each city state in sumeria had its own god that they worshipped
7.6.3. In each city state in the temple was a pyramid structure called a ziggurat that rose to the sky
7.6.4. The sumerians believed that the gods controlled all natural forces and would determine the weather, quality of crops and things like that
7.6.5. In sumerian society priests were considered very knowledgeable and noble and were held in very high status
7.7. The famous votive marble sculptures represent tall, bearded figures with huge, staring eyes and long, pleated skirts.
8. Economy and Trade
8.1. Sumerians
8.1.1. The sumerians lacked many raw materials which caused a need to trade for almost everything
8.1.2. Wealth and lack of it for some people created a distinct social hierarchy in sumerian society
8.1.3. They used slaves to accomplish the hard labor creating a great source of free work and economic activity
8.1.4. Because they did so much trading Merchants became very wealthy and held very high status
8.1.5. Not very much trade due to geographic isolation with the rest of the world. Large rivers and mountains made it difficult to enter and leave the area
8.1.6. The sumerians invented a number system Which made counting money and the value of money easier and more standardized
8.2. Shang and Zhou
8.2.1. There is some evidence that the shang created one of the worlds first systems of money
8.2.2. The zhou were the first to introduce coins to china revolutionizing their economy and trade
8.2.3. The economy relied mainly on agriculture and was largely self sufficient they produced everything they needed to thier and really did not need to trade very much
8.2.4. The most important crop of the age for the shang was millet
8.2.5. Fishin became a big industry for the shang with fishers reaping the rewards of lots of fresh water
9. Religion
9.1. Shang and Zhou
9.1.1. The Shang religion centered on the idea of ancestor worship
9.1.2. The shang would often seek advice from ancestors through oracle bowls
9.1.3. The Shang would prepare and eat meals for and to honor their ancestors they believed the steam from the food would nourish the ancestors spirits
9.1.4. Shang Rulers would be buried with servants and riches when they died because they believed they would have to rule in the after life as well
9.1.5. The Zhou dynasty is famous for the start of two major chinese philosophies Taoism and confucism