1. Social Structure and Family LIfe
1.1. Summerians
1.1.1. At the top of the social structure were Kings, Priests and Principal Agents. They were treated with high respect and thought themselves as above everyone else.
1.1.2. Below them were the wealthy merchants, and below them was the majority of Sumerians such as artisans, farmers and laborers.
1.1.3. Men and Women had distinct roles as well. Men had political power and made rules, while women took care of the children.
1.1.4. Only upper class women could get educations. There was a very slim chance that women would get schooling at all, as women were not equal to men at that time.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. Most people spent their time in the fields. Majority of the people who worked on the fields were called peasants who were found all the way at the bottom of the social ladder.
1.2.2. Farmers would often work alongside slaves in building projects. People who worked agriculture were near the bottom of the social ladder, hence why they worked alongside slaves.
1.2.3. Elite people had a lot of free time so they could pursue leisure activities, such as hunting for sport and collecting expensive figurines.
2. Science and Technology
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. There was a large temple in the center of every city devoted to the chief god of the city. The temple was built with ziggurats, or multiple layers of pyramids built on top of each other.
2.1.2. The cities were surrounded by massive fields with large defensive walls. These walls were a marvel of engineering because they were made with massive stones and built without machinery.
2.1.3. The Sumerians developed one of the first writing systems called cuneiform, which means wedge writing. This was important because it moved us from prehistory (the period of time before written events) to written history.
2.1.4. In order to write, the Sumerians created clay tablets, that they wrote on with stylus'. They would write by scooping the patterns out of the wet clay, with a stylus, and then baking the clay to harden it.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. The Shang empire used oracle bones (a way they communicated with past dead people) to help develop writing. The bones were branded with hot irons, and the cracks were read by priests, which eventually led to Chinese writing.
2.2.2. They advanced metal working techniques because artists made beautiful ceremonial bronze vases.
2.2.3. The Zhou learned to work with iron, which was cheaper, stronger, easier to work, and better for weapons than brass. This helped advance their military.
2.2.4. Created an exact calendar based on the moon cycles, allowing them to record and know dates much more accurately.
3. Arts and Education
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. Arts include arches, ramps, and columns all visible on ziggurats and temples. Most famous works of art is cylinder seals, small stone cylinders engraved all around with detailed designs. Most people used cylinder seals to "sign" documents to show ownership.
3.1.2. Statues had large, wide open eyes as well as small items sculpted out of ivory.
3.1.3. Their writing was called cuneiform. They used styluses to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets.
3.1.4. Scribes (writers) were paid to create written documents. Becoming a scribe required years of schooling, but moved you up in the social ladder. Most scribes were men.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Oracle Bones were found in many tombs that were inscripted in animal bone used to tell the future. A hot piece of metal was applied to the oracle bone, resulting in cracks on the bone's surface. Trained priests interpreted the meaning o the cracks to learn the answer.
3.2.2. Began the use of chopsticks, which are still used in this day and age. Chopsticks are used to pick up and grab food. Majority of chopsticks were created with two pieces of wood.
3.2.3. Built huge structures such as tombs for the dead. The temples were sometimes filled with precious jewels such as jade and bronze.
3.2.4. Astronomers created a precise calendar based on the cycle of the moon.
4. Government and Leaders
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. Priest held high status in sumer and initially governed the city-states.
4.1.1.1. The first Sumerian ruler was Etana, king of Kish.
4.1.2. The city-states war chiefs began to rule as kings.
4.1.3. Many of the city-states kings formed dynasties. Dynasties are a line of hereditary rulers.
4.1.4. The kings served as the Gods Chief Representative, and would perform ceremonies to please the gods.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Ruled by a monarchy. A monarchy is a form of government with a monarch at the head.
4.2.1.1. The first ruler of the Shang was Cheng Tang.
4.2.1.2. The first ruler of the Zhou was King Wu.
4.2.2. The king appoints governors to rule distant parts of their kingdom.
4.2.3. The king had a large army at his disposal that would do what he wished. No one would question him because of his rank of the social ladder.
4.2.4. The army was mainly responsible for stopping rebellions, the king not wanting an uproar to dethrone him.
4.2.5. The Zhou conquered the Shang and their leader worried they would not accept them. To help them gain acceptance, they used the Mandate of heaven. This said that the gods would not let a corrupt king rule and they gained power because of this.
4.2.6. They used the mandate of heaven to explain the rise and fall of dynasties in China.
5. Religion
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. They practiced polytheism, which is the practice of worshipping many gods. One of the gods that was worshipped was named Anu; God of the heavens.
5.1.2. They believed Gods controlled all natural forces. Enlil ruled air and storms. Gods protected each city/state.
5.1.3. They thought gods were like humans. They ate, drank, fell in love, and fought. Though unlike humans, they had major power.
5.1.4. They built ziggurats and temples where priests and priestesses offered food and drink for the Gods.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. Many temples contained valuable items made of bronze and jade buried with the dead.
5.2.2. The Shang believed in afterlife, a ruler would still need its riches and servants; hence why they were buried with all of their valuable possessions.
5.2.3. Oracle Bones were inscribed bits of animal bone or turtle shell used as a form of divination.
5.2.4. Each tomb held the remains of hundreds of sacrificed prisoners of war. They were buried with nothing but themselves.
6. Geography and Agriculture
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Structures in the city of Sumer were built out of mud bricks because other building materials were scarce.
6.1.2. The city of Sumer is located on the fertile crescent, the most rich place for agriculture in the world.
6.1.3. The Sumerians lacked many raw materials such as wood and various metals. This was due to the geographical location.
6.1.3.1. The Sumerians were located in the Middle East.
6.1.4. Farm fields surrounded the city allowing for a more protection on the inside of the city.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. Long rivers, fertile soils, temperate climates, and isolated valleys all contributed to the growth and development of early China.
6.2.2. The Chang Jiang (Yangzi River) and the Huang He (Yellow River) provided water for China's earliest civilizations.
6.2.3. Mountains, hills, and deserts protected China from invasion.
6.2.3.1. Nobody attacked them because they couldn't get around these natural features.
6.2.4. In southern China along the Chang Jiang is a warm place and it receives plenty of rainfall, which is good for growing rice. Further north along the Huang He, the climate is cooler and drier, which is more suitable for grains such as wheat and millet.
7. Economy and Trade
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. They lived in an area scarce of building materials, so they traded for many materials such as wood and metal.
7.1.2. One of their main exports were woven textiles that they traded with Southwest Asia.
7.1.3. As trade developed and grew in Sumer, social hierarchy developed. The classes went, from top to bottom, kings, priests, and their principal agents, then large landowners and wealthy merchants, then the majority of the population, which were mostly, artisans, farmers, and laborers, followed by slaves at the very bottom.
7.1.4. Documents and papers that show ownership were signed with cylinder seals (small cylinders made of stone with carvings all around it).
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. Built roads and canals to help improve transportation, trade, and communication.
7.2.2. The Shang implemented the first money system, they traded shells in place of goods.
7.2.3. The Zhou later introduced the use of coins. They were made of bronze and copper, and were minted by the government with a specific value.
7.2.4. Shang China mostly produced agricultural goods, but they were also well known for their skill at working copper, and their jade artwork.