1. Religion
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. The people believed in many different Gods
1.1.2. Specific Gods were tied with nature
1.1.3. Had feasts for the Gods in honor of them
1.1.4. had many temples built to worship their gods. the temple was staffed by priests, priestesses, musicians, singers, castrates and hierodules.
1.2. Shang / zhou
1.2.1. Believed in peoples spirits
1.2.2. Like the Sumerians they believed in many different Gods.
1.2.3. The Gods took many different forms but thought they mainly took form of a dragon
1.2.4. The sun God and the moon God were the most well known
2. Science
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. They invented the wheel it was mainly used for pottery, they used it to round edges of tools. It helped make pottery round by spinning it.
2.1.2. They invention the plow used for farming because it made farming easier and they had extra resources.
2.1.3. sumerians were one of the first astronomers. they mapped the stars into constellations. they were awhere if the 5 planets that were vivible to the naked eye.
2.1.4. they performed basic surgery, they didn't have much technology.
2.2. Shang / zhou
2.2.1. for medicine they used acupuncture because it was something that because useful
2.2.2. idea they perfected the calendar with the with the certain amount of days and months.
2.2.3. used bronze because they learned how to work with it.
2.2.4. chinese bronzes were made by the method know of piece mold casting where the made molds and filled them
3. Economy and Trade
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. their economy was baised on agriculture which was influenced by major technological advances
3.1.2. they trades for wood which was scarce in mesopotamia.
3.1.3. Jobs included pottery makers, stonecutters, bricklayers, metal smiths, farmers, fishers, shepherds, weavers.
3.1.4. The Sumerians were the first civilization recorded in history. They managed to develop a system of writing known as cuneiform. where we can find proof of it.
3.2. Shang / zhou
3.2.1. Fishing began to grow as an industry as the people fished in the fresh waters.
3.2.2. Traders rarely traded internationally. Shang traders tended to avoid foreigners, because they didn't like them.
3.2.3. The bronze age became big and bronze was a big item to trade.
3.2.4. Five cereals, including wheat and rice, were first planted during the Shang reign because that is what was planted.
4. Government and leaders
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. As city states battled for dominance,war chiefs began to rule as kings.
4.1.2. the priest held a very high status in the sumer society and initially governed them.
4.1.3. the sumer government was a combination of monarchy and democracy, kingdoms were divided into city states where kings would rule for the gods.
4.1.4. as the sumer became more powerful and their cities became bigger, they moved to a different form of government where they would have one king rule multiple cities.
4.2. Sumerians
4.2.1. As city states battled for dominance,war chiefs began to rule as kings.
4.2.2. the priest held a very high status in the sumer society and initially governed them.
4.2.3. the sumer government was a combination of monarchy and democracy, kingdoms were divided into city states where kings would rule for the gods.
4.2.4. as the sumer became more powerful and their cities became bigger, they moved to a different form of government where they would have one king rule multiple cities.
4.3. Shang / zhou
4.3.1. The Shang/Zhou dynasties were both monarchy's where the king was both the lawmaker and the judge.
4.3.2. The king would rule by force and anyone who broke a law or committed a crime would be killed by his soldiers immediately.
4.3.3. Originally whichever clan had the largest army would rule the civilizations until a clan with a bigger/better army came along.
4.3.4. This form of government lasted for over 550 years, and when a king died his closest relative would take his place.
5. Social Structure and family life
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. The order of the social pyramid went, nobles, commoners, clients, slaves
5.1.2. If husband died the wife would marry his brother but if the brother was married the wife would not re-marry unless told to.
5.1.3. Women began to have less and less rights
5.1.4. They buried their family members all in one tomb and would leave their families valuables in there.
5.2. Shang / zhou
5.2.1. Aristocracy was the most respected in social group
5.2.2. Aristocracy, artists, peasants
5.2.3. King ruled over all social classes
5.2.4. The king's position was through royal blood
6. Arts and education
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. they used columns and arches in their statues and architecture. it made it look nicer
6.1.2. statues had wide open eyes becauses to observe the divinity in the temple.
6.1.3. they started to put design into their art when the clay was wet.
6.1.4. education was for the wealthy and was taught in the temple taught by a priest.
6.2. Shang / zhou
6.2.1. education is highly valued
6.2.2. education helps the future and development of the individual but also the family and the country as a whole.
6.2.3. used bronze for art because they learned how to use it.
6.2.4. they made high quality art pieces, their jars were top notch.
7. Geography and Agriculture
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. Part of the fertile crescent which aloud them to grow more and more food
7.1.2. Cities were built next to the rivers because of the fertile soil
7.1.3. The people grew and domesticated many different things
7.1.4. Barley, Chickpeas, lentils, millet, wheat
7.2. Shang / zhou
7.2.1. The people struggles with agriculture because of the many floods
7.2.2. Farms were owned by nobles who hired servants to work on the farm
7.2.3. The Yangtze river was a main location for cities but it flooded many times. This also included the Yellow river
7.2.4. The people did not have a stable food surplus because of the flash floods