1. Economy and trade
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. Sumerians lacked the many raw materials needed to build homes so they would trade for it.
1.1.2. They were pioneers in agriculture so that's what their economy was based off of.
1.1.3. They had bakers that had a job turning the raw grains into bread to sell to the villagers.
1.1.4. They also had people making pottery that would store their grains to keep them from spoiling.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The Shang/Zhou specialized in farming and fishing.
1.2.2. Their venture into fishing was a big one and they formed some of the first fish markets.
1.2.3. Many people started to also produce crafts in large quantities to be sold and traded.
1.2.4. the influx of extra commodities turned ome people into the earliest off wholesalers buying large quantities of goods to sell to others.
2. Arts & Education
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. They used a lot of arches, pillars, columns, and ramps in their more modern buildings.
2.1.2. Carved big statues with large, wide open eyes, along with smaller personal objects that were made of ivory.
2.1.3. Their most famous art were the cylindrical seals. They would roll stone cylinders engraved with designs in clay as a seal.
2.1.4. They used the seals they made to sign documents and to show ownership of things.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. They would use bones and turtle shells to create drawings and pictures on them.
2.2.2. Created many decorated vessels and religious items using bronze.
2.2.3. They would create expensive special items to be buried with the dead to honor them.
2.2.4. They used jade in a lot of their artwork and burial items. Jade was a very expensive item at the time and it was their favorite mineral for things.
3. Religion
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. The sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic religion which is the belief of many gods
3.1.2. Ziggurats were dwelling places for the gods that were built like pyraminds
3.1.3. They believed in 4 gods/goddesses- Anu, Enlil, Enki, and Ereshkigal
3.1.4. They believed man was created by god from clay to serve him.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Two main religions were from the Shang/Zhou era-Confucianism and Taoism
3.2.2. They used oracle bones to answer questions they had(they would study the cracks on a bone to see the answers)
3.2.3. Confucianism is a system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius and developed by Mencius.
3.2.4. Taoism is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tz, one main concept of Taoism is the belief of Yin and Yang(where opposite forces balance
4. Government and Leaders
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. These Priests now kings formed dynasties meaning the kept the rule in their family and passes it down from generation to generation
4.1.2. Many Priests became heads of the City states that were formed over time as their environment expanded
4.1.3. City states were formed every time they expanded into a new area and a trustworthy follower would be in charge.
4.1.4. kings would not only please their people but they would also be the first to please the gods by making sacrafices.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Shang was one of the first emperors of china until Zhou conquered him
4.2.2. Zhou ruled by the mandate of heaven and the belief of a after life.
4.2.3. Placed members of family and loyal followers to control smaller territories
4.2.4. Vassal prince was a underling of a Shang or a Zhou that lead conquests of neighboring territories they also offered advice to their superiors.
5. Geography and Agriculture
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. Sumerians were very well suited for Agriculture because it was very flat and swampy in Mesopotamia and many people began farming here in 5500 B.C.
5.1.2. Sumerians relied on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to purify their soil so they grew grains such as wheat and barely and many food populations grew which led to villages forming.
5.1.3. As the two rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) moved closer to one another to be joined in the Persian Gulf, sediment and silt was left behind making their land called Sumer very fertile for many crops.
5.1.4. In the Sumerian culture they couldn't time when flooding was capable so when water levels in the rivers from rainfall and snowmelt in mountains, it washed away their crops.
5.2. Shang/zhou
5.2.1. Shang/Zhou formed their society along the Western bend of the Hwang He River which is in China and this area was very dry, and also very windy and desert like in many areas which made the soil hard and hard to farm from.
5.2.2. Their part of North-West China had very cold winters, their soil dries up, and for their Agriculture they had to grow drought resistant crops such as millet.
5.2.3. River levels were too low so crops could die during the hot, dry summers so they built water basins to store rainwater, built canals to carry the water to fields, and also built dikes which controlled the flooding if for some reason transporting too much water was a chance.
5.2.4. The Shang/Zhou assigned jobs and allocated resources and food they had available to one another. Many leaders emerged out of building supplies they needed to water purposes and civilizations began to come together and form.
6. Social structure and family
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. The Sumerian social structure was made up of four social classes: Nobles which included priests or warriors, Commoners which were ordinary people, Clients who provided respect and political support, and Slaves who worked on Nobles large areas of land.
6.1.2. The father of the Sumerian family was head and master of the household and could even divorce his wife or sell his wife and children into slavery.
6.1.3. Slaves provided families with produce and animals provided manpower for digging and farming.
6.1.4. The men in Sumerian culture make the family decisions and also arrange the marriages for their sons and daughters.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. In the Shang/Zhou dynasty family was very important to everybody and the oldest male was head of the family which made mos of the decisions.
6.2.2. If one person did something wrong in the family the whole rest of the family was in disgrace.
6.2.3. The children obeyed what their families told them to do without a fuss and they also looked forward to the day they would become parents when their children would honor them.
6.2.4. The role of women in the family was to be respectful, calm, comforting, and gentle the family. They were also required to obey their husbands and the home and family to the dynasty was sacred.
7. Science & Technology
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. They developed a math system based on the number 60.
7.1.2. We still use their number system to this day and it is why we divide an hour into 60 minutes and a circle into 360 degrees.
7.1.3. They used geometry to build advanced structures and even an irrigation system.
7.1.4. They started to even begin doing basic surgery.
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. They crafted bronze tools and religious items.
7.2.2. They were able to make large advanced structures such as their tombs.
7.2.3. They were able to create an accurate calendar that was based on the position of the moon.
7.2.4. They were able to make one of the first money systems in the world.