1. Economy and Trade
1.1. Sumeria
1.1.1. They lacked many raw materials like wood and metals.
1.1.2. They exchanged woven textiles for metals, timber and stone.
1.1.3. Men held political powers and made laws.
1.1.4. Women took care of the home and children.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The Zhou learned how to us iron, which became the backbone of their economy.
1.2.2. The Zhou built roads and canals, allowing better transportation and communication.
1.2.3. Iron was strong and could be cast more quickly and cheaply than bronze.
1.2.4. The Shang created one of the world's first systems of money.
2. Social Structure and Family Life
2.1. Sumeria
2.1.1. At the top were the Kings, priests and their principal agents.
2.1.2. Next were wealthy merchants and large landowners.
2.1.3. Below them were the majority of the Sumerians-artisans, farmers and laborers.
2.1.4. At the bottom were slaves, many of whom had been captured in battle.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. Shang prisoners of war were sacrificed in tombs to they could serve the ruler in the afterlife.
2.2.2. People had more time to pursue leisure activities such as hunting.
2.2.3. Wealthy members enjoyed collecting expensive objects made of bronze and jade.
2.2.4. Many people spent their time in the field tending the crops.
3. Religion
3.1. Religious Artifact
3.2. Sumeria
3.2.1. They thought gods ate, drank, fell in love, married and fought just like them.
3.2.2. The gods could bring rich harvests or raging floods.
3.2.3. The people built ziggurats and temples for the gods.
3.2.4. They believed a god protected each city-state
3.3. Shang/Zhou
3.3.1. Their tombs contained valuable items made of bronze and jade.
3.3.2. They asked their ancestors for advice.
3.3.3. They offered gifts to their deceased ancestors in order to keep them happy and fulfilled in the afterlife.
3.3.4. The Shang religion focused on the idea of ancestor worship.
3.4. Religious Artifact
4. Geography and Agriculture
4.1. River Civilization
4.2. Sumeria
4.2.1. The land was a flat and swampy region.
4.2.2. The soil was enriched.
4.2.3. They grew grains such as wheat and barley.
4.2.4. Sumer lies between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.
4.3. Shang/Zhou
4.3.1. There are long rivers.
4.3.2. It is located by the Yellow River.
4.3.3. There is plenty of rain, so there is fertile soil.
4.3.4. There is also fine dusty soil that was carried into China by desert winds.
4.4. River Civilization
5. Arts and Education
5.1. Art
5.2. Sumeria
5.2.1. They're architecture included arches, ramps and columns, all visible on the ziggurats.
5.2.2. They're sculpture statues were large, wide-opened eyes, as well as small objects carved out of ivory.
5.2.3. They developed a math system based on the number 60.
5.2.4. They used cuneiform to produce writing like laws, grammar, as well as literature, stories, poems, and songs.
5.3. Shang/Zhou
5.3.1. The Shang created highly decorative bronze vessels and objects, many of which were used in religious rituals.
5.3.2. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was used to fashion weapons and parts of chariots.
5.3.3. An early chines writing system can be found written on oracle bones.
5.3.4. Shang texts used picture symbols to represent objects or ideas.
5.4. Art
6. Science and Technology
6.1. New Technology
6.2. Sumeria
6.2.1. They preformed basic surgeries.
6.2.2. They invented the wheel to build a variety of vehicles.
6.2.3. The Sumerians invented the plow.
6.2.4. The Sumerians built sewers.
6.3. Shang/Zhou
6.3.1. The Zhou created new weapons such as the catapult.
6.3.2. The Zhou created chopsticks which they still use in China today.
6.3.3. The Shang built huge, stable structures such as tombs.
6.3.4. The Shang astronomers created a precise calendar based on the cycles of the moon.
6.4. New Technology
7. Government and Leaders
7.1. Sumeria
7.1.1. Each city and the land it controlled formed a city-state.
7.1.2. The priest held a high status and initially governed the city-states.
7.1.3. War chiefs ruled as kings.
7.1.4. Overtime, the kings began to form dynasties.
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. The Shang period was ruled by a strong monarchy.
7.2.2. The Shang Kings were surrounded by a court of wealthy nobles.
7.2.3. The King appointed governors to rule distant parts of the kingdom.
7.2.4. The army was responsible for preventing rebellions.