1. Arts and Education
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. idea
1.1.2. Upper class learned to read and write, it was uncommon but some scribes were women.
1.1.3. Mesopotamian myths and legends are referenced in a long poem called the "Epic of Gilgamesh".
1.1.4. Their writing was called cuneiform. It was first used to keep business accounts and other records. Eventually evolving into use for works of law, grammar and literature.
1.2. shang
1.2.1. In the Chinese method of writing,each character generally stands for one syllable or unit of language. There is no connection between their written and spoken language.
1.2.2. An advantage of the Chinese writing system was that people in all parts of China could learn the same system of writing even if their spoken languages different.The Chinese written language helped unify large diverse group land which made control easier.
1.2.3. A disadvantage of the Chinese written language was that it was an enormous amount of written characters to be memorized (a different one for each unit of language). For centuries this severely limited the number of educated literate Chinese.
1.2.4. A major tool used for war was the chariot. Professional warriors went through vigorous training learning the techniques of driving and shooting from horse drawn chariots.
2. Science and Technology
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. They had a math system based on the number 60. This is still prevalent today as we still have 60 minutes in a hour and consider a circle to have 360 degrees. The Sumerians use of geometry helped advance their structures and irrigation systems.
2.1.2. Their advanced cities,specialized workers,complex institutions, record keeping and improved technology is what sets them apart from earlier human socities.
2.1.3. Arches,columns,ramps and the pyramid shaped the design of the Ziggurat and permenently influenced Mesopotamian civilization.
2.1.4. They created a system of writing called Cuneiform. One of their first known maps was on a clay tablet around 2300 BC. Other tablets contain some of the oldest written records of scientific investigation in the areas of astronomy, chemistry and medicine.
2.2. Shang
2.2.1. According to legend, the first Chinese dynasty, the Xia dynasty emerged about 2000 BC. It's leader was en engineer and math mathematician named Yu. His flood control and irrigation projects helped tame the Huang He river and its tributaries so that settlements could grow. This legend symbolizes a society developing into a civilization through technology development.
2.2.2. The Shang surrounded their cities with massive earthen walls for protection. The remains of one city had a wall of packed earth 118 wide at it's base that encircled an area of 1.2 square miles. It most likely took 12,000 men over 12 years to build such a structure.
2.2.3. The higher classes lived in timber framed houses with walls of clay and straw. These houses lay inside the city walls. The peasants and crafts people lived in huts outside the city.
2.2.4. Blast furnaces that produced cast iron were developed.
3. Economy and Trade
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. They traded their grain,cloth and crafted tools with the people of the mountains and desert. In exchange they recieved raw materials such as stone,wood and metal.
3.1.2. Their exchange of products and ideas with neighboring cultures created a cultural diffusion.
3.1.3. Trading required good organization,cooperation and leadership to be present.
3.1.4. The food surplus on farms allowed them to increase long distance trade, exchanging the extra food and goods for items they needed.
3.2. Shang
3.2.1. When coin money was introduced, it helped to further improve trade.
3.2.2. Roads and canals were built to stimulate trade and agriculture.
3.2.3. Zhou cast iron production would not be matched in Europe until the middle ages.
3.2.4. Iron tools made farm work easier and more productive. The ability to grow more food helped Zhou farmers support thriving cities.
4. Social Structure and Family Life
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. Women could work as merchants,farmers and artisans.
4.1.2. There was social classes. At the top were kings,landholders and priests. The majority of sumerians worked in the fields or in workshops. At the bottom of the social ladder were slaves.
4.1.3. The sumerian slaves were either foreigners who had been captured or sumerian children who had been sold into slavery to repay the debt of their parents.
4.1.4. Sumerian women had more rights than many later civilizations. Women could join the priestess and if they were upper class they learned to read or write.
4.2. Shang
4.2.1. The most important virtue was respect for one's parents.
4.2.2. Society was sharply divided between nobles and peasants. A ruling class of warrior nobles headed by a King governed the Shang. These noble families owned the land. They governed the scattered villages within the Shang lands and sent tribute to the Shang ruler in exchange for local control.
4.2.3. When a girl was between 13 and 16 years old, her marriage was arranged and she moved into her husbands house.Only by giving birth to sons could she raise her status.
4.2.4. Women were treated as inferior to men. They were expected to obey their fathers,husbands and later on, their own sons.
5. Geography and Agriculture
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. They dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops.
5.1.2. Their geography offered good soil but there was also disadvantages such as the unpredictable flooding, no natural barriers for protection and limited natural resources.
5.1.3. Leaders were needed to plan the projects and supervise the digging. These projects also created the need for laws to settle disputes over how land and water would be distributed.
5.1.4. Sumer's city states grew with prosperity from the surplus food produced on their farms. The silt from floodwater made silt which made very rich soil, which was great for farming. This produced large quantities of wheat and barely.
5.2. Shang
5.2.1. Because of geographic isolation, early settlers had to supply their own goods rather than trading with outside peoples.
5.2.2. Two major river systems flow from the mountainous West to the Pacific ocean. The Haung He river is found in the north. It deposits huge amounts of yellow silt (fertile soil) when it overflows its banks.
5.2.3. China's natural boundaries did not completely protect them from invaders. Invasions from west and north happened frequently throughout China's history.
5.2.4. The Huang He's floods could be disastrous, flooding whole villages which earned the river the nickname; "China's sorrow".
6. Religion
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Practiced polytheism (worship of many Gods). Gods were believed to have controlled all natural forces and each one protected a city-state.
6.1.2. Gods were seen as being very Human like. Ex. Gods ate,drank, fell in love, fought.. etc.
6.1.3. Because of these beliefs of God's possessing human-like behaviors and traits Sumerians built ziggurats and temples where religious leaders offered the God's food and drink. and held ceremonies. All of this was done in effort to please the God's.
6.1.4. They expected little help from the Gods after death. They believed after dying your soul would go to the "Land of no return". A place between the Earth's crust and ancient sea.
6.2. Shang
6.2.1. Family was closely linked to religion. They believed that the spirits of family ancestors had the power to bring good fortune or disaster to living family members.
6.2.2. The Shang worshipped a supreme God; Shand Di, as well as many lesser Gods.
6.2.3. Shang Kings consulted the Gods through the use of Oracle bones,animals bones, and tortoise shells on which priests had scratched questions for the Gods.
6.2.4. Every family paid respect to their fathers ancestors and made sacrifices in their honor.
7. Government and Leaders
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. One of the first groups of people to form a civilization.
7.1.2. Their earliest government was controlled by the priests and they acted as the middle man between the God's and the common folk.
7.1.3. Their ziggurat was a city hall for them. The priests managed the irrigation systems from there and received a portion of every farmers crops as taxes.
7.1.4. In war priests did not lead the city. Instead the men of the city chose a tough fighter who could command the city's soldiers. In time the military leaders became the full time rulers.
7.2. Shang
7.2.1. The Shang Dynasty lasted from around 1700 BC to 1027 BC. It was the first family of Chinese rulers to leave written records. The Shang kids built elaborate palaces and tombs.
7.2.2. One of the oldest and most important Shang cities was Anyang. It was also a capital.
7.2.3. Lady Hao was a wife of king Wu Ding, a Shang ruler, during the 1200s BC. On behalf on her husband she led more than one military campaign, one with the force of more than 13,000 troops.
7.2.4. Shang people were constantly waging war.