1. Religion
1.1. Shang
1.1.1. They believed in worshiping their ancestors. They would prepare ritual meals with their ancestors. They believed that the steam from the food was to help nourish their ancestors spirits.
1.1.2. They also used oracal bones which were bits of animal bones or turtle shells. They used oracal bones to receive advice from their ancestors.
1.1.3. The Shang religion believed in afterlife. They would surround their tombs with valuable items with jade and bronze in them.
1.1.4. Prisoners of war were sacrificed in the tomb to serve the ruler in their afterlife.
1.2. Sumarian
1.2.1. They practiced polytheism which is the belief of worshiping many Gods.
1.2.2. They believed that the gods controlled all natural forces. Sumarians believed that the gods were like humans in many different ways.
1.2.3. The Sumarian people built ziggurants and temples were priests offered the gods food and drink and held ceremonies.
1.2.4. War chiefs began to rule like kings because city states were battling for dominance. Chiefs would perform ceremonies to please the gods.
2. Science and Technology
2.1. Sumarian
2.1.1. Sumerians even build sewers and collected/cataloged a lot of medical knowledge. They even performed basic surgery.
2.1.2. The sumerians developed a math system based on the number 60. some their system we still divide an hour into 60 minutes and a circle into 360 degrees.
2.1.3. The Sumerians invented the wheel, witch they used both to make pottery and to build a variety of vehicles.
2.1.4. Sumerians also invented the plow and learned to use bronze to make stronger tools and weapons.
2.2. Shang
2.2.1. Iron weapons helped strengthen the zhou army, as did new weapons such as the catapult and the creation of china's first cavalry.
2.2.2. Under the zhou, china's population grew. farmers learned new techniques that increased the size of their harvests, thereby creating food surpluses.
2.2.3. The growth of cities led to the building of roads and communication throughout china.
2.2.4. The zhou introduced coins to china and began the use of chopsticks, which are still used as eating implements in china today.
3. Geography and Agriculture
3.1. sumerians
3.1.1. map of Sumerian living
4. Social Structure and Family Life
4.1. Shang and Zhou
4.1.1. There were six social classes the Pharaoh, nobles, soldiers, scribes, merchants and artisans, farmers and slaves
4.1.2. They built their houses and public buildings out of wood and mud
4.1.3. The Zhou had a social hierarchy that went from emperor, to members of royal blood line, to nobles and other classes
4.1.4. The traditional role of women in China was dominated by the "three obediences"
4.2. Sumerian
4.2.1. Sumerian society was split up into four social classes nobles, commoners, clients, and slaves
4.2.2. Family life was important to them, the man was head of the family and could have more than one wife
4.2.3. Each family had a cylinder seal that had markings on it that acted as their signature
4.2.4. Families lived in clay, brick, and reed houses
5. Arts and Education
5.1. Sumarian
5.1.1. Sumerian sculptures include ones that have open eyes and have small objects that are made out of ivory.
5.1.2. The Sumerian writing style is called cuneiform, to get this writing style they created styluses. These styluses were used to make shapes on clay tablets.
5.1.3. The Sumerians system of math is all based from the number 60. That is why we have 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a full circle.
5.1.4. Sumerian architecture includes the utilization of arches, ramps, and columns all visible on ziggurats (a rectangular stepped tower).
5.2. Shang and Zhou
5.2.1. Their writing style is tied to oracle bones and some writings were actually found on the oracle bones.
5.2.2. The best known artifacts of their dynasty was their bronze vessels that they would sometimes use with religious ceremonies.
5.2.3. Among many other advances they may have created one of the world's first system's of money
5.2.4. The Zhou had used bronze as well as the Shang, but then they learned how to use iron, which ended up being the support for their economy. Also, iron was used to build many of their weapons; such as the catapult.
6. Economy and Trade
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Sumerians got most of their materials for buildings and art by trading.
6.1.2. The Sumerians lacked raw materials like wood and metals.
6.1.3. Traded woven textiles for wood, metals, timber and stone.
6.1.4. Food surpluses also helped in trade as they could be traded for mineral materials.
6.2. Shang
6.2.1. The Shang's culture was really into craftsmanship.
6.2.2. The Shang culture lived off the land which probably helped with trade.
6.2.3. The trading probably consisted of trading their art and crafted materials.
6.2.4. The food and crops they grew farming and other materials they produced off the land they lived, could also have been used to trade with.
7. Government and Leaders
7.1. Sumerian group
7.1.1. The first recorded king of the Sumerians was King Etana of Kish.
7.1.2. During this time their political system, people gave their earnings and harvest to the temple and were given back what they needed from the priests. This is the closest to a communist system in the city-states.
7.1.3. In the Sumerian culture other than kings, priests and religious leaders were often political figures as they were interpreters for the god's.
7.1.4. The cities were called city-states and were separated from each other by the other's farmland. Lots of warfare was common between the city-states.
7.2. Shang
7.2.1. The Shang culture was ruled by a very powerful monarchy.
7.2.2. The monarchy or the Shang culture consisted of a king, and his court.
7.2.3. The king appointed governors to rule distant parts of the kingdom.
7.2.4. Most of the time in the kingdoms was spent farming and on agriculture. Sometimes the farmers would go and fight for the army or hunt for fun but for the most part they only farmed.