1. social structure and family life
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. With family life, men made laws, while woman stayed home and took care of the children.
1.1.2. As trade began, ancient Sumer started to develop a social class, with kings and priests on top, and slaves on the bottom.
1.2. shang/zhou
1.2.1. The King, or wang, had supreme power over everything else
1.2.2. The King along with the aristocrats and bureaucrats directed the life and work of the peasants and serfs Social Scale
2. economy and trade
2.1. sumerians
2.1.1. They got many materials through trade, including arts, wood, and metal.
2.1.2. Sumerian Woven Textiles
2.1.3. They traded with woven textiles.
2.2. shang/zhou
2.2.1. Artisans grouped themselves around another location, which included living quarters for their families as well as a marketplace for manufacture and trade. Farmers tended the fields of crops immediately outside the city walls—all early Chinese cities were walled in for protection.
2.2.2. Archaeologists’ discoveries of jade, bronze, and ceramic artifacts are also evidence of this type of economy; if there is an artisan class manufacturing goods, then the goods are obviously being bought and sold.
3. geography and agriculture
3.1. sumerians
3.1.1. There was very rich soil, fill with mud and silt, between the Tigris and the Euphartes rivers. This area is also known as the Fertile Crescent.
3.1.2. The swampy, flat lands of Mesopotamia was perfect for agriculture.
3.2. shang/zhou
3.2.1. There was a place by Huang He that is particularily fertile due in large part of the type of soil that the river picked up called loess.
3.2.2. much of china is covered with mountains, hills and deserts.
4. religion
4.1. sumerians
4.1.1. Life was shaped by religion. They practiced polytheism, meaning they believed in many gods. They believed that the gods controlled all natural forces.
4.1.2. They believed that the gods were like humans. They ate, drank, fell in love, got married, and fought.
4.1.3. Sumerian Gods
4.2. shang/zhou
4.2.1. most shang tombs contained valuable items made of bronze and jade
4.2.2. In addition, each tomb held the remains of hundreds of sacrificed prisoners of war who were buried with the ruler
5. arts and education
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. Sumerian writing is called cuneiform, which is written with symbols, that are carved into stone tablets with sharp tools.
5.1.2. Sumerian Tablet
5.1.3. The Sumerians built arches, ramps, and columns. They also built sculptures out of ivory.
5.1.4. Sumerian Arch
5.2. shang/zhou
6. science and technology
6.1. sumerians
6.1.1. They invented the wheel, which they used to make pottery, and to build vehicles.
6.1.2. Sumerian Wheel
6.1.3. They invented the plow.
6.1.4. Sumerian Plow
6.2. shang/zhou
6.2.1. Several Oracle script pieces where also depicted as a mode of communication, most are found carved on different utensils, animal bones, tortoise shells and bronze vessel
6.2.2. The calendar system was continued to be practiced and improved during the Shang dynasty. Elementary counting was also started and the act of fortune telling was already widely practiced and was very much popular for the people
7. government and leaders
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. Large cities appeared in Sumer around 3000 B.C. As these cities grew, the cities and the land they controlled joined with other cities and made city states.
7.1.2. Ancient City States
7.1.3. Each city is ruled by one chief god.
7.2. shang/zhou
7.2.1. Ruled by a strong monarchy
7.2.2. the king appointed governors to rule distant parts of the kingdom