1. Religion
1.1. Sumeria
1.1.1. Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic; more than 2,000 gods and goddesses have been identified. The chief of the gods varied from period to period.
1.1.2. The Mesopotamians conceived of the material world as being deeply bound up with the divine. Every household, village and city had its own god.
1.1.3. With the rise of kings, the idea grew that, as representatives of the gods on Earth they were responsible for the people's service to the gods. This gave religious justification for their complete authority over their subjects.
1.1.4. Men wanted to serve the Gods so they put food and materials in the Gods altars.
1.1.5. Religious artifact
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The Shang believed in afterlife. This was proved because they burried the dead with bronze and jade they also burried the rulers with sacrificed prisoners.
1.2.2. The Shang worshiped their ancestors to keep them pleased with them. An example of this is when they have meals with them.
1.2.3. They believed in Confucianism which was to promote love and treating others humanly.
1.2.4. Some people also believed in Daoism which promoted civilians to retreat form the laws of society and pay more attention to nature.
1.2.5. Religous statue
2. Geography and Agriculture
2.1. Sumeria
2.1.1. Map of Sumeria
2.1.2. "Mesopotamia" is a Greek word meaning, "Land between the Rivers". It is located in between the Tigris and Euphrates river
2.1.3. They grew a variety of crops, including barley, wheat, onions, turnips, grapes, apples and dates. They kept cattle like, sheep and goats; they made beer and wine. Fish were also plentiful in the rivers and canals.
2.1.4. Foods were frequent. At the same time, the hot, dry climate meant that year-round irrigation was needed to grow crops.
2.1.5. Near the rivers themselves, the soil is extremely fertile. It is made up of rich mud brought down by the rivers from the mountains, and deposited over a wide area during the spring floods. When watered by means of irrigation channels, it makes some of the best farmland in the world.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. Map of Shang/Zhou
2.2.2. The civilization dealt with flooding by creating sea walls as flood control. However they used the river to their advantage by creating complex irragation systems to get water to their feilds.
2.2.3. The irrigation system also let them farm more land and farm in drier conditions. This helped create a food surplus.
2.2.4. The Shang and Zhou dynasties also had a fairly good climate. It rained often so the river word stay full and all their crops would get water. However when it rains theirs always a chance for the nutrients in the soil gets washed away.
2.2.5. These civilizations also had great fertile soil which let them thrive as a civilization. These civilizations would be named the "Birth place of Chinese civilization."
2.2.6. Another great thing these civilizations had was a natural border to the north and west they had the Yellow River, to the east they had the Pacific Ocean and to the south they had mountains and hills.
3. Economy and Trade
3.1. Sumeria
3.1.1. The early Mesopotamian city-state was, to a very large extent, a self-sufficient economic unit.
3.1.2. The Mesopotamians were the first people to attempt to control water on a large scale by the use of an integrated system of dykes, reservoirs, canals, drainage channels and aqueducts.
3.1.3. Trade caravans were organized by specialist agents, to whom merchants entrusted their goods. Overland transport was by oxen. Most bulk goods were transported by river. Ships were also used, with trading voyages being made to the ports of northern India.
3.1.4. The king granted lands and wealth to his officials and supporters, and so created a private market for goods. Traders, craftsmen and laborers increasingly worked on their own account.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. The Shang dynasty was initially nomads and lived off the land. As time went on they began to settle in towns and started to build a food surplus.
3.2.2. They farmed millet, wheat, rice and barley to feed their population. They did this because they had the land and irrigation.
3.2.3. Their social pyramid contained the king, soldiers, priests, merchants, and farmers. This was shown in tombs and burials.
3.2.4. They began to trade with other civilizations. They traded pigs, dogs, sheep. oxen and of course they're crops.
4. Social Structure and Family Life
4.1. Sumeria
4.1.1. Politically, the each Sumerian city formed its own city-state, composed of the city itself and the farmland for several miles around.
4.1.2. They were the first civilization to build city's use the potter's wheel, develop writing, use bronze in large quantities, evolve complex bureaucracies, organize proper armies, and so on.
4.1.3. The palaces of Mesopotamian rulers were large and lavishly decorated with shrines, and of course the domestic accommodation for the royal family.
4.1.4. Sumerian men and women developed distinct roles. men held political power and made laws while women took care of the home and children.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Most people who lived in the Shang/Zhou era worked in the fields.
4.2.2. The government during this era were also dependent on farms to become soldiers when war was insight.
4.2.3. The wealthy members of the civilization were able to hunt since they had more free time than others in the civilization.
4.2.4. The Shang/Zhou also used slaves for intense labor such as building walls, tombs and palaces.
5. Arts and Education
5.1. Sumeria
5.1.1. A large amount of ancient Mesopotamian literature has come down to us, much of it found in royal libraries dating from Assyria and late Babylonian times.
5.1.2. The earliest writing was based on pictograms. Pictograms were used to communicate basic information about crops and taxes. Over time, the need for writing changed and the signs developed into a script we call cuneiform.
5.1.3. The main forms of Mesopotamian art which have come down to us are sculptured figures in stone and clay. Few paintings have survived, though most sculpture was also painted.
5.1.4. Mesopotamian literature has come down to us, much of it found in royal libraries dating from Assyria and late Babylonian times. The literature is written in cuneiform script, and contains prayers, hymns, myths, epic poetry, collections of proverbs, works on theology, philosophy, politics and astrology, books of spells, historical records and many other kinds of texts.
5.1.5. Art
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. During the Shang era they came up with away to write which is in part of oracle bones and their religious beliefs. An example of this is chinesse writing asking questions about the oracle of bones.
5.2.2. The Shang and Zhou religion also influenced their art because artist created bronze containers for religious practices and for burial.
5.2.3. The Shang and Zhou also created stable and durable structures such as tombs as well as homes.
5.2.4. The scientists during this time period also came up one of the first presice calendars based on the moon.
5.2.5. They also came up with one the first money systems.
5.2.6. Art
6. Science and Tecnology
6.1. Sumeria
6.1.1. They had irrigation, the plow, the sail, clay bricks, the potters wheel, metal-working (including metal armor and weaponry), writing, accounting, filing, glass and lamp making, weaving and much more.
6.1.2. The Mesopotamian's developed mathematics to a more advanced level than any contemporary people, and in so doing laid many of the foundations for modern mathematics.
6.1.3. The Mesopotamian's had medicine like pills, creams, oils, and minerals.
6.1.4. The Mesopotamians also showed a practical grasp of chemical processes in many fields, for example in the preparation of recipes and pigments, and the manufacture of coloured glass.
6.1.5. Tecnology
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. They had good bronze working skills that they could use to fashion weapons and chariot pieces.
6.2.2. The Zhou used casting molds to create their tools, statues, and weapons.
6.2.3. They were skilled in crafting things like stone, bronze, jade, wood, ceramics, shells, and bones.
6.2.4. Their earliest form of writing was by punching holes into tortoise shells.
6.2.5. tecnology
7. Government and Leaders
7.1. Shang/Zhou
7.1.1. The Shang government ruled as a powerful Monarchy.
7.1.2. The King would appoint governers to keep an eye on the rural cities far away from the capitol of Anyang.
7.1.3. The Zhou dynasty ruled for centuries after taking over from the Shang dynasty.
7.1.4. The Zhou leaders were worried that their leadership would not be liked or supported
7.1.5. The Zhou leaders then introduced the idea of madate of heaven which said the Gods supported a fair leader and not a corrupt leader.
7.2. Sumeria
7.2.1. Priest held most of the power and initially were the leaders of the city.
7.2.2. Eventually, the warrior chief began to take over the leadership roles.
7.2.3. The Kings claimed to be picked by God and preform ceremonies and rituals to please the Gods.
7.2.4. The Kings also created Dynasties which kept the power would always stay in their families.