1. government and leaders
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. Priests held a high status in sumer and basically governed the city-states. The priests made important decisions in as well.
1.1.2. As city-states battled for dominance however,war chiefs, began to rule as kings. These kings, who served as the gods' chief representatives, performed ceremonies to please the gods.
1.1.3. In that time many of the city-states' kings formed dynasties. A dynasty is a series of rulers from one family.
1.1.4. The ancient Mesopotamia's created a government that was a combination of monarchy and democracy. The kingdoms of Sumer were organized into city-states and the Kings ruled each city-states for the gods.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. The military forced determined the strength of leaders.
1.2.2. The right to rule depends on the virtue of the ruler
1.2.3. Ruled as coordinators rather than as a central government
1.2.4. Shang Dynasty was established by King Tang in 1675 BC after overthrowing the tyrannical rule of Jie. This dynasty lasted over 600 years and was led by 30 different emperors.
2. religion
2.1. Shang/Zhou
2.1.1. Shang religion led to great advantages in working in bronze. Artists created highly decorative bronze vessels and objects, which were used as religous rituals
2.1.2. While the Shang kings saw the universe filled with real ghosts and spirits of good and evil, the Zhou religion was much more abstract and transcendental.
2.1.3. Dynasty is famous for the beginnings of two major Chinese philosophies: Confucianism and Taoism.
2.1.4. The Chinese philosopher Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC. Many of his sayings and teachings impacted the culture and government throughout the rest of the history of Ancient China.
2.2. The Sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic deities representing cosmic and terrestrial forces in their world.
2.3. Sumerians
2.3.1. Religion shaped life in the city-states. The Sumerians practiced polytheism witch is the belief of many gods.
2.3.2. They believed that gods were like humans in many ways. The gods ate drank, fell in love and got married and fought.
2.3.3. Not only are its temples and ziggurats scattered about the region, but the literature, cosmogony and rituals influenced their neighbors to such an extent that we can see echoes of Sumer in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition today.
2.4. They believed gods controlled all natural forces. For example the god Enlil ruled the air and storms. They also believed that their gods protected each city-state.
3. Science and technology
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. The Sumerians developed a math system based on the number 60. That is why we still divide an hour into 60 minutes and a circle into 360.
3.1.2. Sumerians also learned to use geometry,witch is necessary to build elaborate structures and irrigation systems.
3.1.3. Sumerians invented the plow and used bronze that they used to make stronger tools and weapons.
3.1.4. Sumerians even built sewers. In addition they collected and cataloged an impressive amount of medical knowledge and were able to perform basic surgeries.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Royal workshops were staffed with labourers that casted bronze vessels or other bronze tools like music instruments
3.2.2. They created gold and silver inlays in metal and wooden/lacquered objects
3.2.3. They started the dyeing of yarns and woven materials like silk and linen.
3.2.4. They took part in glass production and made multi-color lacquering of wooden or bamboo objects
4. geography and agriculture
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. In between the Tigris and Euphrates river was land that was called "between the rivers.
4.1.2. In their area irrigation made it possible for agriculture.
4.1.3. Other tribes saw the wealth and food they had and began to raid it, they would build walls around their agriculture to protect it.
4.1.4. The three main independent cities in south Mesopotamia were Eridu, Ur, and Urak.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Their largest social group was the farmers who were also considered the "peasants" witch is ironic because they grew most of the food.
4.2.2. Some farmers raised sheep, cattle, pigs, and other livestock. Most worked very hard on land they did not own, to harvest crops they did not get to keep.
4.2.3. The main crops were a variety of cereals--namely wheat, millet, rice, and barley. However, nuts, fruits, and vegetables were grown as well.
4.2.4. They had bronze workers who were very skilled in making bronze. The Shang held a monopoly in the bronze industry by keeping a tight government's grip on all bronze-making facilities.
5. social structure and family
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. As trading began , a distinct social hierarchy,or ranking developed. At the top were kings an priests and their principal agents.
5.1.2. Sumerian men and woman developed distinct roles as well. Men generally held political power and made laws while woman generally took care of woman and children.
5.1.3. Despite the husband’s position, a woman that is upper class has a lot of freedom. She has the right to own property and have an income separate from her husband.
5.1.4. In the homes of the poor and rich , the husband and father is the master of the household. He has the right to divorce his wife and to take the house and belongings.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. Later in the Dynasty when the structure changed it evolved into four main types: 1.Shi which were the scholars. 2.Nong which were the farmers and peasants. 3.Gong which were the artisans and craftsmen. 4.Shang which were the merchants and traders.
5.2.2. The king and his family were placed on the topmost level of the ancient Chinese social pyramid.
5.2.3. The lowermost class in the social hierarchy of ancient China was the Shang class which was composed by traders and merchants.
5.2.4. The social hierarchy gave rise to social hierarchy of ancient China by classifying the Chinese people into four social classes.
6. economy and trade
6.1. The Sumerians
6.1.1. The Sumerian economy was based on agriculture, which was influenced by major technological advances in Mesopotamian history.
6.1.2. Jobs included pottery makers, stonecutters, bricklayers, metal smiths, farmers, fishers, shepherds, weavers, leather-workers, and sailors.
6.1.3. Sumerians developed a writing system. With this writing humankind moved from prehistory to the historical age.
6.1.4. Sumerians lacked many raw materials like wood and metals, to get these materials they would trade with people across southwest Asia and beyond.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. For currency they would use shells to buy and sell things. When people would die they would put shells in their tombs as money for the dead.
6.2.2. Their economy was generally based off of agriculture trade and the work of their craftspeople.
6.2.3. The earliest Chinese bronzes were made by the method known as piece-mold casting—as opposed to the lost-wax method, which was used in all other Bronze Age cultures.