1. Arts and Education
1.1. Sumerian
1.1.1. They used vases and containers with sculptures on the outsides to tell stories.
1.1.2. Sumerian writing is the oldest full-fledged writing that we have discovered.
1.1.3. Schooling was associated with priest hood and took place in temples.
1.1.4. Also used sculptures to show laws and represent periods of time.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. Many sculptures and items were made with bronze, as it was very popular during the time and even made this period earn the title of "The Bronze Age".
1.2.2. They were the most advanced mathematics culture of their time.
1.2.3. They had books that were filled with poems and laws and social conduct rules.
1.2.4. Taoties were the distinctive feature of art in this culture. It was an animal-like mask with prominent eyes and nostrils.
2. Science and Technology
2.1. Sumerian
2.1.1. Invented the division of time.
2.1.2. Invented the idea of astronomy.
2.1.3. Created sewer systems for cleanliness.
2.1.4. Invention of the wheel.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. Fist to use basic arithmetic and counting coins.
2.2.2. Perfected the calendar.
2.2.3. Discovered magnetism.
2.2.4. Production of glass.
3. Government and Leaders
3.1. Sumerian
3.1.1. Sumerian government was based on a monarchy
3.1.2. Sumerians believed their kings established rule through divine right.
3.1.3. Priests had a lot of power and involvement in the government.
3.1.4. As Sumer became more powerful, they shifted to a different form of government where instead of each city being ruled by a different priest, you had one person in control of multiple cities.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. Used the Mandate of Heaven.
3.2.2. System that gave the king power to rule as long as he satisfied the gods and his people.
3.2.3. People had the right to overthrow him and establish a new leader that was worthy enough to take that position.
3.2.4. Daoisim, the way if everyone does the right thing and follows their heart their doesn't have to be harsh consequences.
4. Geography and Agriculture
4.1. Sumerian
4.1.1. Area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries.
4.1.2. They domesticated wheat, barley, sheep, cattle, and oxen.
4.1.3. Sumerian agriculture depended on irrigation. The irrigation was comprised of systems of shadufs, canals, channels, dykes, weirs, and reservoir
4.1.4. Roughly the area of modern Iraq and part of Syria.
4.2. Shan/Zhou
4.2.1. Was supported by the Yellow River.
4.2.2. They domesticated the horse and used to for pulling loads and chariots.
4.2.3. Rice and millet were their main crops.
4.2.4. In the present-day Henan Province.
5. Lexi Doyle, Olivia Pomerville, Sydney Ivers, and Kameryn Bell
6. Social Structure and Family Life
6.1. Shang/Zhou
6.1.1. Zhou dynasty was an ancient Chinese dynasty which was preceded by the Qin dynasty and followed by the Shang dynasty.
6.1.2. The king or the emperor came at the top of the rankings and was the most powerful man of the dynasty.
6.1.3. The Shang social structure was made of six classes. The classes includes King and Relatives, Nobles, Artisans, Traders, Farmers, and Slaves.
6.1.4. Zhou dynasty too followed a strict order or ranking among the social classes.
6.2. Sumerian
6.2.1. There were different types of social structure, such as king and nobility, priests and priestesses, government officials and warriors. Merchants, traders, artisans, and slaves.
6.2.2. Each Sumerian city rose up around the shrine of a local god.
6.2.3. Horses and camels were still unknown, but sheep, goats, oxen, donkeys, and dogs had been domesticated.
6.2.4. Within a few centuries the Sumerians had built up a society based in 12 city-states: Kish, Uruk (in the Bible, Erech), Ur, Sippar, Akshak, Larak, Nippur, Adab, Umma, Lagash, Bad-tibira, and Larsa.
7. Religion
7.1. Sumerian
7.1.1. Its temples and ziggurats are scattered about the middle east.
7.1.2. The gods of Sumer were human in form and maintained human traits.
7.1.3. Sumerians believed that their role in the universe was to serve the gods.
7.1.4. Believed the gods had control over nature.
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. Sacrificed cattle, sheep, pigs or horses.
7.2.2. Each year a young woman was offered as a bride to the river god.
7.2.3. Worshipped gods and ancestors.
7.2.4. Believed that the king was chosen by godly order and that his main job as a king was to keep the gods happy.
8. Economy and Trade
8.1. Sumerian
8.1.1. Trade, another important element of the economy, occurred through the transportation of textiles and crops by Sumerian merchants.
8.1.2. Sumerians traded to other lands, such as Asia-Minor and Iran, where these goods were exchanged for stone, metals, and timber.
8.1.3. Items would either be traded to other Sumerians or used to fabricate jewelry, tools, and weapons to be traded later.
8.1.4. One of the greatest accomplishments of the Sumerian people was the invention of the earliest known system of writing.
8.2. Shang/Zhou
8.2.1. Fishing began to grow as an industry as the people fished in the fresh waters.
8.2.2. In the handicraft industry, the work was distributed to many different workers and crafts were made in large quantities and varieties
8.2.3. The bronze wares in particular reached a high level of artistry that displayed the Shang's advanced civilization.
8.2.4. The most famous bronze work from this time is the Simuwu Quadripod, weighing 832.84 kg (about 1836 pounds).