1. Geography and Agriculture
1.1. Sumerians
1.1.1. The Sumerians settled and lives, for the most part, in the Fertile Crescent.
1.1.2. One of the main reasons survival was made easier to this are compared to other ares was the very fertile soil between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
1.1.3. They had amazing advancement in survival was the advancement in farming. The Sumerians were farming as early as 5500 B.C.
1.1.4. However, one downside to this area was the very little rainfall they received. They mainly depended on melted snow and also rain from distant mountains.
1.2. Shang/Zhou
1.2.1. Annual flood in the area the Shang and Zhou lived made the soil very fertile and great for farming.
1.2.2. Most of the civilization embers spent most of their time working in the fields gathering and harvesting crops.
1.2.3. They chose to settle inbetween 2 rivers because of the rich, fertile soil.
1.2.4. The climate were they live was very warm and received plenty of rainfall making farming very rich and predictable.
1.2.5. All of the civilizations located in Southern China accelerated in rice farming because it was very plentiful in the area.
1.2.6. In areas like Northern China planting and harvesting grains like wheat and millet was more common because the area was much more suited for it.
2. Social Structure and Family
2.1. Sumerians
2.1.1. Kings and Priests and their principal agents were at the top of the workforce and were looked up to by many.
2.1.2. After this top tier of kinds and priests came the wealthy merchants and the large landowners. These were most likely the richest people in society.
2.1.3. In the middle class is where most of the Sumerians were located. This level included artisans, farmers, and laborers.
2.1.4. The lowest class, similar to most social structures art this time, were the slaves.
2.1.5. Men held much more power in family and also social structure than women. Men held power in office and were typically the lawmakers. Woman stayed at home and took care of the chioldren much like a modern day stay-at-home mom.
2.2. Shang/Zhou
2.2.1. There was 6 total social classes in the Shang and Zhou society.
2.2.2. The very top of the social structure was the Pharaoh. He was looked up to the most and was like the king/leader
2.2.3. Next came the government officials. This included people such as nobles and priests. There were also very looked up to in the religious culture.
2.2.4. The next 3 classes go respectively Artisans, most respected for their beautiful art. Then came the traders, arguably the most important part of the middle class being responsible to get a lot of their needs. After this was the final class of slaves, typically used in planting and harvesting.
3. Government and Leaders
3.1. Sumerians
3.1.1. Dynasties were he type of government that the Sumerians thought best fit their civilization.
3.1.2. Priests had extremely high status in government and initially ruled in city states.
3.1.3. War Chiefs slowly gained power and while popularity for war grew they became kings and were thought of as gods chief representatives.
3.1.4. Government in their society was very structured and did not change often.
3.2. Shang/Zhou
3.2.1. The area that they were located, China, was ruled by a strong monarchy when the Shang governed there.
3.2.2. The king was surrounded by wealthy nobles and court representatives. Wealth dominated lots of culture in this time period.
3.2.3. In the military aspect, the king had a very large and strong army ready to deploy at his disposal. This was most likely in case of an uprising or invasion from another civilization.
3.2.4. The king appointed governors to rule distant past of the kingdom much like governors in out society today.
4. Economy and Trade
4.1. Sumerians
4.1.1. Their most frequent trade group for material goods were groups in Southwest Asia.
4.1.2. They lacked many raw materials such as woods and metals due to the area they settled in.
4.1.3. Normally traded detailed woven textiles for different metals, timber and stone.
4.1.4. Obtained many of the materials required for art and architecture through trade making trade critical to their survival.
4.2. Shang/Zhou
4.2.1. Zhou introduced coins into society and are responsible for the invention. These are as you know still used today!
4.2.2. Iron was like the backbone of their culture creating many trade opportunities because it was so plentiful in their area. They were very skilled in this aspect.
4.2.3. Both the Shang and Zhou dynasties were incredibly isolated at this time. They didn't typically travel unless for trade.
4.2.4. The Shang were the first civilization to regulate a currency. This was very important in trade and also government and determining leaders.
5. Religion
5.1. Sumerians
5.1.1. They believed in Poyltheism, or the belief in many gods.
5.1.2. The Sumerians were very loyal to their gods performing many ceremonies to honor them
5.1.3. Gods in the Sumerian life had lots of power including the ability to control their harvest for the year, basically their survival.
5.1.4. They believed a different god controlled almost every different aspect of their lives. For example the Maize God controlled the harvest of corn for that specific year.
5.1.5. Ziggurats and temples were the types of buildings the Sumerians typically worshiped in.
5.2. Shang/Zhou
5.2.1. Historians believed that the Shang beleived in the afterlife becuase they buried riches and servants with the king so he could prosper in the afterlife
5.2.2. The Shang religion centered on ancestral worship
5.2.3. To keep their passed ancestors happy the Shang offered gifts and had special meals for them
5.2.4. Specially trained priests read oracle bones when Shang sought advice from their dead ancestors
6. Arts and Education
6.1. Sumerians
6.1.1. Typically used ramps and columns in design for different structures art and architecture.
6.1.2. Lots of sculptures were used in their religious ceremonies making sculptors important. These statues had incredible large, wide, open eyes.
6.1.3. Ivory was a material that was used a lot in their culture, especially in art. This was mostly because it was readily available from trade to the Sumerians but also looked very good as a finished product.
6.1.4. Despite having a large inventory of beautiful art the Sumerians were most famous for their incredible looking cylinder seals. These seals were made with small round cylinders engraved with intricate designs.
6.2. Shang/Zhou
6.2.1. Shang artists created highly decorative bronze vessels and objects for religion and selling purposes
6.2.2. The Shang architectures also built huge stable structures called tombs
6.2.3. The earliest Chinese writing was also from the Shang which was written on oracle bones so the people they sought advice could see what the advice was
6.2.4. Early Shang text used pictures and symbols to represent objects and ideas to help young people learn the language and for merchants to show the goods they were selling
7. Science and Technology
7.1. Sumerians
7.1.1. Geometry was a very typical type of math used in Sumerian history.
7.1.2. The wheel invention was probably the most significant invention in Sumerian history. This is also arguably one of the most important inventions in all of Pre-History.
7.1.3. Though not as well recondnized for, the invention of the plow is also credible to the Sumerians. This made the idea of gathering instead of hunting much more logical and may have been a turning point in the Neolithic Revolution.
7.1.4. The use of bronze was very important to them to make stronger tools and weapons. This proves the theory that military warfare most likely existed and that the Sumerians had a sophisticated army.
7.2. Shang/Zhou
7.2.1. The Zhou invented what was one of the most important weapons in Pre History which the catapult which was used for more for mass damage instead of just hand to hand combat
7.2.2. Shang astronomers created a precise calender based on the cycles of the moon which helped the Shang keep track of dates
7.2.3. Built roads and canals throughout China to increase communication which let ideas travel faster throughout china which help create new inventions
7.2.4. Zhou invented iron weapons which were batter than bronze because they were stronger and cheaper