The religions practiced in the river valley civilizations varied from polytheism, the belief in multiple gods, to Confucianism, a system of rules that commanded you to conform to the class system. The religious system, in Mesopotamia, was unstable and pessimistic, …show more content…
It leaves Mesopotamia more open to attack and therefore the civilization has more invasions and rulers. Egypt encouraged strong central authority that was received from the pharaoh, while Mesopotamia had more politics with many city-states, due to invasions. Since Egypt had the same ruler for long periods of time, they would build monuments, while Mesopotamia focused more on the literary aspect of art. Some of the social differences between the two are Egyptians respected upper-class women because of their marital status, and they did not practice female infanticide. China's culture practices developed at a different pace and differed from Mesopotamia and Egypt, because of the minimal contact between the societies. During the Shang dynasty in China, silk manufacturing developed, forms of ancestor worshiping began, and the state directed fertility rituals. These introductions began the process of mixing culture and government in China. During the Zhou dynasty, from 1029 to about 700 B.C.E, the government encouraged the use of Mandarin as a primary language and also urged people to provide troops or tax revenues in exchange for plots of