- Both societies were highly stratified, with a small ruling class at the top and a large peasant class at the bottom.
- Both societies were based on agriculture, and both had extensive irrigation systems.
- Both societies were characterized by a strong emphasis on religion and the afterlife.
- Both societies developed writing systems and codes of law.
- Both societies developed elaborate systems of art and architecture.
- Both societies were conquered by foreign invaders and eventually assimilated into other cultures.