The History Book

IN CONTEXT

Focus

Origins of civilizations

Before

c.5000 bce Copper and gold smelting is common in Mesopotamia and beyond.

c.4500 bce Uruk in Mesopotamia is the first settlement large enough to be called a city.

c.3800 bce Upper and Lower Kingdoms of Egypt established along the Nile Valley.

c.3500 bce Development of the Indus Valley civilizations.

c.3350 bce Stone circles erected in west and north Europe.

c.2000 bce Shang dynasty builds the first cities in China.

After

c.1500 bce Rise of Olmec culture in Mesoamerica.

c.600 ce Emergence of the Mayan civilization.

In 1901, a six-foot-tall slab of black stone was found in the ruins of the city of Susa. Carved onto ...