8000 - 600 BCE

  • 8000 BCE

    Farming, domestication, and tools spread around the world

    Societies discovered farming and became agricultural — no more hunting and gathering. Humans began domesticating animals. People begin to figure out how to sharpen rocks to make tools.
  • 6000 BCE

    River Valley farming

    Farming appears in Mesopotamian River Valley, first evidence of the agricultural “revolution”
  • 5500 BCE

    Catal Huyuk

    Catal Huyuk rose and became a dominant society; the first of its kind
  • 3500 BCE

    Sumerians and cuneiform

    Sumerian civilization develops, cuneiform is created
  • 3100 BCE

    Egyptians

    The Egyptian civilization rises, known for their use of pharaohs and mummification
  • 3000 BCE

    The wheel and hieroglyphics

    Around this time, Egyptians create both the wheel and a system of writing called hieroglyphics
  • 2500 BCE

    Rise of the Harrapan (Indus) civilization

    The greatest achievement of the Indus river Valley, the Harrapans were known for their well-organized civilizations
  • 1900 BCE

    Assyrians

    The Assyrians were a ruthless civilization who settled in the Tigris River Valley. A low number of people led to them being extremely violent. They had a good army with strong weapons. Also invented glass blowing.
  • 1830 BCE

    Babylonians reunite Mesopotamia

    Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia. They were ruled by various strong leaders, the most notable being King Hammurabi.
  • 1772 BCE

    Hammurabi’s code is developed

    Known as the most ruthless ruler of the Babylonian civilization, King Hammurabi developed the first system of laws called “Hammurabi’s code.” There are a total of 282 laws and it is characterized by “an eye for an eye”
  • 1600 BCE

    Emergence of the Shang in China

    The Shang dynasty is the earliest known dynasty in China
  • 1550 BCE

    The Hittites

    The Hittites figured out how to make iron, which advanced them. However they became lazy and gave their secret up, which led to them being conquered.
  • 1100 BCE

    Zhou dynasty

    The Zhou become the next known dynasty in China. They would go on to become the longest lasting Chinese dynasty.
  • 1000 BCE

    Phonecians and the alphabet

    The Phonecians developed and are credited for creating our modern alphabet
  • Period: 750 BCE to 600 BCE

    Kush Kingdom rules

    The Kush develop and rule in Northeast Africa, all along the Nile River