World Highlights in history 1000 ~ 2000 BC

Highlights in history 1000 ~ 2000 BC

Europe : Mycenaean civilisation dominant in Greece c. 1600
Sack of Troy ends Trojan War c. 1250
Minoan Crete: frescoes, bull leaping at Knossos c. 1700
Linear A writing in Crete c. 1700; Linear B c. 1400
Amber trade from Baltic to Mediterranean c. 1500

Asia : First Assyrian Empire 1814 (-1754)
Hammurabi, King of Babylon: law carved on stele c. 1750
Collapse of Indus Valley cities c. 1700
Hittites sack Babylon 1595
Shang dynasty dominant in China c. 1580 (-1079)
Hittite Empire 1450 (-1200)
Israelites return to Canaan 1250
David unites Jews, capital at Jerusalem c. 1010
Chopsticks in China 2000
Pork taboo in Near East 1800
Farmers' Almanac, Sumerian reference book c. 1500

Americas : First agricultural villages in Oaxaca, Mexico c. 1700
Agriculture spreads through North America c. 1200
Huge heads, Olmec centre of San Lorenzo c. 1200 (-900)

Africa : Hyksos invade Egypt, conquer delta c. 1670 (-1560)
New Kingdom in Egypt c. 1570 (-1070)
Female pharaoh Hatsheput c. 1503 (-1482)
Pharaoh Tutankhamen born c. 1371 (-1352)
Akhenaten institutes worship of one God c. 1370
Ramesses III defeats Sea Peoples 1190

Craftsmen in Shang China cast bronze pots to offer food to their ancestors' spirits.

World Highlights in history 2000 ~ 3000 BC

Highlights in history 2000 ~ 3000 BC

Europe : Olives, vines, cereals grown in Aegean area c. 3000
Rye and oats grow wild in north Europe c. 3000
Start of bronze age in Europe c. 2300
First Minoan palaces built in Crete c. 2200
Stonehenge, England, reaches final form c. 2100

Asia : Royal graves at Ur c. 2500
Indus Valley civilisation at peak: Mohenjo-daro c. 2500
King Sargon of Akkad founds first great empire c. 2370
Epic of Gilgamesh c. 2500
Ziggurat of Ur c. 2100

Americas : Maize grown in Argentina c. 2700
Pottery in Ecuador, Colombia c. 3000 Mexico c. 2300
Weaving in Peru c. 2500

Africa : Old Kingdom in Egypt c. 2686 (-2181)
Middle Kingdom in Egypt c. 2040 (-1782)
Step Pyramid c. 2650
Pyramids, Sphinx at Giza c. 2550 (-2490)
Poisoned arrows for hunting at Gwisho, Gambia c. 3000

Holy site and calendar of the seasons, Stonehenge nears completion after 1000 years

World Highlights in history 3000 ~ 4000 BC

Highlights in history 3000 ~ 4000 BC

Europe : Wheeled vehicles in central Europe c. 3500
Standing stones in Britain and France c. 3200

Asia : Earliest cities develop in Mesopotamia c. 3500
Development of civilisation along Indus Valley c. 3000
Wheel and potter's wheel in Sumer, Indus Valley c. 3400
First Writing, cuneiform, at Uruk, Sumer, c. 3300

Americas : Farmers in Peru grow cotton; c.3500 maize c. 3200
Amazon pottery the earliest known in Americas c. 4000

Africa : First towns in Egypt c. 3500
King Menes unites Egypt, with Memphis as capital c. 4000
Hieroglyphic writing in Egypt c. 3100
Flutes, clarinets used in Egypt c. 2500

Recorded history begins when Mesopotamian scribes devise the first system of writing.

World Highlights in history 4000 ~ 6000 BC

Highlights in history 4000 ~ 6000 BC

Europe : Farming Spreads widely in Europe c. 5200
First ships appear on Mediterranean c. 5000
Plough first used in south-east Europe c. 4500
Chamber tombs built in France c. 4500
First metal objects, in gold and copper c. 5000
Pottery and caved figurines in Balkans c. 5000

Asia : Catal Huyuk, Anatolia, a town of 5000 people c. 6000
First farming in India c. 6000
Domesticated plants, animals in China c. 6000
Wet-field rice in China c. 5000
Earliest pottery made in China c. 6000
Word's first temple at Eridu, Sumer c. 4500

Americas : Peanuts and beans grown in Peru c. 6000
Maize grown in Tehuacán Valley, Mexico c. 5000
Ceremonial Platforms built in Aspero, Peru c. 4000

Africa : Cattle herding in still-fertile Sahara c. 5000
Farming begins in Egypt c.5000
Pottery and linen made in Egypt c. 5000

The Vinca, Early farmers in the Balkans, model stylised cult figures out of clay

World Highlights in history 6000 ~ 8000 BC

Highlights in history 6000 ~ 8000BC

Europe : Agriculture spread into south-east Europe c. 6500
First pottery in Europe c. 6000

Asia : Jericho a town of 2000 inhabitants c. 8000
First farmers bring revolution in human culture c. 8000
Domestication of cattle and pigs c. 7000
first irrigation, Tigris and Euphrates valleys c. 6000
Pottery,spinning, weaving, copper in near East c. 7000
Plaster human statues, Ain Ghazal, Jordan c.6500

Americas : Squash, beans, chili peppers grown in Mexico c. 7000
Potatoes and other root crops grown in Andes c. 7000
Root vegetable manioc (Cassava), Amazon c. 7000

Africa : Pastoral farmers in Libya and Algeria c. 7000
Rock paintings in central Sahara c. 6000

Inhabitants of the earliest towns such as Jericho build walls and towers for defence.

World Highlights in history 8000 ~ 10,000BC

Highlights in history 8000 ~ 10,000BC

Europe : Ice recedes: hunter-gatherers colonise N.Europe c. 10,000.
First settlement of islands in Mediterranean c.9000

Asia : Food plants grown in fertile crescent c. 10,000.
Peas, beans, water chestnuts grown in Thailand c.9750
Sheep domesticated in fertile crescent c. 8500.
First pottery made in Japan c. 10,000

Americas : Hunter-gatherers, in nomadic groups c. 10,000 (-7000) .
First experiments with farming in Andes c.8500.

Africa : Hunter-gatherers, in nomadic groups c. 10,000
Stones used to rub husks off grain, Egypt c. 9000 .
Nile burials show evidence of wounds and war c. 9000

As the ice-sheets retreat, wild bees yield honey for the early groups of hunter-gatherers