Ancient World Civilizations

Mesopotamia invention of the ziggurat

6000 BCE

Ziggurats were built by ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites, Eblaites and Babylonians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the sixth millennium BC.

Mesopotamian the invention of the wheel

3001 BCE

The wheel was invented in the 4th millennium BC in Lower Mesopotamia(modern-​​day Iraq), where the Sumerian people inserted rotating axles into solid discs of wood. It was only in 2000 BC that the discs began to be hollowed out to make a lighter wheel

Construction of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara

2630 BCE

The word “Saqqara” in Arabic refers to an ancient burial ground for Egyptian pharaohs. The Step Pyramid was built for this very purpose and served as a tomb for the Pharaoh Djoser. It is the first of the Egyptian pyramid structures.

When was caral built?

2600 BCE

The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, in central coastal Peru, boasts an impressive complex of ancient monumental architecture constructed around 2600 B.C., roughly the same time as the earliest Egyptian pyramid.

Caral musical instruments

2500 BCE

Thirty-two tubular horizontal flutes were discovered in Caral. These instruments, made with pelican and condor bones, could produce seven different sounds. Most flutes were decorated with engravings representing stylized monkeys, snakes, birds, and anthropomorphic figures.

The rise of the Middle Kingdom

2184 BCE

The collapse of the Old Kingdom led to the death of many people and this decline in the population continued for another 200 years into the First Intermediate Period.

When did the olmecs start and end

1600 BCE

The Olmec lived along the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the modern-day Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz. The Olmec society lasted from about 1600 BCE to around 350 BCE, when environmental factors made their villages unlivable.

The Old Temple is constructed at Chavin de Huantar.

1500 BCE

Chavín de Huántar was built between 1500 and 300 BC. C, approx.Chavín de Huántar was used as a site for ceremonies and events. It has also been suggested that it was a home for oracles.

The Chavin civilization flourishes in ancient Peru.

900 BCE

The Chavin civilization flourished between 900 and 200 BCE in the northern and central Andes and was one of the earliest pre-Inca cultures.

Decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty

771 BCE

The capital of the Western Zhou dynasty was sacked by nomads and Huns in 771 BC signaling the beginning of the end of the Zhou dynasty.

Olmecs invent writing

650 BCE

The Olmec where the first civilization in the Western Hemisphere to develop a writing system. Symbols found in 2002 and 2006 date from 650 BCE and 900 BCE respectively, preceding the oldest Zapotec writing found so far, which dates from about 500 BCE.

Establishing Han Rule

202 BCE

In 202 BC, the Han dynasty under Liu Bang crushed Xiang Yu, a prominent warlord, and after the death of Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC, established Han rule. This was a brilliant age and has come to define the national character

The Archaeological Zone of Tula

800

The Archaeological Zone of Tula is the most important of the Toltec culture. It is formed by a set of constructions with deep religious symbolism such as the Central Altar, the Coatepantli or Wall of Serpents, the Burnt Palace, the Ball Games and the Tzompantli.

When was the Toltec culture created?

950

The Toltec culture was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE.

City of Tenochtitlán

1428

During the reign of the Aztec ruler Itzcóatl, an alliance is formed between Tenochtitlán and the neighboring states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. This alliance allows the Aztec to become the dominant power in central Mexico.

Stone of sun

1502

Montezuma II succeeds his uncle Ahuitzotl and begins his 18-year reign as leader of the empire. The empire has reached its greatest extent, stretching to what is now Honduras and Nicaragua. During Montezuma’s reign, however, the empire is weakened by the resentment of the subject tribes to the increasing demands for tribute and victims for religious sacrifices.