Early Civilizations Timeline

Mesopotamia Early Sumerians

4000 BCE

Archaeological evidence tells us that the first civilizations started in Mesopotamia around 4000 BCE. It was split into 2 ecological zones, Assyria and Babylonia. The earliest people, called Sumerians, began to put down settlements centered around temples and surrounded by protective walls, around the marshes of the main Mesopotamian rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. This created a sort of pecking order between large and small settlements, which was cause for constant struggles.

First Mesopotamian Written Language

3000 BCE

During this period written language was discovered by Sumerian priests to help keep records. This allowed for the societies to become more advanced, with larger urban centers, written history, and larger centralized governments.