Thinking About Chronology

By brielafferty
  • Period: 3500 BCE to 3000 BCE

    Beginning of Sumerian civilization

    Sumer was located in southern Mesopotamia and likely gave rise to the world's earliest written language.
  • Period: 3500 BCE to 3000 BCE

    Egyptian civilization begins

    Egyptian civilization, located in the Nile River valley, emerged almost simultaneously with Sumer. This civilization, famous for its pharaohs and pyramids, was a unified territorial state and is the longest-standing civilization on earth.
  • 3000 BCE

    Quipu in use in Norte Chico

    A quipu, consisting of knotted cords, was used in Norte Chico and later by the Incas which pointed to cultural continuity in the Andes.
  • Period: 3000 BCE to 1800 BCE

    Norte Chico civilization

    The first known urban settlement in the Americas, located on the coast of current-day Peru.
  • Period: 2663 BCE to 2195 BCE

    Egyptian old kingdom

    The high point of the pharaoh's power and the building of pyramids.
  • Period: 2200 BCE to 2000 BCE

    Beginning of Chinese civilization

    Chinese civilization relied on a centralized state which was made evident by early dynasties.
  • Period: 2200 BCE to 2000 BCE

    Beginning of civilization in Indus Valley and Central Asia

    The Indus Valley civilization was highly unlike other early civilizations due to its lack of evidence of a political hierarchy or centralized state. The Central Asian civilization was strongly fortified and considered the center of the Eurasian-wide trade system.
  • Period: 2070 BCE to 1600 BCE

    Xia Dynasty

    The legendary monarch Wu organized flood control projects that "mastered the waters and made them to flow in great channels".
  • 2000 BCE

    Cities of Mohenjo Dara and Harappa flourish

    These cities were home to thousands of people and were richly built and well organized.
  • 2000 BCE

    Epic of Gilgamesh

    Created in Mesopotamia. this is the earliest surviving piece of notable literature and the second oldest religious text.
  • 1775 BCE

    Code of Hammurabi

    A code of laws and punishments for breaking them, was created in the Babylonian Empire which relied heavily on social status.
  • 1700 BCE

    Abandonment of Indus Valley and Central Asian cities

    These cities fell primarily due to environmental degradation caused by repeated irrigation and deforestation.
  • Period: 1600 BCE to 1043 BCE

    Shang Dynasty

    substantially enlarged the Chinese state, erecting lavish tombs for their rulers, and burying thousands of human sacrificial victims to accompany them in the next world.
  • Period: 1550 BCE to 1064 BCE

    Egyptian new kingdom

    A time of increased devotion to the state god and a period of political stability.
  • 1500 BCE

    Egyptian empire is created

    During the New Kingdom period, Egypt extended its political control to Nubia, Palestine, and Syria, and became an empire.
  • 1200 BCE

    Olmec civilization begins

    The youngest of the first civilizations, often regarded as the "mother civilization" of Mesoamerica and likely the creator of the first written language in the Americas.
  • Period: 1046 BCE to 771 BCE

    Zhou Dynasty

    Enlarged the Chinese state and saw the emergence of a distinctive Chinese political ideology, featuring a ruler known as the Son of Heaven.
  • 900 BCE

    Writing in Olmec civilization

    The first known written language in the Americas was created.
  • Period: 900 BCE to 612 BCE

    Assyrian Empire

    Located in Mesopotamia, this is one of the several empires which absorbed the cities of Sumer, one of the first civilizations.
  • Period: 760 BCE to 660 BCE

    Kush conquest of Egypt

    The Kushite king Piye invaded Egypt and gained control. The monarchs of Kush ruled Egypt for over a century.
  • 500 BCE

    Establishment of the Persian Empire

    The Persian Empire started as a collection of semi-nomadic tribes who raised sheep, goats and cattle on the Iranian plateau