Ancient history From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Middle to Late Bronze Age[edit]
Main articles: Bronze Age and Cradle of civilization
The Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system. It follows the Neolithic Age in some areas of the world. In most areas of civilisation, bronze smelting became a foundation for more advanced societies. There was some contrast with New World societies, who often still preferred stone to metal for utilitarian purposes. Modern historians have identified five original civilisations which emerged in the time period:^[21]

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  Sumer in the Fertile Crescent
  
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  Indus Valley in Ancient South Asia
  
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  Erlitou in the North China Plain
  
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  Norte Chico in the Andes
  
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  Olmec in Mesoamerica
  

The first civilisation emerged in Sumer in the southern region of Mesopotamia, now part of modern-day Iraq. By 3000 BC, Sumerian city-states had collectively formed civilisation with government, religion, division of labour, and writing.^[22][23] Among the city-states, Ur was among the most significant.
In the 24th century BC, the Akkadian Empire^[24][25] was founded in Mesopotamia. From Sumer, civilisation and bronze smelting spread westward to Egypt, the Minoans and the Hittites.
The First Intermediate Period of Egypt of the 22nd century BC was followed by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt between the 21st to 17th centuries BC. Around the 18th century BC, the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt began. Egypt was a superpower at the time. By 1600 BC, Mycenaean Greece developed and invaded the remains of Minoan civilisation. The beginning of Hittite dominance of the Eastern Mediterranean region is also seen in the 17th century BC. The time from the 16th to the 11th centuries BC around the Nile is called the New Kingdom of Egypt. Between 1550 BC and 1292 BC, the Amarna Period developed in Egypt.
East of the Iranian world was the Indus Valley Civilisation, which organized cities neatly on grid patterns.^[26] This civilisation diminished after 1900 BC and was later replaced with Indo-Aryan peoples who established Vedic culture.
The beginning of the Shang dynasty emerged in China in this period, and there was evidence of a fully developed Chinese writing system. The Shang dynasty is the first Chinese regime recognized by Western scholars though Chinese historians insist that the Xia dynasty preceded it.^[27][28] The Shang dynasty practiced forced labour to complete public projects. There is evidence of massive ritual burial.
Across the ocean, the earliest known civilisation of the Americas appeared in the river valleys of the desert coast of central modern day Peru. The Norte Chico civilisation's first city flourished around 3100 BC. The Olmecs are supposed to appear later in Mesoamerica between the 14th and 13th centuries.