Early Human - Ancient River Valley Civillizations

Paleolithic Age

10,001 BCE

The Paleolithic Age is the old stone age, it was before the Neolithic Age. This is when humans didn't yet know how to hunt or experiment with plants. Humans would live in caves or teepees

Neolithic Age

10,000 BCE

The Neolithic Period was the new Stone Age. It was the beginning of a new settled human lifestyle. People were just know learning how to take care of plants and hunt animals for food. It was a agricultural revolution and more towns and villages were made.

Chinese Civilization

5000 BCE

The Chinese civilization is one of the world's most ancient civilizations. The civilization created a lot of different things, but the most important are Confucianism (shaped social hierarchy), Daoism (influenced art, medicine, and spiritual practice), and Legalism (strict interpretation of laws with no other circumstances). These all are still used to influence modern Chinese culture and politics.

Sumerian Civilization

4500 BCE

The Sumerians were during the Neolithic period. They made a bunch of new technology like the wheel and cuneiform script. They helped make a base 60 number systems and they improved their agriculture. They also developed the first city-states, which are still being used around the world today.

Ancient Mesopotamia - Cradle of Civilization

3500 BCE

The ancient Mesopotamia civilization was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This civilization had 4 different groups the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. During these periods these groups created multiple things including uniform scripts, code of Hammurabl, the Lunar calendar, and more. The Mesopotamia civilization is mostly known for its political and administrative systems.

Hinduism

3000 BCE

Hinduism is the oldest religion to exist in the world. It originally started in the Indus River valley (now in Nepal and India). Hindus believe in the cycles of life, death, and reincarnation. Hinduism has 4 deities, which are like goddesses. This includes Brahma, Shiva, Lakshmi, and Vishnu, they all have different characteristics. Brahma is the God of Creation, Shiva is the God of destruction, Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth, and Vishnu is the protector.

Pyramids of Giza

2540 BCE

The Pyramids of Giza are located in Egypt and were built to hold the tombs of the different pharaohs. The great sphinx guards the pyramids from any evil spirits. The sphinx also symbolized royalty and the sacred status of the pharaohs. The pyramids showed the power of the Old Kingdom with the social and political hierarchies throughout society.

Akkadians

2334 BCE

The Akkadians showed the first true and biggest empire in Mesopotamia. The Akkadians had the first postal system, every person had a clay tablet with messages on it. The tablet would then be distributed to different people in the empire. It was believed that they had created a tax system.

Assyrians

2025 BCE

The Assyrians are mostly known for their multiple military victories. The Assyrians are also known for being one of the first city-states that existed. This idea of city-states are widely used across the world in many different countries. The Assyrian Empire largely changed the population of Mesopotamia with a large expanse and developments of government and military.

Epic of Gilgamesh

2000 BCE

The Epic of Gilgamesh started in Mesopotmia, it is considered a mystery on who wrote it. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Sumerian and Akkadian poem about Gilgamesh, a hero. Gilgamesh was an ancient Mesopotamian hero. The Epic of Gilgamesh is relevant today because it is the oldest surviving piece of literature in the world.

Babylonians

1894 BCE

The Babylonian empire was in Mesopotamia and they used a lot of the Sumerian innovations. They built on these previous innovations and made them stronger and they then worked on things like the idea of law, which we still use today. The Babylonian Empire is known to be one of the most influential empires in the ancient world. The Babylonians are mostly known for the Code of Hammurabi.

Founding of Judaism

1800 BCE

Judaism was created in the ancient Middle East, which is now known as Israel. Judaism is one of the first monotheistic (believing in one god) religions in the world. At the time, this created a distinct identity from the rest of the groups in the region.

Aryans

1800 BCE

The Aryans are Indo-European people who lived in tribal groups and led warrior life in central Asia. The Aryans developed the Sanskrit language, which is a sacred language of Hinduism. They also established a caste system of hierarchical classes which isn't used today.

Hammurabi Code

1754 BCE

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest law codes in the world that started in ancient Babylon in Mespotamia. It was written on a stone in Cuneiform and it includes 282 on both civil and criminal laws. It made sure that there was a constant system for people to solve problems and where they would stand in society.

Shang Dynasty Hierarchy

1750 BCE

The Shang Dynasty were the first major rulers of China. The made many different contributions to the Chinese civilization at the time. They developed the usage of bronze tools and weapons to agriculture and warfare. Their farming society was ruled by aristocracy, like different levels in society.

Egyptian New Kingdom

1550 BCE

During the New Kingdom rule in Egypt, the country became the most dominant power in Southwest Asia at the time. This caused a period of political stability and economic prosperity. Due to a change of rulers, the kingdom was led to political instability. This eventually caused the kingdom to collapse

Iron Weapons Became Useful

1200 BCE

Iron Weapons became useful for all empires. It would make all the battles and wars last longer. Not only was iron used for weapons, but it was also used for other important things like the iron plow.

Zhou Dynasty Comes to Power

1045 BCE

During the Zhou Dynasty, China made dramatic changes. They increased their agriculture knowledge by making things like iron plows, silk farms, and projects to control flooding and irrigate fields with the water from the flooding. All of this made them have a surplus of crops and a way better understanding of agriculture.

Zhou Dynasty Faces Trouble

403 BCE

The dynasty eventually faced trouble and a civil war broke out. The improvement of warfare extended the conflict and caused the dynasty to come up with Confucianism and filial piety.

Rise and Fall of Qin Dynasty

221 BCE

Qin Shihuangdi first took power and unified China. He did this by making the Grand Canal, roads, a single monetary system, adopting legalism, and more. The power of Qin Shihuangdi fell short and only lasted for about 14 years. His power was cut short due to the civil wars that were going on.