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The earliest-known civilization was Sumer in southern Mesopotamia. Before this, the most important cities were Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larsa, Sippar, and Shuruppak. Each Mesopotamian city was built around a temple and was governed by a priest. They were independent city-states and had distinct boundaries such as canals. By 4000 BC, the Sumerians had started to build large ziggurat temples in their cities. -
Clay tablets with symbols were introduced as a way of keeping records. From 3100 BC, the state required every person to register their name along with details of their possessions. It was difficult to represent everything using only one symbol, and soon a system of phonetic writing developed which gradually evolved into cuneiform. -
The Caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 B.C (Late Archaic and Lower Formative periods). In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, developing 1,500 years earlier than the Olmec civilization, another important Mesoamerican complex society. -
The Great Pyramid of Giza and the two other smaller pyramids on the site serve as the burial tombs of Egyptian pharaohs namely Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. The Great Pyramid of Giza was also known as the Pyramid of Khufu and stands 481 feet (147 meters) tall. -
The Caral culture ended around 1800 BCE -
The Olmec civilization springs from the grouping of ancient villages along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. -
The remaining Toltecs led by Huemac flee Tollan and re-settle at Chapultepec on the west banks of Lake Texcoco. -
Among the earliest rulers of China, the Zhou established the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which a just ruler must maintain harmony between heaven and Earth. -
The Toltec civilization flourishes in Mesoamerica. -
The Chavin civilization flourishes in ancient Peru. -
The New Temple is constructed at Chavin de Huantar. -
La Venta is destroyed, monuments are defaced and the Olmec civilization ends. -
In 332 BC, Alexander conquered Egypt by defeating the Persians. The Egyptians liked him as a leader as he respected their religion and people. He was so charmed by their culture that he started to wear their traditional dress and study many of their scriptures. -
A Qin emperor, whose tomb is guarded today by the Terracotta Army near Xi’an, created China’s first centralized, unified state. -
The Aztec establish the city of Tenochtitlán, which becomes the capital of the empire. Located at the site of what is now Mexico City, Mexico, Tenochtitlán is built on two islands in Lake Texcoco and is connected to the mainland by several causeways. Through the construction of artificial islands, Tenochtitlán grows to cover more than 5 square miles (13 square kilometers). -
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and about 500 soldiers and 100 sailors set sail from Cuba on February 18, 1519, with 11 ships. After rounding the Yucatán Peninsula, they arrive in March on the coast of what is now the Mexican state of Tabasco. Local Indians give the Spaniards a peace offering of presents, including a group of enslaved women. One of the women is Maria, or Malinche. She becomes concubine, guide, and interpreter to Cortés during his subsequent conquest of Mexico.