History · Ch 1 — Writing and City Life
Timeline I
Timeline I
The story of early societies is the story of a long, slow transformation — from small bands of people who moved with the seasons to the dense, organised life of the first cities. That shift did not happen overnight. It took thousands of years, and it rested on a handful of fundamental changes: the move to settled agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the slow mastery of new materials and tools. Only after these foundations were laid could cities — and the writing, trade and kingship that came with them — emerge.
How to Read Timelines
You will find a timeline like this one in every section.
Each of these will indicate some of the major processes and events in world history.
As you study the timelines, remember—
- Processes through which ordinary women and men have shaped history are far more difficult to date than events such as a war between kings.
- Some dates may indicate the beginning of a process, or when it reaches maturation.
- Historians are constantly revising dates in the light of new evidence, or new ways of assessing old data.
- While we have divided the timelines on a geographical basis as a matter of convenience, actual historical developments often transcend these divisions.
- Also, there is a chronological overlap in historical processes.
- Only some landmarks in human history have been shown here – we have highlighted the processes dealt with in the themes that follow, which also have separate timelines.
- Wherever you see a*, you will also find an illustration related to the date along the column.
- Blank spaces do not mean that nothing was happening – sometimes these indicate that we do not as yet know what was happening.
- You will be learning more about South Asian history in general and Indian history in particular next year. The dates selected for South Asia are only indicative of some of the developments in the subcontinent.
This timeline focuses on the emergence of humans and the domestication of plants and animals. It highlights some major technological developments such as the use of fire, metals, plough agriculture and the wheel. Other processes that are shown include the emergence of cities and the use of writing. You will also find mention of some of the earliest empires – a theme that will be developed in Timeline II.
| Date | Africa | Europe | Asia | South Asia | Americas | Australia/Pacific Islands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mya–500,000 BP | Australopithecus fossils (5.6 mya); Evidence of use of fire (1.4 mya) | Use of fire (700,000 BP, China) | Stone age site in Riwat (1,900,000 BP, Pakistan) | |||
| 500,000–150,000 BP | Homo sapiens fossils (195,000 BP) | Evidence of use of fire (400,000 BP) | ||||
| 150,000–50,000 BP | Homo sapiens fossils (100,000 BP, West Asia) | |||||
| 50,000–30,000 | Homo sapiens fossils (40,000) | Homo sapiens fossils, earliest indications of sea-faring (45,000 BP) | ||||
| 30,000–10,000 | Paintings in caves/rock shelters (27,500) | Paintings in caves/rock shelters (especially France and Spain) | Domestication of dog (14,000, West Asia) | Cave paintings at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh); Homo sapiens fossils (25,500 BP, Sri Lanka) | Homo sapiens fossils (12,000 BP) | Paintings (20,000 BP) |
| 8000–7000 BCE | Domestication of sheep and goat, cultivation of wheat and barley (West Asia) | |||||
| 7000–6000 | Domestication of cattle and dogs | Domestication of pig and cattle (West and East Asia) | Early agricultural settlements (Baluchistan) | Cultivation of squash | ||
| 6000–5000 | Cultivation of wheat and barley (Greece) | Domestication of chicken, cultivation of millet and yam (East Asia) | ||||
| 5000–4000 | Cultivation of cotton (South Asia); use of copper (West Asia) | Cultivation of beans | ||||
| 4000–3000 | Domestication of donkey, cultivation of millet, use of copper | Use of copper (Crete) | Use of the potter's wheel, wheel for transport (3600 BCE), writing (3200 BCE, Mesopotamia), use of bronze | Use of copper | Cultivation of cotton, bottle gourd | |
| 3000–2000 | Plough agriculture, first kingdoms, cities, pyramids, calendar, hieroglyphic script*, writing on papyrus (Egypt) | Domestication of horse (eastern Europe) | Plough agriculture, cities (Mesopotamia); silk-making (China); domestication of horse (Central Asia); cultivation of rice (Southeast Asia) | Cities of the Harappan civilisation, use of script* (c.2700 BCE) | Domestication of guinea pig, turkey, cultivation of maize | |
| 2000–1900 | Cities, palaces, use of bronze, the potter's wheel, development of trade (Crete) | Domestication of water-buffalo (East Asia) | Cultivation of potato, chilli*, cassava, peanut, domestication of llama* and alpaca | |||
| 1900–1800 | ||||||
| 1800–1700 | ||||||
| 1700–1600 | Development of a script (Crete)* | |||||
| 1600–1500 | Cities, writing, kingdoms (Shang dynasty), use of bronze (China)* | |||||
| 1500–1400 | Use of glass bottles (Egypt) | Use of iron (West Asia) | Composition of the Rig Veda | |||
| 1400–1300 | ||||||
| 1300–1200 | ||||||
| 1200–1100 | Use of iron, megaliths (Deccan and South India) | Olmec settlements around the Gulf of Mexico, early temples and sculpture | Settlements in Polynesia and Micronesia | |||
| 1100–1000 | Use of iron | Domestication of the one-humped camel (Arabia) | ||||
| 1000–900 | Development of a hieroglyphic script | |||||
| 900–800 | City of Carthage established in North Africa by the Phoenicians from West Asia; growing trade around the Mediterranean | |||||
| 800–700 | Use of iron (Sudan) | First Olympic games (Greece, 776 BCE) | ||||
| 700–600 | Use of iron (Egypt) |
The long road to cities
For millions of years, humans lived very differently from us. The earliest humans emerged in Africa, and archaeologists have reconstructed their lives from the remains of bones and stone tools. These early people lived in shelters — caves, temporary shelters, or rock shelters — and gathered plant produce and hunted animals for food. They also learnt to use fire and to develop language, and they expressed themselves in various ways. One question that interests historians is whether the lives of people who still live by hunting and gathering today can help us understand this distant past.
The first cities did not appear suddenly. They were the result of developments that began at least 5,000 years before the first cities were established. The most far-reaching of these changes was the gradual shift from nomadic life to settled agriculture, which began around 10,000 years ago.
From gathering to growing
Before agriculture, people had gathered plant produce as food. Over time, they learnt more about different kinds of plants — where they grew, and the seasons when they bore fruit. From this knowledge, they learnt to grow plants themselves.
The crops they grew depended on where they lived:
- In West Asia, wheat and barley, peas and various kinds of pulses were grown.
- In East and Southeast Asia, millet and rice grew easily.
- In Africa, millet was also grown.
Around the same time, people learnt to domesticate animals such as sheep, goat, cattle, pig and donkey. Plant fibres like cotton and flax, and animal fibres like wool, were now woven into cloth. Somewhat later — about 5,000 years ago — domesticated animals such as cattle and donkeys were harnessed to ploughs and carts.
Settled life and its consequences
Growing crops changed how people lived in a very basic way. When people grew crops, they had to stay in the same place until the crops ripened. So settled life became more common, and people built more permanent structures to live in.
This was also the time when some communities learnt to make earthen pots. These pots were used to store grain and other produce, and to prepare and cook a variety of foods made from the new cultivated grains. A great deal of attention was given to processing food to make it tasty and digestible.
The making of stone tools also changed. While earlier methods of making tools continued, some tools and equipment were now smoothened and polished by an elaborate process of grinding. New equipment included:
- Mortars and pestles, for processing and grinding grain.
- Stone axes and hoes, used to clear land for cultivation and to dig the earth to sow seeds.
Metals, trade and the rise of states
In some areas, people learnt to tap the ores of metals such as copper and tin. Sometimes copper ores were collected and used for their distinctive bluish-green colour. This prepared the way for the more extensive use of metal for jewellery and, subsequently, for tools.
There was also a growing familiarity with produce from distant lands and seas. This included wood, stones — including precious and semi-precious stones — metals, shell, and obsidian, which is hardened volcanic lava. Clearly, people were going from place to place, carrying goods and ideas with them.
With increasing trade, the growth of villages and towns, and the movements of people, small states grew in place of the small communities of early people. These changes took place slowly, over several thousand years, but the pace quickened with the growth of the first cities. The changes had far-reaching consequences.
The first cities — such as those of Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq — developed around temples and were centres of long-distance trade. Their reconstruction relies on archaeological evidence of old settlements and on an abundance of written material, which together reveal the lives of craftspeople, scribes, labourers, priests, kings and queens. Pastoral people also played an important role in some of these towns. A key question to consider is whether the many activities that went on in cities would have been possible if writing had not developed. …