World's First Four Civilizations

Weekend homework question?

Ever hear of Google?

I think the first recognised civilisation was that land between the Tigris and the Euphrates.

Anyway try here resource and see how you go.

I believe there still finding 'old' cities.. Ur was supposed to be 5000 B.C., but there are many ruins of cities dating back further of the coasts of India, some radical historians believe that the end of the last Ice Age set back our advancement by destroying these cities...

Neat sites, Goodfielder!

I was impressed when I stumbled across them MA - all credit to the person running the site and testament to both his altruism and his knowledge. I love history, I just don't know enough about it.

It had to be?:

1. Babylonian
2. Persian
3. Greek
4. Roman

It's just too bad that we don't get to see what has been left from #1 and #2, more so with all the war there right now.

The Fertile Crescent. Invention of the writing system predominant in most of the world today, domestication of plants (esp. wheat) and animals, and the idea of the settled life as opposed to nomadic existence, and possibly astrology.

The Nile Valley. Invention of Hieroglyphic writing, irrigation systems, astronomy and the calendar, monumental architecture. This civilization remained vital until at least the arrival of Rome.

The Indus Valley. Civilization took place very early on the sub-continent, and at some point it may be proven to have started around the same time as the Fertile Crescent and the Nile Valley civilizations. Hinduism probably dates from the very earliest period, and remains a dominating force in India. This civilization is the birth place of many religions.

China. Chinese civilization may be slightly younger than the other three listed here, but its origins are still very, very ancient. The Chinese also invented their own version of writing that continues to the present. The Chinese language is quite different from those of other major civilizations, being based on monosyllabic tones. Very early bronze and other metal work are in many ways so sophisticated that they would be difficult to reproduce today.

The contributions I've mentioned for each of these four date from their very early periods. All four continued to make important contributions to the sum total of human knowledge and understanding. All had significant impact on how the regions in which they dominated evolved culturally. The impact of all four can be seen today, often in places far removed from their points of origin.

You only asked for the first four, but perhaps you should consider others as well. Putting the New World and lost African civilizations into their proper places in a time-line is a bit more complicated and less certain. The Spanish destroyed most of the written records of the New World that they found, so both the civilizations of the New World are still being unraveled. Corn, chili, and chocolate, the Three C's, are essential to the modern diet, as are potatoes (no Potato Famine without spuds). Astronomy and calendar making were important to these New World civilizations, and almost certainly originated independently of China and the other early civilizations. The wheel was known, but only on children's toys. The Inca form of writting was a complicated system of knotted cords hung from a stick ... probably pretty limited compared to other forms of record keeping.

Even more problematic are the Lost African civilizations where, so far as we know, writing never developed. When and where civilizations rose and fell into oblivion in sub-Saharan Africa may not be fully appreciated for another hundred years.

Rome evolved out of Grecian civilization, which in turn sprang from earlier Mediterranean civilizations all of which are lineally related to the Nile River and the Fertile Crescent civilizations. Of course, all of this is far too simplistic a charting than the historical realities. Trade between regions probably began long before the invention of literacy, and hence history (written records of the past). Ideas, products and technologies were exchanged and modified so often and frequently that actual points of origin in time and place are mostly lost to us. An example is the development of metallurgy that appears very early in all four of the earliest civilizations. Who invented metallurgy, a technology almost as important as writing? Humans invented it, recognized its value and developed it into materials that make possible space flight, throw-away computers, and nuclear energy in the Current Era. We stand on the shoulders of giants, most of whom will forever remain anonymous.

Thanks
Thank you very much for your responses. They were very helpful

Asherman is the man Yessssssss

I don't think that someone can tell for sure who are the oldest civilizations. I don't think history of humanity is not as young as the history we know. They could be a lot of organised societies before that are not recorded.

Ellinas,

It depends on how you define "civilization".

Were there older civilizations that had systems of writing? Probably not.
Were there complex societies before written history? Probably.

A tribe of nomadic hunter/gatherers could have a very complex society, with rituals, taboos, and customs that might be every bit as sophisticated as some societies that exist today. Nomadic life does not readily lend itself to the domestication of animals. Dogs being the exception. Nomads typically operate in small bands limited by the game and wild sustenance available. For example, until the introduction of the horse by the Spanish, North American Indians were limited geographically by the lack of transportation. Were the Lakota "civilized"? They certainly had a finely developed culture and oral history, but they were incapable of developing other characteristics most often associated with "Civilization".

Settled agricultural societies have a better chance of developing into what we generally think of as a "Civilization". Agriculture produces surpluses that lead to specialization and the development of technology. Agricultural societies tend to be larger and have a much more complex social order than most nomadic cultures. Usually, agricultural societies develope some sort of record keeping system to apportion and keep track of resources. Not always, of course. The Inca system of knots on a stick is still along way from writing, yet they built complicated stone structures and organized a very large population. The Mound-builders of the pre-Columbian American South is another example. Even more exceptions may be found in sub-saharan Africa, and other places.

So far as we know, the Civilizations I've listed a few days ago are the earliest human civilizations to have a writing system, settled agriculture, specialization of labor, large scale building of communal projects, and vigourous technological growth. The idea of sophisticated earlier Civilizations, such as Atlantis, Mu, Shangri-la and others, makes for nice romance, but there is no credible evidence that any of those fabled lands ever existed. It is extremely doubtful that all signs and evidence of "lost" high civilizations prior to the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, China and the Indus Valley could be totally lost and escaped notice for 5,000 years. There is certainly evidence that our species has been around a lot longer, but prior to the Four Civilizations mentioned, it appears that humans were nomadic tribal societies using "primitive" stone tools, traps and weapons.

History begins with literacy and the invention of writing. We might stretch the point to include a rigorous oral tradition. Homer was an oral poet, yet Troy was found to have existed ... though not as most people in the 19th century envisioned it. Mycenaean Civilization crashed, perhaps may have been the source of the Atlantis Myth, though Egyptian Civiliation was already very old when Santorini exploded. Oh well.

There were 5 primary civilizations (ones with no ancestral civilizations) in the Old World, The Sumerians, the Harrapans, the Egyptians, the Minoans, and the Ancient Chinese.

Really...

Think it's China, Rome, Egypt and Greece.

Did you even read Asherman's contributions?