The first civilisations
Around 3500-3000 BCE, the first cities, states, and writing systems appeared in river valleys. Historians call these early civilisations.
What civilisation means
Historians use 'civilisation' to describe complex societies with cities, specialised labour, social classes, centralised government, monumental architecture, and often writing. The term does not mean these societies were superior to others; it describes a particular kind of social organisation.
Mesopotamia
In Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq, Sumerian city-states such as Uruk and Ur arose by about 3500-3000 BCE. They built temples called ziggurats, irrigation canals, and developed cuneiform writing on clay tablets, first for record-keeping. The Epic of Gilgamesh is among the world's oldest surviving literature.
Law and empire in Mesopotamia
Sargon of Akkad created one of the first empires around 2300 BCE. King Hammurabi of Babylon issued a famous law code around 1754 BCE, with punishments that often varied by social class ('an eye for an eye' for equals). Later empires included the Assyrians and the Neo-Babylonians.
Egypt
Egyptian civilisation developed along the Nile, whose predictable floods enriched the soil. Egypt was unified around 3100 BCE under pharaohs regarded as divine. Egyptians built pyramids, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza (about 2560 BCE), developed hieroglyphic writing, and believed in an afterlife, leading to mummification.
The Indus Valley
The Harappan civilisation in the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan and northwest India) flourished around 2600-1900 BCE. Cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had grid layouts, standardised bricks, advanced drainage, and public baths. Its script remains undeciphered, and the reasons for its decline are debated, including climate change and shifting rivers.
Early China
Chinese civilisation emerged along the Yellow River. The Shang dynasty (about 1600-1046 BCE) left oracle bones with the earliest Chinese writing, used for divination, and fine bronze work. The Zhou dynasty that followed introduced the Mandate of Heaven: rulers governed with divine approval, which could be lost through misrule, justifying dynastic change.
The Americas and beyond
Civilisations also arose independently elsewhere. In Peru, Caral (Norte Chico) built monumental pyramids around 2600 BCE. In Mesoamerica, the Olmec (about 1200-400 BCE) carved colossal stone heads and influenced later cultures. Civilisations in the Americas developed without contact with Afro-Eurasia.
Worked example
Why river valleys? Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus, and the Yellow River all offered fertile soil and water for irrigation, allowing large surpluses. But managing irrigation and floods required organisation, which encouraged centralised authority. River valleys thus supported both the food and the governments that made early cities possible.
Key takeaways
Civilisations are complex societies with cities, specialisation, government, and often writing. Sumer developed cuneiform and city-states; Hammurabi issued a law code. Egypt unified around 3100 BCE and built pyramids. The Indus Valley had planned cities and an undeciphered script. China's Shang left oracle bones; the Zhou introduced the Mandate of Heaven. Caral and the Olmec show independent civilisations in the Americas. River valleys supported surplus and organisation.
Flashcard
Complex society with cities, specialisation, government
Check your understanding
What was the Mandate of Heaven?