Timeline 3300BC - 1300BC
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3.3k BC The beginning date of the
Mayan calendar.
(L.C.-W.P.p.2-3)
3.3k BC Around this time the inhabitants of Sumer in
present day Iraq adopted the practice of storing tokens in sealed clay
jars. The tokens represented the counts of foodstuffs, livestock , and
land. The stored tokens provided a more permanent record but required
that jars be broken in order to examine the record. Then someone hit on
the idea of making marks in the soft clay covers of the jars to
represent the tokens inside. Archeological evidence shows that the
marked jars led almost immediately to a system of marks on clay tablets.
(I&I, Penzias, p.42)
3.3k BC Archaic cylinder seals [of Sumeria] of this
time were later collected by financier Pierpont Morgan.
(SFC, 2/15/97, p.D1)
3.3k BC In 1991 German hikers Erica and Helmut
Simon found a well-preserved prehistoric corpse, dated to about this
time. He was later named Oetzi (Frozen Fritz). He was found on Sep 19,
1991, in a glacier on the Hauslabjoch Pass, about 100 yards from
Austria in northern Italy. It was kept at the Univ. of Innsbruck for
study. In 1998 analysis indicated that the Ice Man had internal
parasites and carried the woody fruit of a tree fungus as a remedy.
Tattoos on the body were also found to be placed over areas of active
arthritis. A flint arrow was also found in his back. In 2007 forensic
researchers said he died either from hitting his head on a rock when he
passed out or because his attacker hit him in the head.
(SFC, 12/25/98, p.A4)(SFEC, 5/7/00, p.T4)(WSJ,
2/3/04, p.A1)(AP, 8/29/07)
3.3k BC - 3.2k BC In 1998 clay tablets were reported from this
date from the tomb of an Egyptian king named Scorpion. The tablets had
writing that recorded linen and oil deliveries as a tithe to the king.
The tomb was in a cemetery at Gebel Tjauti in Suhag province, some 250
miles south of Cairo. Egyptologists John Coleman Darnell and wife
Deborah discovered the tableau in 1995.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.C5)(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A4)
3.3k BC - 1k BC The earliest known civilizations
occupied the Aegean world. The Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations rose
and fell over this period.
(eawc, p.1)
3.25k BC King Scorpion ruled Upper (southern) Egypt.
Evidence of wine was found in his tomb and scientists believed it was
produced in Jordan and transported by donkey and boat to Egypt.
(AM, 5/01, p.54)(SFC, 10/27/05, p.A2)
3.2k BC Semitic people come to the area around
Byblos, Lebanon. It was then called Gebal and the people Giblites, who
with flat axes cut timber from the mountains.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)
c3.2k BC A white limestone vase was made depicting
Sumerians offering gifts to the goddess Innin along with scenes of
daily life in Uruk. It survived for thousands of years and came to be
called the Sacred Vase of Warka.
(SFC, 6/13/03, p.A12)(WSJ, 9/18/03, p.D6)
3.2k BC Archeological evidence indicates that the
Sumerians used wheeled transportation.
(eawc, p.1)
3.2k BC The Sumerians developed pictographic writing
about this time.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A6)
3.2k BC The National Museum of the American Indian in
New York City has Valdivian female figurines from Ecuador that date
back to 3200BC.
(SFC, 12/4/94, p.T-3)
3.2k BC - 2.5k BC Henges, enormous ditches enclosing
circular constructs dating to this period, were enigmatic features of
Neolithic and Bronze age Britain. In 2008 researchers dating cremated
bones concluded that Stonehenge was initially established as a “domain
of ancestors,” and that burials were a major component in all its
stages.
(SFC,11/11/97, p.A12)(SFC, 5/30/08, p.A6)
3.2k BC - 2.2k BC The Orkney Island village of Skara
Brae was inhabited during this period. A huge storm in 1850 revealed
its ruins. Inhabitants were settled farmers who ate sheep, cattle,
grain and fish.
(www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/)(SFEC,
3/23/97, p.T3)
3.2k BC - 2k BC The Cycladic culture, a network of small, sometimes
fortified farming and fishing settlements that traded with mainland
Greece, Crete and Asia Minor, flourished during this period. It is best
known for the elegant figurines: mostly naked, elongated figures with
arms folded under their chests. It was eclipsed by Crete and Mycenaean
Greece.
(AP, 12/31/06)
3.2k BC - 1.6k BC The Indus Valley civilization grew
up along the banks of the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. The
cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Dara showed the development of
multi-level houses and city-wide plumbing. A natural disaster that
altered the course of the Indus River appears to have brought about the
collapse of this civilization.
(eawc, p.1)
3.1k BC Menes, the legendary first pharaoh of Egypt,
ruled upper Egypt from Nekhen before he conquered lower Egypt and moved
his capital to Memphis.
(NG, May 1985, p.586)
c3.1k BC The upper and lower kingdoms were united to
form the 1st Dynasty of Egypt. The fertile Nile Valley and prevailing
environmental conditions led to the formation of villages along the
river—Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. These
villages grew into 'kingdoms' centered around Naqadah (later
Hierakonopolis) in the south and Behdet (later Buto) in the delta.
According to tradition, the upper and lower kingdoms were united into
one centralized government by King Menes around 3100BC. However, modern
scholars are unsure whether King Menes was actually several kings,
including Narmer and Aha. Menes' reign lasted a substantial 62 years
before being killed by a hippopotamus (again according to
tradition). The 1st dynasty lasted until about 2890BC.
(HNQ, 11/2/00)
c3.1k BC In the protodynastic period of Egypt
"Scorpion" ruled and was followed by Narmer. In 2002 Jan Assmann
authored "The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the
Pharaohs.
(R4,1998)(SSFC, 4/28/02, p.M4)
3.1k BC Cuneiform writing emerged in Mesopotamia. The
wedge-shaped characters were used to record the first epics in world
history, including "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta," and the first
stories about "Gilgamesh."
(eawc, p.1)
3.1k BC Writing was related to Sumerian language.
(V.D.-H.K.p.10)
3.1k BC The first known incarnation of Stonehenge,
the ancient stone monument in the south of England, is thought to have
been built by native Neolithic peoples around this time. Archaeological
interpretation of the site is primarily based on a series of modern
excavations carried out since 1919. The studies have concluded that
there were three different building periods representing markedly
different materials and methods. Stonehenge I was primarily an earthen
structure built by native Neolithic peoples using deer antlers as
picks. Two entry stones were also placed to the northeast of the
circle, one of which (the "Slaughter Stone") survives in the latest
monument.
(HNQ, 3/3/01)
3.1k BC - 2.77k BC The Archaic Period of Egypt.
Narmer united Egypt and hieroglyphic writing developed.
(eawc, p.1)
3.1k BC - 2.7k BC In Egypt the limestone "Stele of
the Serpent King" has a bas-relief of a falcon in profile above a
nearly abstract curving stroke of a snake. It is now in the French
Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
3.063k BC In 2010 Swiss archaeologists in
Zurich said they have unearthed a 5,000-year-old door that may be one
of the oldest ever found in Europe. Using tree rings to determine its
age, they believed the door could have been made in the year 3,063 BC,
around the time that construction on Britain's world famous Stonehenge
monument began.
(AP, 10/20/10)
c3.05k BC - 2.89k BC In Egypt Hor-Aha ruled and was
followed by Djer, Djet, Den, Anedjib, Semerkhet, and Qa'a. These rulers
comprised the 1st dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/egyptdynasties.html)
3.022k BC In Peru the pyramids of Aspero on the
Pacific coast dated to about this time.
(AM, 7/05, p.20)
c3k BC Evidence of human habitation in the Yosemite
Valley of California.
(SFEC, 5/18/97, Z1 p.4)
3k BC In California radiocarbon
tests indicated human habitation at the SF bay side foot of San Bruno
Mountain back to this time.
(SFEC,12/29/97, p.A13)
c3k BC "Bison Hunter" villages
around Middle Lake in Modoc Ct., Ca., were carbon-dated to this time.
(SFEC, 5/10/98, p.T9)
3k BC An earthen mound at what
later was known as Watson Brake, La. in the US was dated to this time.
(SFC, 9/19/97, p.A3)
c3k BC Maize and other crops were
introduced in the lowlands of what is now northern Belize.
(AM, May/Jun 97 suppl. p.A)
3k BC The use of coca in Bolivian
culture can be traced back to at least this time. It is commonly called
hoja sagrada, or sacred loaf.
(SFC, 6/29/00, p.A12)
3k BC In Britain timber temples
were constructed about this time prior to stone circles. Remains of one
was found in 1997 at Stanton Drew in Somerset that measured 443 feet on
the outer diameter.
(SFC,11/11/97, p.A17)
3k BC In 2009 archeologists
identified a site named "Bluehenge," dating to about this time, about a
mile (2km) away from Stonehenge. It was named after the color of the 27
Welsh stones that were laid to make up a path. The stones were gone but
the path of holes remained.
(AP, 10/3/09)
3k BC Chur, the capital of the
Swiss canton of Graubunden, dates back to this time.
(Wired, Dec. '95, p.76)
3k BC The fishing village of Daixi
at the eastern end of the Qutang Gorge in China is the site of a
Neolithic culture from this time.
(NH, 7/96, p.58)
3k BC Ships transported timber
from Byblos to Egypt.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.156)
c3k BC Thoth developed the
Egyptian calendar whose year begins with the autumn equinox. The year
was divided into 12 months of 30 days with 5 or 6 days added at the end
but not counted as a part of any month.
(K.I.-365D)
3k BC The Egyptians used reed
brushes on papyrus to write hieroglyphics.
(SFC, 7/26/04, p.F4)(K.I.-365D.p.31)
c3k BC Ayurveda, a holistic Indian
science, had its beginnings. It later taught that the balancing of the
mind, spirit and body is the secret of health, vitality, longevity and
beauty.
(SFC, 4/25/00, p.C6)
c3k BC Hatha Yoga, a combination
of mind and body exercises, began in India about this time.
(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.D16)
3k BC The earliest 6-sided dice
date to about this time from a site in northern Iraq.
(WSJ, 10/27/06, p.W5)
c3k BC In the area of present
Lithuania at the end of the 3rd millennium a new wave of nomadic
cattle-raisers moved in from the south and south-west and brought with
them a corded pottery culture.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.2)
c3k BC In Macedonia the town of
Ohrid was established on Lake Ohrid, the 2nd deepest lake in the world.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
c3k BC A Neolithic temple at
Mnajdra, Malta, dates to this time.
(AM, 7/01, p.15)
c3k BC The goddess as a cultural
figure began losing power about this time as the process of reading and
writing developed. In 1998 Dr. Leonard Shlain published "The Alphabet
Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image."
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.B1)
c3k BC On the Orkney mainland the
12 Stones of Stennes were built about this time.
(SFEC, 3/23/97, p.T3)
c3k BC Gold and silver began to be
refined via cupellation, a process that produces 300 parts lead for
every part silver.
(NH, 7/96, p.50)
c3k BC Bituminous surface deposits
were exploited in the Near East as early as this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.56)
3k BC It is suspected by Earth
scientists that the sun shone particularly brightly about this time.
This episode is called the Altithermal, and may have contributed to the
rise of the early civilizations. Another similar high heat episode
occurs around 1000 CE.
(NOHY, 3/90, p.127)
c3k BC Scientists say that the
weather changed about this time and that the first El Nino Pacific
Ocean temperature flip occurred. Analysis of Peruvian coastal middens
of this period indicated a diet change from tropical mollusks to cold
water mollusks. The idea was first proposed in 1983 and evidence was
added from Japan and Greenland. Skeptics claim that the change was due
to mollusks harvested from now vanished warm water lagoons.
(SFC, 9/13/96, p.E2)
30k BC Urartu existed in eastern Anatolia starting
about his time until it was defeated and destroyed by the Medes.
(http://www.atmg.org/ArmenianFAQ.html#q6)
c3k BC The Osceola mudflow from
Mt. Rainier, Wa., struck. It was estimated to have been 60 times as
massive as the 1985 mudflow in Columbia that killed 23,000 people.
(SFEC, 11/10/96, p.A16)
3k BC - 2.8k BC The Burckle Crater, an undersea
crater, formed during this period by a very large scale comet or
meteorite impact event. It is located to the east of Madagascar and
west of Western Australia in the southern Indian ocean and is estimated
to be about 30 km (18 mi) in diameter. In 2006 the Holocene Impact
Working Group believed that it was created when a comet impacted in the
ocean, and that enormous megatsunamis created the dune formations which
later allowed the crater to be pin-pointed. As not only the Bible, but
other ancient writings from various cultures make reference to a 'great
flood', it is hypothesized that these legends are associated with this
event.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burckle_Crater)
3k BC - 2.5k BC On Malta the Tarxien phase is marked
by the collapse of the temple culture.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.44)
3k BC - 2k BC Bronze might have been invented in
ancient Afghanistan around this time. True urban centers rose in two
main sites in Afghanistan--Mundigak, and Deh Morasi Ghundai. Mundigak
(near modern day Kandahar) had an economic base of wheat, barley, sheep
and goats. Also, evidence indicates that Mudigak could have been a
provincial capital of the Indus valley civilization. Ancient
Afghanistan was a crossroads between Mesopotamia, and other
Civilizations.
(www.afghan, 5/25/98)
3k BC - 2k BC Early Minoan
civilization, centering around Crete, named after the legendary Cretan
king. Early, middle, and late are periods divided by Sir Arthur Evans.
Pottery was decorated with incised or pricked patterns filled in with
white powdered gypsum to make a pattern on a black background up to
this time. Early Minoan I began to make colored decoration. Ornament
was restricted to simple geometrical patterns. The pottery was made
without a wheel. In this period short, triangular daggers in copper are
found. In Early Minoan II Pottery designs are more free and graceful,
simple curves appear. The potter's wheel was introduced. Rude and
primitive idols in marble, alabaster, and steatite are found, but the
use of flint and obsidian was not wholly abandoned. Early Minoan III
begins to show seals with a kind of hieroglyphic signs upon them,
apparently imitated from Egyptian seals.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.15)
3k BC - 2k BC In Scotland the
Clava cairns, a mile from Culloden, are 3 sizable stone burial chambers
encircled by stone monoliths.
(SFEC,12/797, p.T4)
3k BC - 2k BC Ebla, Syria, was a
commercial capital of this era. In 1975 tens of thousands of cuneiform
tablets were found that supported Ebla's role.
(WSJ, 9/30/99, p.A26)
3k BC - 1.7k BC In China’s Late Neolithic, Longshan
period, a walled settlement existed at what was later called the
Puchengdian Ruins of Henan province.
(Arch, 1/05, p.12)
3k BC - 1.5k BC The city of Harappa flourished as
part of the Indus Valley civilization in Pakistan.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.A)
3k BC - 1.2k C The Bronze Age.
(MT, 3/96, p.5)
2.98k BC Egypt’s tomb of King Den, dated to about
this time, was later found to show evidence of mummification.
(AM, 9/01, p.13)
2.89k BC - 2.686k BC This is the period of Egypt’s
2nd Dynasty. Hotepsekhemwy ruled and was followed by Raneb, Nynetjer,
Weneg, Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c2.85k BC In China Emperor Fushi decreed that people
would be identified with a formal family name as well as a familiar
first name.
(SFEC, 5/18/97, Z1 p.6)
2.8k BC The Bronze Age began.
(WH, 1994, p.12)
c2.8k BC In Britain Stonehenge Phase I saw the
construction of the henge's bank and ditch. A pair of upright stones
formed a ceremonial entrance with a larger stone opposite. 56 small
pits encircled the whole area.
(HT, 3/97, p.22)
2.8k BC In Cyprus the town of Palaepaphos, 11 miles
inland from modern Paphos, was founded about this time. It later became
the site of a temple of Aphrodite, the ancient goddess of beauty who,
according to mythology, was born in the sea off Paphos.
(AP, 3/21/06)
2.772k BC In Egypt the 365 day calendar was
introduced.
(eawc, p.1)
2.75k BC Gilgamesh, a Sumerian King, ruled the city
of Uruk (Babylonia) about this time, which had grown to a population of
over 50,000. Gilgamesh was the subject of many epics, including the
Sumerian "Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Nether World" and the Babylonian
"Epic of Gilgamesh." In 1844 Westerners discovered an epic poem based
on Gilgamesh on stone fragments in Mosul, Iraq. In 1853 clay tablets
inscribed with the tale were found in Nineveh, the former capital of
Assyria. 5 Sumerian versions were later acknowledged. George Smith
completed his translation of the Epic in 1874. In 2004 Stephen Mitchell
published “Gilgamesh: A New English Translation.” Derek Hines authored
“Gilgamesh.”
(eawc, p.1)(SFC, 12/14/04, p.E4)(ON, 11/07,
p.4,6)(Arch, 5/05, p.16)
c2.75k BC Queen Paubi lived in the city of Ur in
Mesopotamia.
(WSJ, 3/15/00, p.A24)
c2.75k BC In the Orkney Islands a chambered tomb,
Maes Howe, near the Stones of Stennes was constructed. It also exhibits
a collection of stone carved Viking runes. The tomb was vandalized and
rebuilt in 9th century Norse times.
(SFEC, 3/23/97, p.T3)(SFEM, 10/10/99, p.24)
2.737k BC Chinese emperor Shen Neng prescribed
marijuana tea to treat gout, rheumatism, malaria and poor memory.
(WSJ, 2/8/05, p.D7)
2.7k BC The Chinese developed India ink, mixing soot
from pine smoke and lamp oil with gelatin of donkey skin and musk.
(SFC, 7/26/04, p.F4)
2.7k BC Domesticated maize in Mexico goes back to
this time.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, Z1 p.2)
2.7k BC - 2.2k BC In southern Russia a group of
Novotitarovskaya steppe nomads roamed the Caucasus.
(Arch, 9/00, p.12)
2.7k BC - 700 BC The Harappan civilization flourished
in the Indus and Ganges valleys.
(Reuters, 3/15/06)
2.698k BC The beginning of the Chinese calendar. Feb
19,1996 begins the Year of the Rat and the year 4694.
(enRoute, 2/96, p.24)(SFEC, 2/2/97, DB. p.7)
2.686k BC - 2.181k BC This is the period of Egypt’s
3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.686k BC - 2.668k BC Sanakhte, the older brother of
Djoser, founded Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.686k BC - 2.181k BC Chairs in the early dynasties
of Egypt stood on what looked like animals' legs. Low reliefs of
Egypt’s Old Kingdom, now in the French Louvre, enumerate an ideal meal
to be taken to a tomb.
(SFC, 5/11/96, p.E-4)(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2.668k BC - 2.649k BC Djoser (Dzoser, Zoser) was the
2nd ruler of Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty. The first step pyramid was designed
for Dzoser by Imhotep.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.65k BC - 2.18k BC Egyptian wall paintings included
information on beer production. In 2004 Japan’s Kirin Brewery produced
a beer dubbed “The Old Kingdom Beer.”
(WSJ, 10/14/04, p.A1)
2.649k BC - 2.643k BC Sekhemkhet was the 3rd ruler of
Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.643k BC - 2.637k BC Khaba was the 4th ruler of
Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.637k BC - 2.613k BC Huni was the 5th ruler of
Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.627k BC Parts of Caral, a city in the Supe Valley
of Peru, was built about this time. The 170-acre site, 14 miles from
the coast, was discovered in 1905 but not dated till 2001. The city had
pyramids up to 70 feet tall and its population was believed to have
reached about 3,000.
(SFC, 4/27/01, p.A3)(SFC, 6/15/01, p.D6)(AM, 7/05,
p.19,25)
2.62k BC - 2.5k BC A polychrome stele of Egyptian
Princess Nefertiabet depicts her dining in a one-shoulder leopard-skin
gown. It is now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2.62k BC - 2.5k BC An Egyptian painted limestone
statue of a "Seated Scribe" dates to this period. It is now in the
French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2.613k BC - 2.589k BC Snefru (Snofru), son of Huni,
was the 1st king of Egypt’s 4th Dynasty. Snefru’s scribes left a
description of 40 ships bearing timber arriving to Egypt from Byblos.
On Mar 9,1925, the Egyptian Ministry of Public Works announced the
discovery of the 5,000-year-old tomb of King Sneferu.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.156)(HN,
3/9/98)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.601k BC In Egypt Nik’ure, the son of a pharaoh,
died and left what was later recognized as the oldest Last Will and
Testament. "Being of sound mind and body…" He left his wealth to his
wife, 3 children and to another woman.
(SFEC, 8/6/00, Z1 p.2)
c2.6k BC Tombs of the priest Kai were built about
this time in Egypt. In 1999 they were found in a cemetery west of
Cheop's pyramid.
(SFC, 5/27/99, p.A18)
2.6k BC - 2.5k BC British archeologists reported in
2007 that houses found at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge, the world's
largest known henge (an enclosure with a bank on the outside and a
ditch inside), were radiocarbon dated to this time.
(AFP, 1/30/07)
2.6k BC - 1.9k BC The Indus Valley Civilization
flourished with Harappa as one of its great cities. Undeciphered Indus
Valley script on inscribed seals and molded tablets have been found
there.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.C)
2.589k BC - 2.566k BC Khufu (Cheops), son of Snefru
and Queen Hetepheres, ruled as the 2nd king of Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
Khufu built the Great Pyramid. It rose about 100 feet. Two more were
built for his 2 wives, Henutsen and Meryetes. Laborers reportedly went
on strike to get a daily ration of garlic.
(eawc, p.1)(SFC, 1/3/98,
p.A8)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.55k BC In 2006 a scientist proposed that beginning
about this time Egyptians started to use cast concrete in their
pyramids. His evidence was taken from samples of the Khufu pyramid. The
proposal was controversial in that concrete was later used to restore
pyramids.
(SFC, 12/1/06, p.A12)
2.55k BC - 2.4k BC The "Standard of Ur," a tapered
box with rows of people depicting a battle and its aftermath, was made
about this time.
(WSJ, 5/22/03, p.D8)
2.566k BC - 2.558k BC Djedefre (Radjedef) succeeded
his father Khufu and ruled as the 3rd king of Egypt’s 4th Dynasty
(2528BC-2520BC).
(R4,1998)(Arch, 7/02,
p.9)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.558k BC - 2.532k BC Khafre ruled as the 4th king of
Egypt’s 4th dynasty. His pyramid is the 2nd largest on Egypt’s Giza
Plateau. The Sphinx was built under his rule. In 1996 a 4,500 year-old
perfectly intact alabaster statue of Pharaoh Khaefre was part of a 1996
show on loan from Cairo at St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2002
Christine Zivie-Coche authored "Sphinx: History of a Monument."
(WSJ, 1/16/96, p. A-16)(WSJ, 1/10/03,
p.W7)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.532k BC - 2.504k BC Menkaure ruled, son of Khafre,
as the 5th king in Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.504k BC - 2.5k BC Shepseskaf, son of Menkaure,
ruled as the 6th king in Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c2.5k BC Aryan followers of King Yama crossed the
Aoxus River from Central Asia into Tajikistan and created a new
calendar with the new year (Now Roz, Now-Ruz) marked by spring. This
was later celebrated by people in Iran and Afghanistan.
(SSFC, 3/31/02, p.A22)
c2.5k BC African settlers came to the Canary Islands
about this time and brought with them a whistling language later known
as "silbo Gomero."
(SFC, 11/14/03, p.D5)
2.5k BC Cycladic figurines on the islet of Keros were
deliberately smashed around this time. In 2006 new research led
scientists to believe that Keros was a hugely important religious site
where the smashed artwork was ceremoniously deposited. The sea-faring
Cycladic culture consisted of a network of small, sometimes fortified,
farming and fishing settlements that traded with mainland Greece, Crete
and Asia Minor. It became renowned for its elegant flat-faced marble
figurines.
(SFC, 1/10/06, p.D7)(AP, 12/31/06)
2.5k BC A 330-foot-tall Egyptian pyramid was erected
about this time and came to be known as the ‘Bent’ pyramid, located
outside the village of Dahshur. In 2009 travelers were given access to
its inner chambers.
(SFC, 3/17/09, p.A2)
2.5k BC A flute made of vulture bone from this time
is on exhibit at the Paris Museum of Music.
(SFEC, 9/14/97, p.T7)
2.5k BC Wooden sandals represent the oldest shoes on
exhibit in Toronto at the Bata Shoe Museum, and are from an Egyptian
tomb estimated to be 4,500 years old.
(SFE, 10/1/95, p.T-10)
c2.5k BC The tomb of an Egyptian child from about
this time was found to contain toys that included miniature pins and
balls and a wicket, the first evidence of bowling.
(SFC, 7/28/97, p.A3)
2.5k BC The first signs of human habitation at Trier
(Germany) date to this time.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.T8)
c2.5k BC In India excavations in
2000 revealed a walled city of the middle 3rd millennium at the
Dholavira site in Gujarat state.
(AM, 11/00, p.22)
2.5k BC The Jiroft culture (later Assyria, Persia,
southeastern Iran) flourished about this time.
(Arch, 5/04, p.51)
2.5k BC On Malta by about his time the megalithic
temples were no longer in use.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.47)
2.5k BC In 2006 researchers reported a 4,500-year-old
burial in Mexico that showed front teeth ground down so they could be
mounted with animal teeth. It was the oldest example of dental work in
the Americas.
(SFC, 6/14/06, p.A2)
2.5k BC The Nuraghic Civilization thrived in Sardinia.
(SFEC, 1/30/00, p.T4)
2.5k BC Troy II, the second oldest discernible
settlement on the site of the mound of Hissarlik in northwest Turkey, a
good 1200 years before the estimated date of the Trojan War.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.49)
2.5k BC By this time the Sahara desert looked much as
it does today.
(ATC, p.109)
2.5k BC - 2k BC The Magan-period of Oman. Numerous
slag heaps and third millennium remains from mining and smelting have
been found at the oasis village of Maysar in central-eastern Oman.
Magan supplied copper ingots to the seafaring merchants of southern
Mesopotamia.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.49)(Arch, 9/00, p.48)
2.5k BC - 2k BC Scotland’s Ring of Brogar in Orkney’s
West Mainland dates to about this time. In 2005 36 of the original 60
stones remained standing. The original stones stood in a perfect circle
340 feet in diameter.
(SFEC, 3/23/97, p.T3)(SSFC, 11/13/05, p.F10)
2.5k BC - 1.5k BC Cities flourished in the Indus
Valley.
(WH, 1994, p.12)
2.5k BC - 1.5k BC Mohenjo-Daro in southern Pakistan
was an early urban center. As many as 40,000 people lived there
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.74)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.D)
2.5k BC - 1.3k BC In the Dhofar region of Oman, a
fortress was built at Shisur next to a permanent spring and used up to
1500CE.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.52)
2.5k BC - 800 BC The Saqqaq people, the earliest
known culture in southern Greenland, thrived over this period. In 2010
scientists sequenced the DNA from four frozen hairs of a Greenlander
who lived among the Saqqaq around 2,000BC. He appeared to have
originated in Siberia and was unrelated to modern Greenlanders.
(Reuters, 2/10/10)
2.498k BC - 2.491k BC Userkaf, grandson of Djedefre,
ruled as the 1st king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. He built a pyramid
complex at Saqqara.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2.494k BC Pharaoh Khafre, builder of the second
largest of the Giza Pyramids, died around this time.
(AP, 10/18/10)
2.491k BC - 2.477k BC Sahure ruled as the 2nd king of
Egypt’s 5th dynasty. He built a pyramid complex at Abusir. He
established an Egyptian navy and sent a fleet to Punt and traded with
Palestine.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2.477k BC - 2.467k BC Neferirkare, brother of Sahure,
ruled as the 3rd king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. In 1893 local farmers
discovered hieratic papyrus at his pyramid complex consisting of some
300 fragments.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2.467k BC - 2.46k BC Shepseskare ruled in Egypt,
according to the Turin King-list, for 7 years. Some seal impressions
dated to his reign have been found at Abusir.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.46k BC - 2.453k BC Neferefre ruled as the 5th king
of Egypt’s 5th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.45k BC The Troy treasure discovered by Heinrich
Schliemann in 1873 was dated to a Bronze Age Troy of about this time.
(SFC, 4/16/96, p.A-9)
2.453k BC - 2.422k BC Niusserre (Nyuserre) ruled as
the 6th king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. In 1893 local farmers discovered
hieratic papyrus at his pyramid complex consisting of some 300
fragments.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.422k BC - 2.414k BC Menkauhor ruled as the 7th king
of Egypt’s 5th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.414k BC - 2.375k BC Djedkare ruled at the end of
the 6th dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/04_06/05.html)
c2.4k BC A site at Chien-kou near Handan of China's
Longshan culture shows strong evidence of warfare between communities.
(NH, Jul, p.30)
c2.4k BC In Egypt the bas-reliefs lining the Mastaba
of Akhethetep depict the rural life of a prosperous landowner. The
chapel is in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2.4k BC Dagan, a name that appears in early
Mesopotamia, and that enters into the composition of proper names in
Babylonia about this time. Dagan was later a name for head of the
Philistine pantheon.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.99, p.104)
2.4k BC The Mesopotamian city of Nagar (in
northeastern Syria) became the powerful state of Nagar about this time.
(MT, summer 2003, p.11)
2.4k BC - 2.2k BC Archeologists in 2008 said evidence
from Stonehenge dating to this period indicated that the site was used
as a place of pilgrimage for the sick.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.A26)
2.4k BC - 1.5k BC Late Danish Neolithic: In the
Ertebolle Culture amber pendants were shaped as animals. This includes
the Dagger Period of Northern Europe.
(PacDis, Winter/’97, p.8)(http://tinyurl.com/9usqn)
2.375k BC - 2.345k BC Unas ruled at the end of
Egypt’s 6th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.355k BC - 2.195k BC This is the period of Egypt’s
6th Dynasty.
(AM, 7/05, p.14)
c2.35k BC Akhethetep, a high ranking official, lived
about this time. His mastaba tomb is located in Saqqara, Egypt.
(AM, 11/04, p.72)
2.348k BC Jul 17, "My Bible also revealed that Noah
came ashore on Mt. Ararat on the 17th day of the seventh month,
2348BC." In 1999 William Ryan and Walter Pitman authored "Noah's Flood:
The New Scientific Discoveries about the Event That Changed History."
They demonstrate how the rising Mediterranean broke through a natural
dam in the Bosporus Strait and flooded a freshwater lake that expanded
into the Black Sea. [see 5,600BC]
(NG, Nov. 1985, edit., p.559)(NH, 12/98, p.13)
2.348k BC Nov 25, Biblical scholars have long
asserted this to be the day of the Great Deluge, or Flood. [see Jul 17,
2348]
(HN, 11/25/98)
2.345k BC - 2.333k BC Teti ruled Egypt as the 1st
king of the 6th dynasty. In 2008 archeologists discovered a pyramid in
Saqqara dating to about this time. It was said to belong to Queen
Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(AP, 11/11/08)
2.345k BC - 2.181k BC In Egypt the "Striding Figure
of Meryrahashtef," a 22.5 inch nude statue of a minor 6th dynasty
official, was made.
(WSJ, 1/16/02, p.A14)(Arch, 9/02, p.61)
2.334k BC - 2.279k BC Sargon I (2371BC-2315BC)
founded and ruled the city-state of Akkad, after he left the city of
Kish where he was an important official. He was the first ruler to
maintain a standing army. His empire lasted less than 200 years.
(http://tinyurl.com/ctv5f)
2.333k BC Userkare ruled in the 6th dynasty of Egypt
between Teti and Pepi. He is believed to be a proponent of the group
that killed Teti.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/kings/0602_userkare/history.html)
2.333k BC Go-Chosun (Kojoson) refers to the Korean
Empire founded by Tangun in 2333 BC that succeeded the first kingdoms
of Hwan Gook (7,197 BC) and Bae Dal (3,898 BC) (also known as Gu Ri).
The people of Go-Chosun were referred to by the Chinese as "the eastern
bowmen." Chosun means "The Land of the Morning Calm."
(www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chosun)(Econ, 3/31/07, SR p.8)
2.332k BC - 2.283k BC Pepi I ruled as the 3rd king of
the 6th dynasty. A pyramid of Queen Ankh-sn-Pepi, wife of Pepi I, was
discovered in 2000. The "Pair Statue of Queen Ankh-Nes-Meryre II and
her son Pepi II Seated" was part of an Egyptian show on view at the NY
Met in 1999.
(WSJ, 9/21/99, p.A24)(SFC, 4/3/00,
p.A10)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.32k BC Sargon conquered the independent city-states
of Sumer and instituted a central government.
(eawc, p.2)
c2.3k BC Phoenicians, a seafaring people, began
living along the Levantine coast.
(SFC, 6/24/99, p.A14)
2.3k BC Sumerian cuneiform texts mention the land of
Magan (possibly Oman) as a source of copper and diorite for the states
of Mesopotamia.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.49)
2.3k BC A culture traceable to Siberian ancestors
made its way eastward across Alaska and through the Arctic to Ellesmere
Island's Bache Peninsula. From there Greenland lies just 25 miles
across open water in summer or solid sea ice in winter.
(NG, 6/1988, 762)
2.3k BC The Hmong people lived on the central plains
of China. The gradually moved to the mountains of Indochina and Burma
and then to Laos and Thailand.
(SFC, 6/9/96, DB p.2)
2.3k BC A civilization later called the Bactria
Margiana Archeology Complex existed about this time in what later
became Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Evidence of writing was found at
the Annau ruins in 2000.
(SSFC, 5/13/01, p.A12)
2.3k BC Cultural exchange began between the Indus
Valley civilization and Mesopotamia.
(eawc, p.2)
2.291k BC - 2.254k BC Naram-Sin ruled Akkad. He
defeated a rebel coalition in Sumer and re-established Akkadian power.
He re-conquered Syria, Lebanon, and the Taurus mountains, destroying
Aleppo and Mari in the process. During his reign the Gutians
sacked the city of Agade and eventually destroyed all of Sumer
(southern Iraq). During his reign Naram-Sin campaigned against the
region of Magan (Oman).
(http://tinyurl.com/ctv5f)
2.278k BC - 2.184k BC Pepi II ruled in Egypt as the
last king of the 6th dynasty and the last significant king of the Old
Kingdom.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.183k BC Merenre II followed Pepi II as ruler of
Egypt. He ruled for just over a year and was murdered. Nitocris, his
sister-wife, took rule.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html)
2.183k BC - 2.18k BC Nitocris (Nitiqret), the
wife-sister-wife of Merenre, rule Egypt.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html)
2.254k BC - 2.23k BC Shar-Kali-Sharri, son of
Naram-Sin, ruled Akkad. He fought to preserve the realm but it
disintegrated under rebellion and invasion.
(http://tinyurl.com/ctv5f)
2.205k BC -1.766k BC In China the Hsia Dynasty
unfolded. No archeological evidence has confirmed this. [see
2100BC-1600]
(eawc, p.2)
2.2k BC In what is now Bahrain settlements and
temples of the city state of Dilmun, known as the city of the gods in
ancient Sumerian literature, were found by Danish archaeologists in the
1950s. A culture contemporary with the city state of Dilmun (now
Bahrain) was found in 1959 on the island of Umm-an-Nar off of Abu Dhabi.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.48)
2.2k BC In Greece Indo-European invaders, speaking
the earliest form of Greek, entered the mainland.
(eawc, p.2)
2.2k BC In the Peruvian Andes a native culture built
a 33-foot pyramid about this time with an observatory marking the
summer and winter solstices. In 2006 archeologists working at the Buena
Vista site believed that fisherman from the coast had moved to the site
to grow cotton for making fishing nets.
(SFC, 5/15/06, p.A2)
2.2k BC A statue of the Sumerian king Entemena of
Lagash was made about this time. The head was later lost and in 2003
the remaining body was looted after the fall of Baghdad. In 2006 it was
returned to Iraq’s National Museum.
(SFC, 7/26/06, p.A3)
2.183k BC - 2.181k BC Nitocris (Nitiqret), the
wife-sister-wife of Merenre, ruled Egypt.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html)
2.181k BC - 2.161k BC Egypt’s 7th and 8th
dynasties ruled during this period. Wadjkare ruled in Egypt’s 7th
dynasty and was followed by Qakare. Eusebius has a 7th Dynasty that
consisted of five kings of Memphis, who reigned for 75 days and an
Eighth Dynasty that consisted of five kings of Memphis, who reigned for
100 years.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasties7-10.html)
2.181k BC - 2.04k BC Egypt’s First Intermediate
Period. It began with the collapse of the Old Kingdom due to crop
failure and low revenues due to pyramid building projects. This seemed
to coincide with a period of cooling and drying.
(eawc, p.2)(Econ, 12/20/03,
p.114)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.16k BC - 2.14k BC Egypt’s 9th and 10th Dynasties
ruled over this period from the capital at Herakleopolis. Pharaohs
included Meryibre, Merykare, Kaneferre, and Nebkaure.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.145k BC Idin-Dagan, a king of Babylonia. and his
son Isme-Dagan.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.104)
2.137k BC Oct 22, This is the date of the earliest
recorded eclipse according to the Shu King, the book of historical
documents of ancient China. Two royal astronomers, Hsi and Ho, failed
in their duties to predict the eclipse due to too much rice wine and
were executed.
(SCTS, p.27)
2.134k BC - 2.117k BC Intef I (Antef I) ruled in
Egypt’s 11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.134k BC - 1.991k BC Period of Egypt’s 11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.13k BC By this time Sumer regained its independence
from Akkadian rule but did not revert to independent city-states. Sumer
was ruled from Ur.
(eawc, p.2)
2.117k BC - 2.069k BC Intef II (Antef II) ruled in
Egypt’s 11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.113k BC Ur's golden century began when King
Ur-Nammu expanded the Sumerian empire and made his capital the
wealthiest city in Mesopotamia. Ur-Namma was the founder of the Third
Dynasty of Ur. He made sure Magan (Oman) boats could freely come and go
from Ur’s harbor.
(AP, 4/15/03)(Arch, 9/00, p.46)
2.1k BC Byblos ( Pre-Phoenician city) was burned to
the ground probably by the Amorites.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.156)
2.1k BC The Sumerian King List was written. It
recorded all the kings and dynasties ruling Sumer from the earliest
times. Eridu was named as the earliest settlement and archeological
evidence seems to confirm the claim.
(eawc, p.2)
2.1k BC Gudeo served as governor of Lagash (Iraq).
(Arch, 9/00, p.46)
c2.1k BC Stonehenge Phase II incorporated 60
"bluestones" from the Preseli Mountains in southwest Wales, about 135
miles away. 90 bluestones were set up in a horseshoe shape within a
circle of another 60. Some 500 years after Stonehenge I fell into
disuse, builders created a radically different Stonehenge with dozens
of stone pillars weighing up to 4 tons.
(HT, 3/97, p.22)(SSFC, 12/24/00, p.T5)(HNQ, 3/3/01)
2.1k BC Amorites came from the Arabian peninsula and
were the first important Semitic settlers in the area of Damascus. They
established many small states.
(SFEC, 11/21/99, p.A26)
c2.1k BC - 1.9k BC In Stonehenge Phase III the
builders encircled the bluestones with sarsen stones, a sandstone
(probably from a quarry in Avebury, 20 miles away). These were topped
by caps and the bluestones were re-arranged and dug into the ground.
The axis of the circle was also re-calculated so that one way
Stonehenge points to the summer solstice at sunrise and lined up the
other way it points to the winter solstice at sunset.
(HT, 3/97, p.22)(SD)
2.1k BC - 1.6k BC Xia Dynasty of China. The Ba people
controlled salt production on the Yangtze River. They then slowly
migrated upstream and in 316BC were subjugated by the Qin. Fuling was a
burial site for the kings of Ba. Fengdu was the first capital of Ba.
The 1996 Tujia minority claim descent from the Ba.
(NH, 7/96, p.31)
2.1k BC - 1.6k BC The protohistoric Xia period. [see
2205-1766]
(WSJ, 2/19/98, p.A20)
2.1k BC - 2k BC Some 15,000 tiny Golden rings,
estimated at 4,100 to 4,200 years old, were found in 2005 near Dabene,
Bulgaria. They were attributed to proto-Thracians, ancestors of the
Thracians, who lived in the area until they were assimilated by
invading Slavs in the 8th century.
(SFC, 8/17/05, p.A2)
2.07k BC In China the Xia period began according to
results from government funded studies in 2000 CE. This was about the
middle of the prehistoric Longshan culture.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D4)
2.069k BC - 2.06k BC Intef III (Antef III) ruled in
Egypt’s 11th Dynasty for 8 years.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.068k BC Shulgi, king of Ur, accepted gold from the
king of Magan (Oman).
(Arch, 9/00, p.47)
2.06k BC - 2.01k BC Mentuhotep II (Nebhetepre), son
of Theban Inteff III, ruled for about 39-51 years in Egypt’s 11th
Dynasty.
(http://tinyurl.com/9nr3e)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.04k BC - 1.782k BC In Egypt the period of the
Middle Kingdom began with its capital at Thebes. It lasted to 1782BC.
About this time "The Plea of the Eloquent Peasant" was written calling
for a benevolent ruler.
(eawc, p.2)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2.013k BC Sumerians built the Ziggurat at Ur (later
Iraq) to draw closer attention to the god of the moon.
(SSFC, 4/25/04, Par p.5)
2.01k BC - 1.998k BC Mentuhotep II, son of Mentuhotep
I, ruled in the 11th Dynasty of Egypt for about 12 years.
(http://tinyurl.com/b97e3)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2k BC The first agricultural
tribes appeared on the Bactrian Plain (Afghanistan).
(NG, 3/90, p.62)
2k BC Bronze-age mounds from this
time in Turkman SSR indicate that Central Asians built cities around
oases and developed a flourishing civilization with monumental
architecture, sophisticated gold and silver craft, and irrigation
agriculture.
(NG, 3/90)
c2k BC At Arbor Low in Derbyshire,
England, a Bronze Age stone circle was constructed.
(SFEM, 10/11/98, p.21)
c2k BC Silbury Hill, located
on the prehistoric site of Avebury (named after nearby Avebury,
England), is the largest prehistoric mound in Europe. The artificial
hill, which rises up 130 feet, was constructed over three separate
phases beginning at least 4,000 years ago. Although the shape of the
mound is similar to smaller earthen constructions used for burials, its
purpose remains a mystery.
(HNQ, 6/8/01)
2k BC The initial phase of what
scientists call Stonehenge III was begun about 100 years after
Stonehenge II with the lentil structure familiar to modern visitors.
The builders continued improvements on Stonehenge III up until about
1550BC, well before historical records of the Druids or the Romans.
Both Stonehenge and a neighboring circular monument were added to
UNESCO's World Heritage List--a listing of cultural and natural
sites--in 1986.
(HNQ, 3/3/01)
2k BC For as many as 4,000 years,
the salty sand of the Taklimakan Desert in China held well-preserved
mummies wearing colorful robes, boots, stockings and hats. The people
were Caucasian not Asian. The bodies have been exhumed from the Tarim
Basin of Xinjiang province since the late 1970s.
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.C-1)
2k BC Balathal, outside the city
of Udaipur in northeast India, was a Chalcolithic village. The people
used copper tools and weapons. Terra-cotta figurines of bulls have been
found at the site. It was abandoned and reoccupied c340BC.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.B)
2k BC Legends from Mecca indicate
that the prophet Abraham built the Kaaba about this time. The Kaaba is
a shrine meaning cube in Arabic, that enclosed the idols of their gods.
Religious rituals were performed around the Kaaba which had a black
stone embedded into a corner, said to be a gift to Abraham from the
angel Gabriel for his belief in one god. By CE 500 more than 360 idols
were housed within the Kaaba.
(ATC, p.57)
2k BC About this time the
Egyptians domesticated the cat in order to catch snakes. Advances in
astronomy enabled the Egyptians to predict the annual flooding of the
Nile.
(eawc, p.2)
c2k BC An Egyptian painting on an
interior tomb wall depicted 6 men scrubbing, wringing and folding a
cloth.
(SFC, 10/11/97, p.E3)
2k BC It was later believed that
emeralds were first mined in Egypt about this time.
(WSJ, 2/7/07, p.A12)
2k BC By this time Baltic amber
reached the Mediterranean and was found in ancient Mycenaean shaft
graves.
(PacDis, Winter/'97, p.10)
2k BC The Timucuan Indians lived
on Cumberland Island, Georgia, back to this time.
(Sky, 4/97, p.43)
2k BC The Hittites lived around
what is now Cappadocia. They mixed with the already-settled Hatti and
were followed by the Lydians, Phrygians, Byzantines, Romans and Greeks.
The name Cappadocia comes from the Hittite for "land of pretty horses."
(SFEC, 9/14/97, p.T14)
c2k BC In India Tantra, a
quasireligious doctrine, dates back to this time. Its first texts were
in Sanskrit and the original adherents practiced ritual copulation.
(WSJ, 12/7/98, p.A1)
2k BC The Ikom monoliths in
Nigeria, phallic-shaped pieces of volcanic rock largely ignored for
centuries, were said to date back to about this time. In 2007 they were
added to the World Monuments Fund's (WMF) list of sites in danger and
are on the "tentative" list for possible inclusion in UNESCO's World
Heritage Site list.
(AFP, 12/26/07)
2k BC In 2007 a temple dating to
about this time was unearthed on the northern coast of Peru, making it
one of the oldest finds in the Americas. The mural filled temple,
called Ventarron, sits in the Lambayeque valley, near the ancient Sipan
complex unearthed in the 1980s.
(AP, 11/11/07)
2k BC In 2008 researchers reported
that the earliest known gold jewelry made in the Americas had been
discovered in southern Peru. The gold necklace, made nearly 4,000 years
ago, was found in a burial site near Lake Titicaca.
(AP, 3/31/08)
c2k BC The Sumerian goddess Inanna
was a fertility figure.
(SFEC, 9/27/98, BR p.7)
c2k BC A palace was built at
Qatanah, 12 miles south of Damascus, Syria, that was discovered in 1999.
(SFEC, 11/21/99, p.A6)
2k BC - 1.79k BC The wooden statue of chancellor
Nakhti and carved face of governor Hapidjefai date to Egypt’s Middle
Kingdom. They are now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2k BC - 1.6k BC In Mesopotamia the Old Babylonian
period began after the collapse of Sumer, probably due to an increase
in the salt content of the soil that made farming difficult. Weakened
by poor crops and lack of surplus goods, the Sumerians were conquered
by the Amorites, situated in Babylon. The center of civility shifted
north. The Amorites preserved much of the Sumerian culture but
introduced their own Semitic language, an early ancestor to Hebrew,
into the region.
(eawc, p.2)
2k BC - 1.6k BC The Middle Minoan period. Middle
Minoan I finds polychrome decoration in pottery with elaborate
geometrical patterns; we also discover interesting attempts to picture
natural forms, such as goats and beetles. There then follows some great
catastrophe. Middle Minoan II includes the period of the great palace
of Phaestos and the first palace of Knossos. This period also includes
the magnificent polychrome pottery called Kamares ware. Another
catastrophe occurs. The second great palace of Knossos was built and
begins the Middle Minoan III. It was distinguished by an intense
realism in art, speaking clearly of a rapid deterioration in taste.
Pictographic writing was clearly developed, with a hieratic or cursive
script derived from it, adapted for writing with pen and ink.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.17)
2k BC - 1.6k BC In Oman a
transitional culture known as early Wadi Suq.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.49)
2k BC - 1.5k BC The events of the Indian Ramayana epic, written around
500BC, supposedly took place about this time period.
(AM, 7/04, p.50)
2k BC - 1.55k BC The Babylonians built an empire.
(WH, 1994, p.12)
2k BC - 1.5k BC In Greece the Minoan civilization,
named after the Cretan ruler Minos, reached its height with central
power in Knossos on the isle of Crete. The culture was apparently more
female-oriented and peaceful than others of the time.
(eawc, p.2)
2k BC - 1k BC Early preclassic period of the Maya.
(AM, May/Jun 97 suppl. p.B)
2k BC - 1k BC In Italy Indo-Europeans slowly began to
inhabit the north by way of the Alps. They brought the horse, the
wheeled cart, and artistic knowledge of bronze work to the Italian
peninsula. The Greeks and the Etruscans occupied different regions of
the peninsula during the 8th century.
(eawc, p.2)
2k BC - 500 BC Aryan tribes lived in Aryana (Ancient
Afghanistan). The City of Kabul is thought to have been established
during this time. Rig Veda may have been created in Afghanistan around
this time. Evidence of early nomadic iron age in Aq Kapruk IV.
(www.afghan, 5/25/98)
1.997k BC - 1.991k BC Mentuhotep III, the last king
of the 11th Dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of Imi, a secondary wife
of either Mentuhotep II or III. His name is missing from most king’s
lists.
(http://tinyurl.com/e37kx)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.995k BC In 2005 Chinese archeologists reported
their find of a 4,000 year-old container in northwestern China of
noodles made from millet.
(SFC, 10/13/05, p.A2)
1.991k BC - 1.962k BC Amenemhet I (Amenemhat I)
founded Egypt’s 12th Dynasty of Egypt and ruled for some 30 years. In
2007 Prof. Jahi Issa and Salim Faraji authored “The Origin of the Word
Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told,” in which they argued
that the word Amen is derived from a pre-dynastic Egyptian culture
found in the Sudan with roots in the ancient name for pharaoh, Amen,
spelled in some cases as Amun.
(http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)(SSFC, 12/2/07,
p.A2)
1.991k BC - 1.783k BC Egypt, time of the Twelfth
Dynasty, the peak of the Middle Kingdom when the Pharaohs won back some
of the power which the monarchs of the Old kingdom had enjoyed. It
ended with the Middle Kingdom in 1786BC. During the period power was
somewhat distributed through the social classes. Religion shifted from
a wealth-based system to one based on proper conduct.
(eawc,
p.3)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.98k BC - 1.971k BC Sesostris I (Senusret I) became
co-regent with Amenenhet I.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.971k BC - 1.929k BC Sesostris I (Senusret I) ruled
during Egypt’s 12th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.929k BC - 1.926k BC Amenemhet II ruled in the 12th
Dynasty of Egypt as co-regent with his father Sesostris I.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.926k BC - 1.892k BC Amenemhet II held sole rule
during Egypt’s 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.9k BC King Melchizedek ruled Salem before it became
Jerusalem. He charged everybody in his domain a flat 10% tax.
(SFEC, 4/6/97, Z1 p.5)
c1.9k BC The "Epic of Gilgamesh" was redacted from
Sumerian sources written in the Babylonian semetic. The legend was
written about 1,600BC.
(eawc, p.3)(SFC, 11/18/99, p.C6)
1.9k BC - 1.5k BC During this period a Semitic group
of nomads migrated from Sumer to Canaan and then on to Egypt. They were
led by a caravan trader, the Patriarch Abraham, who became the father
of the nation of Israel. Ishmael was a son of Abraham had by Hagar.
Isaac was a son of Abraham by Sarah. Hebrews trace their lineage
through Isaac, Arabs through Ishmael.
(eawc, p.3)(NW, 11/02, p.55)
c1.898k BC - 1.866k BC In Egypt the Sphinx of Tanis
was made. It was later moved to Paris.
(WSJ, 10/7/98, p.A20)
1.897k BC - 1.878k BC Sesostris II (Senusret II), son
of Amenenhet II, ruled as co-regent in Egypt’s 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
c1.89k BC Sinuhe, a professional soldier of high rank
in Egypt, serving in the army of Amenemhat II was faced with a change
in political power and left Egypt. He fled to Byblos, where he was
befriended by a local ruler named Ammienshi, who governed the land of
Retenu. He later returned to Egypt, now ruled by Senusret.
(L.C.-W.P.p.21-32)
1.878k BC - 1.841k BC Senusret III (Sesostris III)
ruled as Egypt’s 5th king in the 12th Dynasty. He built a funerary
complex to link himself with Osiris, lord of Abydos. Khakaure was
Senwosret’s throne name.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.842k BC - 1.797k BC Amenemhet III ruled as Egypt’s
6th in the 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.8k BC By this time the Old Babylonians employed
advanced mathematical operations such as multiplication, division and
square roots. Their duodecimal system, based on 12 and 6 to measure
time, is still used today.
(eawc, p.3)
c1.8k BC In Egypt walls of limestone were marked with
alphabetic inscriptions in the Wadi el-Hol (Gulch of Terror). In 1993
the graffiti markings were discovered by Egyptologist John Coleman
Darnell and his wife Deborah and later traced to Semitic people,
possibly mercenary soldier scribes or Canaanite workers, living in the
area.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A6)(SFC, 11/23/99, p.B10)
1.8k BC About this time Abraham buried his wife,
Sarah, in a cave in Hebron. The area later became known to the Jews as
the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.
(SFC, 12/4/08, p.A27)
1.8k BC - 1.4k BC The Second Semitic period.
Macalister has five historic divisions to cover his excavation of Gezar
(Vol. ii, pp. 128-241). This period in pottery shows Egyptian and
Cypriotic influence, and here for the first time painted ornament
becomes prominent. The figures are outlines in broad brush strokes, and
the spaces are filled in afterwards, wholly or partly, with strokes in
another color. The subjects are animals, birds, fishes, and geometrical
patterns generally, and there can be little doubt that they are crude
local imitations of models of Late Minoan ware, directly imported into
the country.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.122)
1.798k BC - 1.786k BC Amenemhet IV ruled in the 12th
Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.792k BC - 175k BC Hammurabi, king of Babylon,
established a code of laws during this period that became known as the
Code of Hammurabi. They were inscribed on a basalt column, later found
at Susa, Iran. One of the laws was that if a married woman was caught
lying with another man, both should be bound and thrown into the river.
(WH, 1994, p.13)(SFEC, 10/20/96, Z1 p.2)(Econ,
4/12/08, p.91)
1.790k BC Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep IV sent a
major expedition to Punt during the 8th year of his reign. In 2010
scientists used mummies of baboons to identify the region of Punt as
either the lowland area of eastern Sudan or the area where
Ethiopia and Eritrea confront each other.
(SFC, 5/8/10, p.A8)
1.785k BC - 1782k BC Queen Sobeknefru (Nefrusobek)
ruled in the 12th Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.782k BC - 1.779k BC Wegaf ruled at the beginning of
Egypt’s 13th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.782k BC - 1.65k BC Egypt’s XIII Dynasty was marked
by a period of decay, loss of unity, and many short-lived rival
Pharaohs. This lasted through the Sixteenth Dynasty. Over 70 kings are
listed in this dynasty and their dates are not well known.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/13.html)
1.782k BC - 157k BC Egypt’s Second Intermediate
Period. Also dated from 1640-1540.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/13.html)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.80k BC Vesuvius erupted about this time and
entombed settlements 15km northwest of the volcano. The Avellino event
left evidence at the Nola site that people were able to flee the
eruption.
(Econ, 3/11/06, p.73)
1.766k BC In China the Shang Dynasty, the 2nd dynasty
of the country according to tradition, began. It flourished on the
banks of the Yellow River from about 1400BC-1027BC. The period is known
for its use of bronze containers, oracle bones and human sacrifice,
which ended shortly after the collapse of the dynasty.
(eawc, p.3)
1.763k BC Hammurabi, the Amorite King, conquered all
of Sumer. He wrote a "Code of Laws" that contained 282 rules including
the principles of "an eye for an eye" and "let the buyer beware." It
was one of the first codes of law in world history, predated only by
the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar.
(eawc, p.3)
c1.76k BC Hor ruled in the early part of Egypt’s 13th
Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.750k BC Hammurabi established a code of laws. One
of the laws was that if a married woman was caught lying with another
man, both should be bound and thrown into the river.
(WH, 1994, p.13)(SFEC, 10/20/96, zone 1 p.2)
1.75k BC Hammurabi died but his empire lasted another
150 years when the Kassites, a non-Semitic people, conquered most of
Mesopotamia with the help of light chariot warfare.
(eawc, p.3)
c1.75k BC The 1st evidence for the lapidary engraving
wheel appeared about this time.
(Arch, 9/00, p.18)
1.75k BC - 1.54k BC The Hyksos from Syria and
Palestine occupied Egypt and introduced the horse and chariot. Taking
advantage of the unsettled state of Egypt, Asiatic invaders from
Palestine entered Egypt and set themselves up as kings, even adopting
Pharaonic titles and customs. The Jewish historian Josephus claims to
quote the words of an Egyptian chronicler, Manetho, in describing this
period of foreign rule. The Hyksos, whoever they were, had a
'blitz-weapon' - the horse drawn chariot which they had copied from the
horse-rearing Mitanni of northern Mesopotamia. And the Mitanni in turn
got the horse from Persia, together with the art of riding it. In 2005
Arthur Cotterrell authored “Chariot,” a history of the chariot.
(eawc, p.3)(WSJ, 6/17/05, p.W6)(L.C.-W.P.p.55-56)
c1.747k BC Khendjer, a Hyksos king, ruled in northern
Egypt.
(R4,1998)(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
c1.745k BC Sobekhotep II ruled in the 13th Dynasty of
Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.741k BC - 1.73k BC Neferhotep I ruled in the 13th
Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.73k BC - 1.72k BC Sobekhotep IV ruled in the 13th
Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
c1.72k BC The Hyksos in northern Egypt dominated the
Delta and founded their capital Avaris (Tanis).
(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
1.704k BC - 1.69k BC Ay ruled in Egypt’s 13th
Dynasty. He was succeeded by Neferhotep II and Nehesy in the 14th
Dynasty.
(R4,1998)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1.7k BC Canaanites, before the Hebrew conquest, built
a massive wall about this time when Jerusalem was a small, fortified
enclave. Archeologists first discovered the 26-foot-high wall in 1909
and later believed it to have been part of a protected passage built
from a hilltop fortress to a nearby spring that was the city's only
water source and vulnerable to marauders.
(AP, 9/3/09)
1.7k BC Nubia is known as the Kingdom of Kush in the
Bible. By this time the Nubians had established sizable cities with a
class society of workers, farmers, priests, soldiers bureaucrats and an
aristocracy with technological and cultural skills on a level with
other advanced civilizations of their day.
(MT, 10/95, p.10-11)
1.7k BC Knossos was first destroyed by an earthquake.
Mycenae, the great city of the Peloponnesus, was another earthquake
victim about this time.
(SFC,12/9/97, p.A8)
1.7k BC - 1.25k BC Troy VI, the bronze age settlement
of the site of the Trojan War. The inhabitants probably spoke Luvian,
an Indo-European language related to Hittite.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.49-50)
1.7k BC - 1.1k BC This is the Shang Dynasty period
of China. [see 1766BC]
(Arch, 9/00, p.34)
1.696k BC - 1.686k BC Neferhotep, the 22nd king of
the 13th Dynasty, ruled Egypt. He was the son of a temple priest in
Abydos. In 2005 archeologists unearthed a statue of him. His name means
"beautiful and good."
(AP, 6/5/05)
1.69k BC A kernel of corn was found in 1997 in the
McKuen Cave in Eastern Arizona that dated to this time.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, Z1 p.2)
1.674k BC Sheshi, a Hyksos ruler, conquered Memphis
(Egypt). Shesi ruled at the beginning of the 15th Dynasty and was
succeeded by Yakubher, Khyan, Apepi I, Apepi II, Anather in the 16th
Dynasty, Yakobaam, Sobekemsaf II in the 17th Dynasty, and Intef VII.
The Hyksos invaded Egypt in horse-drawn chariots.
(WH, 1994,
p.13)(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
1.664k BC - 1.559k BC Egypt was ruled for a century by the Hyksos, a
warrior people from Asia, possibly Semitic in origin, whose summer
capital was in the northern Delta area. In 2010 an Austrian
archaeological team used radar imaging to determine the extent of the
ruins of the one time capital of Egypt's foreign occupiers underneath
the green farm fields and modern town of Tel al-Dabaa.
(AP, 6/20/10)
1.663k BC - 1.555k BC The period of Egypt’s 15th
Dynasty. In Egypt the 15th, 16th and 17th dynasties ruled
simultaneously.
(http://tinyurl.com/cgmpy)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/avkno)
c1.65k BC Egypt’s 14th Dynasty kings ruled mostly
from the Western Nile Delta. Their dates are not well known and they
may have been contemporary with the 13th Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/14.html)
1.65k BC The volcano Thera, or Santorini in the
Aegean Sea, erupted. Akroteri, a Minoan city on the south part of
Thera, is being excavated. About 3-6 feet (1-2 m) of ash fell on the
city which had a population of about 30,000. The explosion of Thera
about this time released energy equal to 200,000 H-bombs. In 1939
Spyridon Marinatos authored “The Volcanic Destruction of Minoan Crete.”
(NH, 5/96, p.3)(AM, 7/00,
p.41)(http://tinyurl.com/7ywyr)
1.6k BC - 1.25k BC An earthen mound on the southern
Mexico-Guatemala border dated to this period and was considered part of
a chiefdom center of the Mokaya people.
(Arch, 1/06, p.43)
1.64k BC - 1.54k BC Egypt’s 2nd Intermediate Period.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/index.html)
c1.633k BC Tao I ruled in Egypt’s 17th Dynasty. In
Egypt the 15th, 16th and 17th dynasties ruled simultaneously.
(http://tinyurl.com/avkno)
1.628k BC The palace at Knossos, Crete, is depicted
in the opening of the 1996 book: "Europe: A History" by Norman Davies.
(WSJ, 11/18/96, p.A10)
c1.6k BC The Nebra disk, a 12-inch bronze and gold
disk from this time, was evidence of ancient German astronomy. It
recorded images of the sun, moon and 32 stars.
(AM, 3/04, p.42)
c1.6k BC Chocolate originated in northern Honduras.
(SFEC, 5/16/99, BR p.8)
c1.6k BC The Middle Helladic - Late Helladic I. This
archeological period describes the settlement patterns of Greece at
about this time.
(LSA., Fall 1995, p.6)
1.6k BC The Phaestos Disc (Phaistos) of terra-cotta
found in the excavation of the Cretan palace of Phaestos dating to the
Middle Minoan III. It is a roughly circular tablet, 15.8-16.5 cm. in
diameter. On each face is a spiral band of four coils, indicated by a
roughly drawn meandering line; and an inscription, in some form of
picture-writing, has been impressed on this band, one by one, from
dies, probably resembling those used by bookbinders... On one face of
the disc there are 119 signs; on the other face there are 123. they are
divided in what appear to be word-groups... by lines cutting across the
spiral bands at right angles. These word-groups contain from two to
seven characters each. There are forty-five different characters
employed.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.83)
1.6k BC In Egypt a revolution against Hyksos rule
began in the south and spread throughout the country.
(eawc, p.3)
1.6k BC The Kassites, a non-Semitic people, conquered
most of Mesopotamia with the help of light chariot warfare.
(eawc, p.3)
c1.6k BC Mounded royal tombs containing artifacts
from this time were found in the ruins of the city of Kerma from
ancient Nubia.
(MT, 10/95, p.10-11)
1.6k BC - 1k BC In India the Early Vedic period of
Indian civilization unfolded.
(eawc, p.3)
1.6k BC - 1.2k BC The Mycenaean civilization on the
Greek peninsula emerged. It was named after the leading Greek city of
this period.
(eawc, p.2)
1.6k -1.25k BC An earthen mound in southern
Mexican-Guatemala border dated to this period and was considered part
of a chiefdom center of the Mokaya people.
(Arch, 1/06, p.43)
1.6k BC - 1.3k BC Messenia, the home of King Nestor,
mentioned in Homer's Iliad, is the site of a well excavated palace that
dates to this period.
(LSA., Fall 1995, p.6)
1.6k BC - 1.3k BC In Oman a transitional culture
known as late Wadi Suq.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.49)
1.6k BC - 1.4k BC Late Minoan period. Late Minoan I
pottery is distinguished from the earlier period by the convention that
its designs as a rule are painted dark on a light background. The
palace of Phaestos was rebuilt. Fine frescoes and admirably sculptured
vases in steatite are found. In Late Minoan II the naturalistic figures
become conventionalized, and a degeneration in the arts sets in which
continues into Late Minoan III. At the end of Late Minoan II an
invasion from the mainland occurs apparently resulting in the
destruction of the Knossos.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.17)
1.6k BC - 1.5k BC Art pieces attributed to the Xia
Dynasty of China are on exhibit at the Shanghai Museum. These include
an ax blade, a three legged food vessel, and 3 wine vessels.
(WSJ, 5/9/96, p.A-16)
1.6k BC - 1.5k BC In India the Aryans invaded the
Indus Valley region. In 1999 researchers reported that gene patterns
confirmed that Caucasoid invaders entered India between 1000 and 2000BC.
(eawc, p.3)(SFC, 5/26/99, p.C2)
1.6k BC - 1.4k BC In 2010 Russian researchers said
traces of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization have been
discovered in the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains thanks to aerial
photographs taken 40 years ago. The civilization dated from the 16th to
the 14th centuries BC, high in the mountains south of Kislovodsk. The
decorations and forms of bronze items found in the area indicated that
the civilization is linked to the Kuban civilization, which was
discovered at the end of the 19th century at the foot of Mount Kazbek.
(AFP, 10/11/10)
1.595k BC The Hittites captured Babylon and
retreated. They left the city open to Kassite domination which lasted
about 300 years. The Kassites maintained the Sumerian/Babylonian
culture without innovations of their own.
(eawc, p.4)
1.575k BC - 1.532k BC Ipepi (Apophis) ruled as a Hyksos 17th Dynasty
king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/15.html)
1.574k BC Tao II ruled in the 17th Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.573k BC - 1.57k BC Kamose ruled as a Hyksos 17th
Dynasty king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/18_20/index.html)
1.57k BC - 1.546k BC Ahmose, Pharaoh of Egypt, ruled
in Egypt’s 17th Dynasty. His sister-wife was Queen
Ahmosep-Nefertary. During his reign he defeated the Hyksos led by
Apophis. Ahmose engaged the Hyksos at their city of Avaris, and the
city of Sharuhen for three years.
(L.C.-W.P.p.64)(AM, 7/01,
p.52)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.57k BC - 107k BC Egypt’s New Kingdom Period. Thebes
(which encompassed the site known today as Luxor) was the chief city of
Egypt. Pharaohs began to abandon royal pyramids in favor of hidden
tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. A bust of the Royal scribe
Meniou was made in limestone during Egypt’s New Kingdom. It is now in
the French Louvre.
(AM, 7/01, p.58)(WSJ, 1/29/98,
p.A16)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.57k BC - 107k BC Egyptian wall paintings included
information on beer production. In 2004 Japan’s Kirin Brewery produced
a beer dubbed “The New Kingdom Beer.”
(WSJ, 10/14/04, p.A1)
1.551k BC - 1.524k BC Amenhotep I (Ahmenophis), son
of Amasis I (Ahmose), ruled at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty of
Egypt. Inscriptions indicate that he engaged the Nubians in the
land of Kush. Some of the southern foes were evidently cave-dwellers
(troglodytes), since the inscription goes on to say that 'His majesty
captured the Nubian Troglodyte in the midst of his army.
(NG, 9/98,
p.17)(L.C.-W.P.p.66)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c1.55k BC During the beginning in Egypt’s 18th
Dynasty the Opet Festival celebrated the Theban triad of the sun and
creator Amun, his consort Mut, and their son Khonsu.
(Arch, 7/02, p.36)
1.55k BC A wealthy young teenager, later dubbed "The
Boy with the Amber Necklace," was buried near Britain's mysterious
Stonehenge monument at about this time. Scientists in 2010 determined
that he came from the Mediterranean hundreds of miles away, proof of
the site's importance as a travel destination in prehistoric times.
(AP, 9/29/10)
1.55k BC In India writing disappeared for a time with
the destruction of the Indus Valley civilization.
(eawc, p.4)
1.55k BC - 1.295k BC During
Egypt’s 18th Dynasty private people began building small pointy
pyramids above their tombs.
(Arch, 9/02, p.56)
1.55k BC - 1.2k BC The Late Bronze Age.
(MT, 3/96, p.2)
1.532k BC - 1.522k BC Khamudi (Aseth) ruled as a
Hyksos 15th Dynasty king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/15.html)
1.24k BC - 1.518k BC Tuthmosis I (Thutmose I) ruled
at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.518k BC - 1.504k BC In Egypt Tuthmosis II ruled in
the 18th Dynasty. Hatshepsut was married to her sickly half-brother
when she was about 12.
(ON, 10/99,
p.7)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.504k BC - 1.45k BC Tuthmosis III, a son of one of
the lesser wives of Tuthmosis I, ruled in the 18th Dynasty. In the 15th
cent. BC Thutmose III led his army from Egypt to Megiddo and
outflanked the chariots of the Canaanite forces that had revolted
against him. [see 1479-1426]
(WSJ, 4/17/97,
p.A20)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.5k BC Before this time in India the sap of the
palmyra palm was used to make a fermented drink later called a "toddy"
by the English.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, Z1 p.5)
1.5k BC Domesticated dogs companied people to Timor,
New Guinea and Australia by about this time. The dogs reverted to a
feral existence and in Australia became dingoes.
(NH, 11/1/04, p.14)
1.5k BC The Shang dynasty began in China.
(WH, 1994, p.13)
c1.5k BC Stonehenge, a circle of large stones in
southern England, was constructed to observe the seasons.
(NG, March 1990, p.110)
c1.5k BC Linguistic evidence shows that the
Canaanites (now more commonly known as the Phoenicians) were non-Jewish
Semites whose language was almost identical with Hebrew.
(MT, Spg. '97, p.12)
c1.5k BC Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and
established a calendar with Egyptian features but based on a seven day
week. The later 8-day Sukkot festival commemorates the fall harvest and
the wandering of the Hebrews in the Sinai desert after the Exodus. In
1998 Jonathan Kirsch authored "Moses: A Life." Miriam was the sister of
Moses and led the celebration following the crossing of the Red Sea.
[see 1280BC]
(K.I.-365D, p.58)(SFEC,10/19/97, p.A26)(SFEC,
12/13/98, BR p.5)(WSJ, 4/7/00, p.W17)
c1.5k BC Egyptian tombs show paintings of apparently
Cretan messengers and merchants, called by the name Keftiu, bearing
Cretan goods: and in addition we find the actual tangible goods
themselves, deposited with the Egyptian dead.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.17)
c1.5k BC A boy named Djehuti-Irdis (13) died in
Thebes. In 2000 a biopsy confirmed that he died of pneumonia.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A13)
1.5k BC By this time the kingdom of Kush was
established south of Egypt. The Kushites were dark-complexioned
Negroids.
(eawc, p.4)
1.5k BC In 2009 Spain's scientific research agency
(CSIC) announced that a tomb decorated with 3,500-year-old paintings
was discovered in Luxor by Jose Manuel Galan, a Spanish Egyptologist.
The person was in the service of the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut, the
most powerful female pharaoh and who ruled for 21 years from 1479 to
1458 BC.
(AFP, 3/17/09)
c1.5k BC In 1978 Greek grave robbers at Aidonia dug
into ancient tombs believed to be a 3,500BC-year-old palatial cemetery
of the Mycenaeneans. The looters plundered 18 graves but left one
undisturbed. Objects from the single pit provided archeologists
evidence to match the objects of an attempted 1993 sale.
(SFC, 8/13/96, p.B2)
1.5k BC Chersonesos on the edge of Sevastopol was the
Greek world's most northern colony.
(SFC,12/19/97, p.F6)
1.5k BC The Laws of Manu, a Hindu sacred text, dated
to about this time. It sanctified the caste system of India.
(www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.html)(Econ,
10/6/07, p.15)
c1.5k BC In 2002 in southern Italy a settlement was
found dating to this time on the River Sarno 6 miles northeast of
Pompeii. It was abandoned after being destroyed by a flood in the 6th
century BC. It was uncovered by archeologists in 2000.
(SFC, 3/22/02, p.A10)(Arch, 7/02, p.15)
1.5k BC A court to play ulama was built about this
time in Chiapas, Mexico. Olmecs used latex balls for the game. The
Olmecs processed rubber using latex from rubber trees mixed with juice
from the morning glory vine. The rubber was used to make a bouncy ball
for their ball games.
(SFC, 6/19/99, p.A9)(Econ, 4/24/04, p.81)
1.5k BC - 1.4k BC The Canaanite "Poem of Aqhat," a
work of seasonal writing, dates to this time.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, BR p.9)
1.5k BC - 1.2k BC The Late Bronze Age. The Amorites
in the time of Moses came from northeast Syria. The languages of
northeast Syria and Palestine appear to have been 1/3 Semitic, 1/3
Indo-European and 1/3 Hurrian.
(MT, Spg. '97, p.11)
c1.5k BC - 1.2k BC The Persian prophet Zoroaster
(Zarathustra) founded the religion known as Zoroastrianism. The
principal beliefs included the existence of a supreme deity called
Ahura Mazda and a cosmic struggle between the spirit of good, Spenta
Mainyu, and the spirit of evil, Angra Mainyu. Later adherents to
Zoroastrianism are represented by the Parsees of India and the Gabars
of Iran.
(Econ, 12/18/04,
p.35)(www.livius.org/za-zn/zarathustra/zarathustra.htm)
1.5k BC - 1.1k BC Evidence found in 1998 revealed terraced farming for
corn back to this time in northeast Mexico on a hilltop overlooking the
Rio Casa Grandes.
(SFC, 3/13/98, p.A11)
1.5k BC - 1k BC Nubia was colonized by Egypt.
(MT, 10/95, p.10-11)
1.5k BC - 400 BC This period of Greek history was
covered by Charles Freeman in his 1999 book "The Greek Achievement."
(WSJ, 8/31/99, p.A20)
1.5k BC - 300 BC The Lapita archaeological culture of
the Western Pacific. It represents an Austronesian-speaking Neolithic
population that colonized Oceania.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.22)
1.479k BC Thotmosis II died. He was succeeded by
Queen Hatshepsut and his step-son Thotmosis III. Queen Hatshepsut, the
only woman to have reigned as a pharaoh, ruled Egypt as 18th Dynasty
regent for Thutmose III. Her name translates as "The Foremost of
Noble Ladies." In 1996 Joyce Tyldesley authored "Hatshepsut, The Female
Pharaoh."
(AFP, 4/21/06)(ON, 10/99, p.8)(AP,
6/5/05)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.479k BC - 1.425k BC Thotmosis III ruled as pharaoh
of Egypt. His initial reign was under the guidance of his mother, Queen
Hatsheppsut.
(AFP, 4/21/06)
1.471k BC Tuthmosis III of Egypt built rafts on
the Lebanese coast, put them on wagons, and transported them to the
Euphrates in order to cross the river and defeat the King of Mitanni.
This was his eighth campaign in the thirty-third year of his reign.
This was well over 250 miles. He died in the fifty-fourth year of his
reign. An inscription at Napata in Nubia tells us about this.
(L.C.-W.P.p.87-89)
c1.47k BC The 97-foot obelisk at Karnak, Egypt, was
erected as part of a sun dial and cast its shadow on a temple of the
sun god Amun Ra.
(AM, 3/04, p.42)
1.458k BC In Egypt Queen Hatshepsut, mother of
Tuthmosis III, died. Tuthmosis III, in his early thirties, declared war
on the Prince of the Syrian city of Kadesh, who had organized a
confederacy in Palestine and Syria. Tuthmosis defeated the Syrians
following an 8 month siege of Megiddo. In 2007 Egyptian archaeologists
said the mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered from diabetes and
liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's
most powerful female pharaoh. Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt in the 15th
century B.C., was known for dressing like a man and wearing a false
beard. But when her rule ended, all traces of her mysteriously
disappeared, including her mummy. Discovered in 1903 in the Valley of
the Kings, the mummy was left on site until 2007, when it was brought
to the Cairo Museum for testing.
(ON, 3/01, p.11)(AFP, 4/21/06)(AP, 6/27/07)
1.45k BC - 1.3k BC The Hittite culture reached its
highpoint and dominated the territory North and East of Babylon
including Turkey and northern Palestine. By this time the Hittites have
constructed a mythology with a state pantheon.
(eawc, p.4)
1.453k BC - 1.419k BC Amenhotep II (Amenophis II),
son of Tuthmose III, ruled in the 18th Dynasty. In the same Giza
stele which describes his prowess with a 33-foot oar, there is an
account of his skill as a archer. There is no doubt that he did conquer
the Asiatic powers of Djahi, Retenu, Mitanni, and 'God's Land'.
(L.C.-W.P.p.91-92)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.419k BC - 1.386k BC Tutmosis IV, son of Amenhotep
II, ruled in Egypt’s 18th Dynasty with his son as co-regent.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.4k BC Around Greece after the destruction of
Knossos the Mycenaean civilization replaced the Minoan. Bronze weapons,
war scenes on art, Cyclopean defense walls and the burial of male
warriors with their weapons indicates that the Mycenaeans were
militaristic. The horse drawn chariot emerged about this time. The
Mycenaeans dominated the Aegean world for about 200 years.
(eawc, p.4)
1.4k BC Michael Ventris (d.1956) and John Chadwick
(d.1998 at 78) in 1956 published "Documents in Mycenaean Greek." This
was a translation of Greek writings known as Linear B discovered by Sir
Arthur Evans at the Minoan palace of Cnossos [Knossos] in 1900 and
dated to 1400BC.
(SFC, 12/8/98, p.B6)
c1.4k BC The Temple of Hatshepsut was built in Luxor.
(SFC,11/20/97, p.B2)
1.4k BC The tomb of Kha Mirit from this time was
later put on display in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy.
(SSFC, 1/22/06, p.E6)
1.4k BC In 2010 Israeli archaeologists said a newly
discovered clay fragment from the 14th century BC is the oldest example
of writing ever found in antiquity-rich Jerusalem. Dig director Eilat
Mazar of Hebrew University said the 2-centimeter-long fragment bears an
ancient form of writing known as Akkadian wedge script.
(AP, 7/12/10)
1.4k BC Sumerian writing remained pictographic until
about this time.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A6)
c1.4k BC A major earthquake occurred in the Middle
East.
(SFC,12/9/97, p.A9)
1.4k BC - 1.2k BC Chinese pictorial script first
appeared during the Shang dynasty.
(SFC, 5/8/06, p.A1)
1.4k BC - 1.2k BC The spread of the debased Cretan
culture over Southern Asia Minor, Cyprus, and North Syria must have
been due to the movements of peoples, one incident in which was the
sack of Knossos (and the collapse of the island of Thera): and this is
true, whether those who carried the Cretan art were refugees from
Crete, or were the conquerors of Crete seeking yet further lands to
spoil.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.18)
1.4k BC - 1k BC The Third Semitic period, historic
period of pottery which includes the time of the Philistine supremacy.
The designs had in fact become 'hieratic', and the fine broad lines in
several colors had given place to thin-line monochrome patterns... this
change can be most easily accounted for by the assumption that the art
passed from one race to another. And the sudden disappearance of
fine-line technique coincides so completely with the subjugation of the
Philistines, that we can hardly hesitate to painted ware displaying the
peculiar Third Semitic characters 'Philistine'.
1.4k BC - 400BC The Olmecs, who called themselves Xi,
were the earliest known civilization of Mesoamerica. They influenced
the subsequent civilizations of the Maya and Aztec. They inhabited the
Gulf Coast region of what is now Mexico and Central America. Their
capital was San Lorenzo, near the present day city of Veracruz.
(WSJ, 1/16/96, p. A-16)(SFC, 8/2/05, p.A2)
1.391k BC Amenhotep III (Amenophis III), son of
Tuthmose IV, began ruling Egypt about this time and continued to about
1351. His reign marked the culmination of the 18th Dynasty. In 2010 a
red-granite top half of his statue was discovered at the site of his
funerary temple in the southern city of Luxor.
(AFP,
10/2/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenhotep_III)
1.384k BC In China P'an Keng founded the city of
Anyang. A mature culture with writing and art was developed by this
time.
(eawc, p.4)
1.35k BC - 1336k BC Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) ruled
during the 18th Dynasty Amarna Period of Egypt. He became concerned
about abuses in the Osiris cult. He posited a new monotheistic religion
dedicated to the worship of the sun. His wife was Nefertiti,
daughter-in-law of Amenophis III and Queen Tiye. He moved the capital
from Thebes to El-Amarna. After his death the capital was moved back to
Thebes, and his successor, a young boy named Smenkhkare reigned for
three years. The city of Amarna later vanished.
(NG, 9/98, p.17)(WSJ, 7/17/00,
p.A33)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.35k BC The 1st recorded smallpox epidemic took
place during an Egyptian-Hittite war. Hittite warriors caught the
disease from Egyptian prisoners. The king and heir were fatally
infected and the empire fell apart.
(SFC, 10/19/01, p.A17)(NW, 10/14/02, p.46)
1.345k BC Tutankhamen (King Tut), Egypt’s boy king,
was born. His wet nurse was named Maia.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)(USAT, 1/20/04, p.6D)
1.345k BC The Ebers Papyrus indicated the medical use
of willow bark. It contained salicylic acid, an ingredient of modern
aspirin.
(SSFC, 10/24/04, p.M6)
c1.340k BC A bust of Nefertiti was made that later
ended up in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.
(SFC, 7/7/96, T5)
1.336k BC - 1.334k BC The period of the 18th Dynasty
under Smenkhkare.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1.334k BC - 1.325k BC Tutankhamen (10), son of
Akhenaten, was Pharaoh of Egypt. Aye, became regent while Tut was
growing up and effectively ruled the country.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)
c1.33k BC The capital of Amarna was abandoned. In
2004 it was reported that black plague bacteria was found in the
remains of fossilized fleas from Amarna.
(AM, 7/04, p.12)
1.33k BC A memorial to the servant who suckled
Tutankhamen was reported found by French archeologists in 1997 at the
Saqqara necropolis 13 miles south of Cairo. Hieroglyphics and a relief
that showed a woman with breast and nipple exposed pay tribute to Maya,
"who fed the body of a god."
(SFC,12/897, p.A18)
1.323k BC Tutankhamen died about this time at age 19.
It was later suspected that the young prince was killed on his way to
Egypt under the orders of Ay or Horemhab. Howard Carter discovered the
tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. In 2005 a CT scan indicated that Tut was
not murdered by a blow to the head, nor was his chest crushed in an
accident. His death remained a mystery. In 2005 a researcher reported
evidence that analysis of wine jugs found in his tomb indicated that
the wine was red. In 2007 his face was made public for the first time.
In 2010 scientists reported that a study of his mummy revealed that
King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely
forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a
broken leg exacerbated by malaria.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)(SFC, 10/27/05, p.A2)(AP,
11/4/07)(AP, 2/16/10)
1.323k BC - 1.321k BC King Ay succeeded Tutankhamun.
In 1931 a ring was found by Percy Newberry in a Cairo antiquities shop
that bore an inscription indicating that Aye and Ankhesenaten were
married.
(SFC, 1/25/97,
p.A7)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/18_20/18.html)
1.321k BC Aye died after three years on Egypt’s
throne and the walls of his tomb showed another woman, Tiy, as his wife.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)
1.321k BC - 1.295k BC A soldier named Horemhab
succeeded King Ay. Some regard him as the last Pharaoh of the 18th
Dynasty while others think he was the founder of the 19th. Horemhab is
thought to have prevented the dynastic marriage of Ankhesnamun, the
widow of Tutankhamun, to prince Zananza, son of the Hittite king,
Suppilliliumas. Documents discovered at the Hittite capital of
Boghaz-Koy in Turkey prove beyond doubt that the young queen was
writing to Suppililiumas imploring him to send her one of his sons so
that she might make him King of Egypt.
(L.C.-W.P.p.107-110)(NG, May 1985,
p.598)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty18e.html)
1.315k BC - 1.201k BC In 2010 the intricately
decorated tomb and coffin of Ken-Amun, the overseer of the royal
records during the 19th Dynasty (1315-1201 B.C.), was found near
Ismailia, 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Cairo.
(AP, 4/14/10)
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