use of copper (West Asia) Use of the potter’s wheel, wheel for transport ( BCE ), writing ( BCE , Mesopotamia), bronze Plough agriculture, cities (Mesopotamia); silk- making (China); domestication of the horse (Central Asia); cultivation of rice (Southeast Asia) Domestication of water-buffalo (East Asia) Cities, writing, kingdoms (Shang dynasty), use of bronze (China) * Use of iron (West Asia) Domestication of the one-humped camel (Arabia) Use of coins (Turkey); Persian empire ( BCE ) with capital at Persepolis; Chinese philosopher Confucius (c. BCE ) Establishment of an empire in China ( BCE ), beginning of the construction of the Great Wall SOUTH ASIA Stone age site in Riwat ( , , BP, Pakistan) Cave paintings at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh); Homo sapiens fossils ( , BP , Sri Lanka) Early agricultural settlements (Baluchistan) Use of copper Cities of the Harappan civilisation, use of script * (c. BCE ) Composition of the Rgveda Use of iron, megaliths (Deccan and South India) Cities and states in several areas, first coins, spread of Jainism and Buddhism Establishment of the Mauryan empire (c. BCE ) DATES 6mya- , BP , - , BP , - , BP , - , BP , - , BP - BCE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BCE AMERICAS Homo sapiens fossils ( , BP ) Cultivation of squash Cultivation of beans Cultivation of cotton, bottle gourd Domestication of guinea pig, turkey, cultivation of maize Cultivation of potato, chilli * , cassava, peanut, domestication of llama * and alpaca Olmec settlements around the Gulf of Mexico, early temples and sculpture Development of a hieroglyphic script AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC ISLANDS Homo sapiens fossils, earliest indications of sea-faring ( , BP ) Paintings ( , BP ) Settlements in Polynesia and Micronesia ACTIVITY Choose one date from each of the columns and discuss the possible significance of the process/ event for men and women living in the region.
T IMELINE - I T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY