Which civilization is considered the oldest?

Throughout the history of mankind, many civilizations have risen and disappeared. Periodically, we tell you about many of them, for example, we recently shared some facts about the Mayan civilization. But which of the ancient cultures is considered the earliest? A few decades ago, you would have been told that the Sumerian civilization arose before everyone else. This happened around 4000 BC in what is now Iraq. Sumerian was named after the ancient city of Sumer, located near the modern city of Kut in eastern Iraq. Of course, it is one of the most ancient, but in recent decades, scientists have received various evidence that some civilizations known to science arose at least 1000 years earlier.

What is civilization

Before answering the question of which civilization is the most ancient, it is necessary to understand what civilization is in general. The concept is rather vague. However, almost always it implies some achievements of a certain people, such as urbanization, that is, the construction of cities, the development of science (mathematics, writing, etc.), crafts, culture, etc.

Sumerian culture is considered one of the oldest and most mysterious

In the culture of the Sumerians, all these distinctive features are certainly present. She is credited with great achievements in the field of mathematics, in particular, in trigonometry. The Sumerians also knew square and cubic numbers. All these foundations after 1000 years were further developed by the ancient Greeks.

According to some reports, the Sumerians also had their own religion. They built high temples in their cities, which were called ziggurats. As a result, even castes of priests appeared.

What civilizations were older than the Sumerian?

All of the above facts indicate that the Sumerian civilization was indeed highly developed. However, according to a number of scientists, it arose later than some others. But then what civilizations are considered the most ancient?

Civilization of Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian civilization turned out to be older than the Sumerian. It originated around 5200 BC in the area of ​​the Nile River. Although, at that time it was only beginning to emerge, but it developed rapidly. Some finds suggest that in 4000 BC there was already a written language in ancient Egypt. As early as 3000 BC, the Egyptians were united under the rule of the First Dynasty of the Early Kingdom.

The Egyptian civilization became famous for the pyramids and other structures that have survived to this day.

The state of the ancient Egyptians was called Ta-Kemet, Ta-meri or Kemi. Culture developed rapidly thanks to advanced agriculture. The fertile silt that remained after the flood of the Nile, as well as the canal system, allowed Ancient Egypt to produce food in large quantities.

The ancient Egyptian culture is the most famous and perhaps the most popular thanks to literature, cinema and, most importantly, monumental buildings that have survived to this day. The most famous of them are the pyramids, the Sphinx, the Necropolis in Thebes and a number of other buildings. For a long time, it was a mystery to scientists how these buildings were built from huge stones, which, at times, cannot even be lifted by modern construction equipment. But recently the secret of building the Egyptian pyramids was revealed.

In addition to stone structures, Ancient Egypt is also known for its unique writing system, literature, mathematics, medicine and astronomy. It is also known that Egypt had a large regular army. Due to such amazing achievements, many myths and even conspiracy theories of an occult-conspiracy nature arose around the Egyptian culture.

The civilization of ancient China originated around 5000 BC

Civilization of Ancient China

Almost simultaneously with the Egyptian civilization, the Chinese arose – around 5000 BC. Moreover, their development in some ways even has a similarity. The success of the Chinese civilization, as well as the Egyptian one, is associated with successful agriculture in the basins of the Huang He and Yangtze rivers.

The first ancient Chinese culture, called Yangshao, existed from the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC. It is known that she had a developed pottery, as well as the production of stone tools.

The first state of the Bronze Age on the territory of China arose in 1550 BC, and was located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It was called Shang-Yin. This period saw advances in bronze casting and chariot making. The use of war chariots made it possible to win battles and expand the territory of the state. In addition, Shang-Yin became famous for the lunar calendar, as well as hieroglyphic writing.

Summing up, we note that the most ancient civilization known today is the Egyptian one. It was followed by the Chinese, and only after that the Sumerian.