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Which Is the Oldest Known Civilization?

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Quick Answer

Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), is generally considered the oldest known civilization, emerging around 4500-4000 BC.

The Full Story

The Sumerian civilization arose in the fertile floodplain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. By around 4500 BC, Sumerians had established some of the world first cities (Uruk, Ur, Eridu), invented cuneiform writing (circa 3400 BC), developed the wheel, the plough, the sailboat, and a base-60 number system still reflected in our 60-second minutes and 360-degree circles. However, recent archaeology suggests other early complex societies developed independently: the Indus Valley (Harappa) civilisation by about 3300 BC, ancient Egypt by about 3100 BC, and the Norte Chico civilisation in Peru by about 3000 BC.

Key Facts

1.Uruk, a major Sumerian city, had an estimated population of 40,000 to 80,000 by 3000 BC — one of the largest cities in the world at the time.
2.Sumerians invented the earliest known form of writing: cuneiform, pressed into wet clay tablets with a wedge-shaped stylus.
3.The Epic of Gilgamesh, from Sumer, is one of the oldest known works of literature, dating to about 2100 BC.

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Suggested video title for this topic:

"Sumer — The World First Civilization"