1222 Chronology by Region A F RIC A T HE M IDDL E E AST ca 6500 B.C.E.: A primitive plow called the ard is used in the Near East 10,000 B.C.E – 5000 B.C.E ca 6000 B.C.E.: Production of wine begins in Mesopotamia and along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea (continued) ca 5000 B.C.E.: Egyptians first build canals and dikes to irrigate crops ca 4500 B.C.E.: Start of cattle herding in the Sahara 5000 B.C.E – 4000 B.C.E ca 4400 B.C.E.: First evidence of use of horizontal loom, depicted on Egyptian pottery ca 5000 B.C.E.: People in the valleys surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers domesticate cattle and begin to build irrigation systems for crops ca 4500 B.C.E.: Permanent settlement is established at Ur in Mesopotamia; clay tokens are first used for accounting purposes in Mesopotamia ca 4300 B.C.E.: Turntable for pottery making is invented in Mesopotamia ca 4200 B.C.E.: Copper mining begins in the area of modern-day Oman 4000 B.C.E – 3000 B.C.E ca 4000 B.C.E.: Beginning date for the cultivation of yam along the Niger River ca 4000 B.C.E.: Earliest copper objects appear in the ancient Near East ca 3600 B.C.E.: Beginning of Bronze Age in Egypt ca 3500 B.C.E.: The Sumerians begin crafting tools out of bronze, a mixture of copper and tin, initiating the Bronze Age, which begins to reach its height in about 2000 B.C.E.; Sumerians also start to use wheeled vehicles pulled by animals ca 3500 B.C.E.: Egyptians develop complete number system ca 3100 B.C.E.: Egyptian hieroglyphic writing emerges ca 3400 B.C.E.: Earliest form of cuneiform script is devised to record the language used by the ancient inhabitants of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia ca 3000 B.C.E.: Egyptians begin to mine copper and develop the first crude paper, made of papyrus; Sahara Desert begins to form in North Africa ca 2800 B.C.E.: The sickle is invented by farmers in Sumer Berbers arrive in North Africa ca 2500 B.C.E.: Beginning of the Iron Age in the ancient Middle East ca 2920 B.C.E.: The start of Egypt’s First Dynasty, uniting Upper and Lower Egypt 3000 B.C.E – 2000 B.C.E (continues) ca 2750 B.C.E.: The Phoenician city of Tyre emerges as a great sea power ca 2575 B.C.E.: The Great Pyramid of Cheops is constructed ca 2400 B.C.E.: The Babylonians first use the abacus for computation; Sumerians first use “positional notation,” where numbers take their value depending on their position in a numerical group ca 2400–ca 1500 B.C.E.: Kingdom of Karmah in Nubia ca 2350 B.C.E.: The Old Akkadian Empire begins rule of Mesopotamia ca 2650 B.C.E.: The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid, built by Imhotep in Egypt