Tracing Early Societies – From Ancient Shelters to Emerging Villages and Cities 

Early societies which are often traced to the beginnings of human existence, from the remote past, millions of years ago. One might wonder how people, who for millions of years, had lived in forests, caves, or temporary shelters and rock shelters, began to eventually live in villages and cities. The story is a long one and is related to several developments that took place at least 5,000 years before the establishment of the first cities. 

Early Societies: Archaeologists have made attempts to reconstruct the lives of early people – from the shelters in which they lived, the food they ate and the ways in which they expressed themselves. Other important developments included the use of fire and language. 

The Evolution of Early Societies: From Nomadic Life to the Rise of Cities

• Early Societies: Urban Beginnings – Some of the earliest cities (Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq) developed around temples and were centers of long-distance trade. 
  • One of the most far-reaching changes was the gradual shift from nomadic life to settled agriculture, which began around 10,000 years ago.
• Early Societies: Transition to Agriculture – Prior to the adoption of agriculture, people had gathered plant produce as a source of food. 
  • Slowly, they learned more about different kinds of plants – where they grew, the seasons when they bore fruit and so on. 
  • From this, they learnt to grow plants. 
• Early Societies: Domestication and Textiles – In West Asia, wheat and barley, peas and various kinds of pulses were grown. 
  • In East and Southeast Asia, the crops that grew easily were millet and rice. Millet was also grown in Africa. 
• Early Societies: Domestication and Textiles – Around the same time, people learned how to domesticate animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and donkeys. 
  • Plant fibers such as cotton and flax, and animal fibers such as wool were now woven into cloth. 
  • Somewhat later, domesticated animals such as cattle and donkeys were harnessed to plows and carts. These developments led to other changes as well. 
• Early Societies: Settled Agriculture – When people grew crops, they had to stay in the same place till the crops ripened. 
  • So, settled life became more common. 
• Transition to Permanent Dwellings: And with that, people built more permanent structures in which to live.
• Early Societies: Technological Advancements in Early Agriculture – This was also a time when some communities learnt how to make earthen pots (to store extra food). 
  • The way stone tools were made also changed. While earlier methods of making tools continued, some tools and equipment were now smoothened and polished by an elaborate process of grinding. 
  • Early Societies: New equipment included mortars and pestles for processing and grinding grain, as well as stone axes and hoes, which were used to clear land for cultivation, as well as for digging the earth to sow seeds. 
• Metalworking Prowess: In some areas, people learned to tap the ores of metals such as copper and tin. 
  • Sometimes, copper ores were collected and used for their distinctive bluish-green color. 
  • This prepared the way for  Early Societies for the more extensive use of metal for jewelry and for tools subsequently.
  • There was also a growing familiarity with other kinds of produce from distant lands (and seas) including wood, stones, precious and semi-precious stones, metals and shells, and obsidian (hardened) volcanic lava. 
• Early Societies: Trade Routes and Urbanization – People were going from place to place, carrying goods and ideas with them. 
• From Villages to States: With increasing trade, the growth of villages and towns, and the movements of people, in place of the small communities of early people there now grew small states. 
• Urban Revolution: While these changes took place slowly, over several thousand years, the pace quickened with the growth of the first cities. 
  • Also, the changes had far-reaching consequences. 
  • Some scholars have described this as a revolution, as the lives of people were probably transformed beyond recognition. 
• Here, only some examples of early societies are selected for detailed study. 
• There were other kinds of early societies, including farming communities and pastoral peoples. 
  • And there were other peoples who were hunter-gatherers as well as city dwellers, apart from the examples selected. 

Understanding Early Societies: A Timeline from Human Emergence to Technological Advances and Early Empires (6 MYA TO 1 BCE)

• This timeline focuses on the emergence of Early Societies, encompassing the development of humans and the domestication of plants and animals. 
• It highlights some major technological developments in Early Societies,  such as the use of fire, metals, plough agriculture and the wheel. 
• Other processes that are shown include the emergence of cities and the use of writing. 
• You will also find mention of Early Societies and some of the earliest empires, a theme that will be developed in Timeline II. 

DATES	AFRICA	EUROPE
6 mya-500,000 BP	Australopithecus fossils (5.6 mya) Evidence of use of fire (1.4 mya)
500,000-150,000 BP	Homo sapiens fossils (195,000 BP)	Evidence of use of fire (400,000 BP)
150,000-50,000 BP
50,000-30,000		Homo sapiens fossils (40,000)
30,000-10,000	Paintings in caves/rock shelters (27,500)	Paintings in caves/rock shelters (especially France and Spain)
8000-7000 BCE
7000-6000	Domestication of cattle and dogs
6000-5000		Cultivation of wheat and barley (Greece)
5000-4000
4000-3000	Domestication of donkey, cultivation of millet, use of copper	Use of copper (Crete)
3000-2000	Plough agriculture, first kingdoms, cities, pyramids, calendar, hieroglyphic script, writing on papyrus (Egypt)	Domestication of horse (eastern Europe)
2000-1900		Cities, palaces, use of bronze,  the potter’s wheel, development of trade (Crete)
1900-1800
1800-1700
1700-1600		Development of a script (Crete)
1600-1500
1500-1400	Use of glass bottles (Egypt)
1400-1300
1300-1200
1200-1100
1100-1000		Use of iron
1000-900
900-800	City of Carthage established in North Africa by the Phoenicians from West Asia; growing trade around the Mediterranean	First Olympic games (Greece, 776 BCE)
800-700	Use of iron (Sudan)
700-600	Use of iron (Egypt)	Use of coins (Greece); establishment of the Roman republic (510 BCE)
600-500		Establishment of a ‘democracy’ in Athens (Greece)
500-400	Persians invade Egypt	Alexander of Macedonia conquers Egypt and parts of West Asia (336-323 BCE)
400-300	Establishment of Alexandria, Egypt (332 BCE), which becomes a major centre of learning
300-200
200-100
100-1 BCE
DATES	ASIA	SOUTH ASIA
6 mya-500,000 BP	Use of fire (700,000 BP, China)	Stone age site in Riwat (1,900,000 BP, Pakistan)
500,000-150,000 BP
150,000-50,000 BP	Homo sapiens fossils (100,000 BP, West Asia)
50,000-30,000 BP
30,000-10,000 BP	Domestication of dog (14,000, West Asia)	Cave paintings at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh); Homo sapiens fossils (25,500 BP, Sri Lanka)
8000-7000 BCE	Domestication of sheep and goat, cultivation of wheat and barley (West Asia)
7000-6000	Domestication of pig and cattle (West and East Asia)	Early agricultural settlements (Balochistan)
6000-5000	Domestication of chicken, cultivation of millet and yam (East Asia)
5000-4000	Cultivation of cotton (South Asia); use of copper (West Asia)
4000-3000	Use of the potter’s wheel, wheel for transport (3600 BCE), writing (3200 BCE, Mesopotamia), use of bronze	Use of copper
3000-2000	Plough agriculture, cities (Mesopotamia); silkmaking (China); domestication of horse (Central Asia); cultivation of rice (Southeast Asia)	Cities of the Harappan civilisation, use of script* (c.2700 BCE)
2000-1900	Domestication of water-buffalo (East Asia)
1900-1800
1800-1700
1700-1600
1600-1500	Cities, writing, kingdoms (Shang dynasty), use of bronze (China)*
1500-1400	Use of iron (West Asia)	Composition of the Rig Veda
1400-1300
1300-1200
1200-1100		Use of iron, megaliths (Deccan and South India)
1100-1000	Domestication of the one-humped camel (Arabia)
1000-900
900-800
800-700
700-600
600-500	Use of coins (Turkey); Persian empire (546 BCE) with capital at Persepolis; Chinese philosopher Confucius (c. 551 BCE)	Cities and states in several areas, first coins, spread of Jainism and Buddhism
500-400
400-300		Establishment of the Mauryan empire (c. 321 BCE)
300-200	Establishment of an empire in China (221 BCE), beginning of the construction of the Great Wall
200-100
100-1 BCE
DATES	AMERICAS	AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC ISLANDS
6 mya-500,000 BP
500,000-150,000 BP
150,000-50,000 BP
50,000-30,000 BP		Homo sapiens fossils, earliest indications of sea-faring (45,000 BP)
30,000-10,000 BP	Homo sapiens fossils (12,000 BP)	Paintings (20,000 BP)
8000-7000 BCE
7000-6000	Cultivation of squash
6000-5000
5000-4000	Cultivation of beans
4000-3000	Cultivation of cotton, bottle gourd
3000-2000	Domestication of guinea pig, turkey, cultivation of maize
2000-1900	Cultivation of potato, chilli, cassava, peanut, domestication of llama and alpaca
1900-1800
1800-1700
1700-1600
1600-1500
1500-1400
1400-1300
1300-1200
1200-1100	Olmec settlements around the Gulf of Mexico, early temples and sculpture	Settlements in Polynesia and Micronesia
1100-1000
1000-900	Development of a hieroglyphic script

Conclusion

The timeline unfolds the journey of Early Societies, tracing the emergence of humans and the domestication of plants and animals. In exploring Early Societies, we witness pivotal moments marked by technological advancements, trade routes, and the rise of urbanization. The transition from nomadic life to settled agriculture represents a crucial chapter in the story of Early Societies, shaping the foundations of human civilization.