Chronology by Region 1223ca. 6000 B.C.E.: The Coahuiltecan culture
forms in Texas; North American popula-
tion groups become more settled, and
cultural differences begin to emerge.ca. 5000 B.C.E.: Cochise culture forms in
Arizona and New Mexico.
ca. 4800 B.C.E.: Peoples from the Central
American mainland become the fi rst
inhabitants of the Caribbean.
ca. 4300 B.C.E.: A variety of cotton is pro-
duced in the area of present-day Mexico.ca. 4000 B.C.E.: First permanent shelters
constructed in the North American
Midwest; corn is domesticated in Mexico;
llamas and alpacas are domesticated in
the region of present-day Peru.ca. 3000 B.C.E.: Early Alaskans begin to
construct permanent villages; artwork
produced by Native Americans begins to
appear; Andes peoples of South America
fi rst cultivate potatoes; adobe pyramids
built at Caral and El Aspero in modern-
day Peru.
ca. 2600 B.C.E.: First temple mounds are
constructed in Peru.
ca. 2500 B.C.E.: North Americans begin
to make pottery; village cultures become
predominant in the Americas.
ca. 2475 B.C.E.: Maize is domesticated
and becomes a staple crop.ca. 5000 B.C.E.: Longshan culture emerges
in China.
ca. 4500 B.C.E.: China domesticates the
water buffalo.ca. 4000 B.C.E.: The people of the Indus
Valley in India are cultivating a wide
variety of crops, including dates, mangos,
wheat, barley, and peas, using irrigation
systems to water the crops.ca. 3000 B.C.E.: People in the Indus Valley
begin to weave fabric out of cotton; the
Chinese begin to manufacture silk.
ca. 2900 B.C.E.: In China the mythical
emperor Fu Xi develops the concept of yin
and yang, fundamental to the practice of
ancient Chinese medicine and the Chinese
view of nature.
ca. 2700 B.C.E.: Mythical Chinese emperor
Shennong develops the principles of acu-
puncture; tea is fi rst used as a beverage
in China.
ca. 2600 B.C.E.: Long-distance trade, par-
ticularly in luxury goods, develops among
the nations of Southeast Asia; the major
Indian cities of Harappa and Mohenjo
Daro are founded.
ca. 2300 B.C.E.: Rice from the Indus Valley
is introduced in northern China.
ca. 2296 B.C.E.: Chinese astronomers make
the fi rst recorded sighting of a comet.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC THE AMERICAS
ca. 5000 B.C.E.: Southeast European
plains populated by agriculturalists.
ca. 5000–ca. 900 B.C.E.: Rock faces in
Alps carved with fi gures of animals,
warriors, and buildings.
ca. 4500–ca. 3500 B.C.E.: Europeans
begin to use pottery with linear ornamen-
tation.
ca. 4350 B.C.E.: Horses fi rst domesticated
in Europe and used for power.ca. 3400–c. 1600 B.C.E.: Earliest evidence
of wheeled vehicles in Europe (from a
grave in Poland).
ca. 3200–c. 1600 B.C.E.: The “Iceman,”
equipped with a cast copper ax, dies while
crossing the Alps near the present-day
Italian-Austrian border.
ca. 3100–c. 1600 B.C.E.: Construction of
Stonehenge megaliths in England.ca. 3000 B.C.E.: The ox-drawn plow fi rst
used in Europe
ca. 2800 B.C.E.: Emergence of the Aegean
Sea civilizations on Minoa and Crete,
precursors of the Greeks.
ca. 2800 B.C.E.–ca. 700 B.C.E.: Bronze
Age, marked by use of bronze tools.
ca. 2500 B.C.E.: Horses are introduced to
Ireland.
ca. 2400 B.C.E.: People of the Beaker
culture begin migration from Spain to
France, Germany, and Britain.EUROPE
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