Chronology by Region 1225ca. 2000 B.C.E.: Arctic ancestors of the
Inuit begin to use small tools, especially
the harpoon.
ca. 1800 B.C.E.: People in Peru fi rst make
pottery.
ca. 1600–ca. 1300 B.C.E.: Mounds
constructed by peoples along the
Mississippi River; best-known mound is
Poverty Point.
ca. 1500–ca. 400 B.C.E.: Olmec
civilization arises and fl ourishes in
Mesoamerica.
ca. 1200 B.C.E.: The ancient ball game,
the oldest-known game in the Americas,
originates with the Olmec civilization.ca. 1000 B.C.E.: Archaic Age ends in
North America; cultivation of corn is in-
troduced to North America from Mexico.
ca. 900–ca. 200 B.C.E.: The Chavín
culture thrives in Peru.
ca. 800 B.C.E.: Pottery making emerges
in Alaska; the temple center of Chavín de
Huántar is established in Peru.
ca. 650 B.C.E.: The Maya begin using
smoke to cure diseases.ca. 2205 B.C.E.: The Chinese become the
fi rst civilization to mill grain; sheep, oxen,
dogs, pigs, and goats fi rst domesticated
in China.ca. 2000 B.C.E.: Horses are fi rst tamed by
nomads on the Asian steppes.
ca. 1750 B.C.E.: In India two major his-
toric cities, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro,
collapse.
ca. 1500 B.C.E.: Aryan nomads arrive in
India from the steppes of Eurasia, bring-
ing with them cattle and sheep; Chinese
begin to use vehicles drawn by horses.
ca. 1400 B.C.E.: China domesticates fi rst
poultry, the jungle fowl from Malaya.
ca. 1300 B.C.E.: Date assigned to the fi rst
evidence of Chinese writing.
ca. 1100 B.C.E.: The Chinese invent the
crossbow and the kite and begin using ice
for refrigeration.
ca. 1045 B.C.E.: Zhou Dynasty founded in
China; the dynasty will last until approxi-
mately 256 B.C.E.ca. 1000 B.C.E.: Polynesian expansion
across the Pacifi c Ocean reaches Samoa
and Tonga.
ca. 876 B.C.E.: The concept of zero fi rst
introduced in India.
ca. 700 B.C.E.: China introduces the
concept of crop rotation.
ca. sixth century B.C.E.: Confucianism
developed in China by philosopher
Confucius (Kong Fuzi).
ca. 600 B.C.E.: The Upanishads, texts of
Hinduism, are compiled in India.
ca. 565 B.C.E.: The Chinese philosopher
Laozi founds the religious philosophy of
Daoism.
ca. 528 B.C.E.: The religion of Buddhism
wins its fi rst adherents in India.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC THE AMERICAS
ca. 2000 B.C.E.: Seafarers from Crete and
Phoenicia adopt sails and masts on ships.
ca. 1600 B.C.E.: Arrival of the Greeks in
the Aegean region.
ca. 1500–ca. 1000 B.C.E.: Emergence of
Celtic cultures in central Europe and the
Balkans.
ca. 1470 B.C.E.: Minoan civilization in the
Mediterranean Sea destroyed by volcanic
eruption.
ca. 1200–ca. 800 B.C.E.: Hallstatt A and B
cultures, of the Bronze Age, fl ourish in the
region around present-day Austria.
ca. 1100 B.C.E.: Collapse of Mycenaean
civilization; Iron Age begins in Europe,
marked by the use of iron tools.
ca. 1100–ca. 750 B.C.E.: Greek Dark Ages.ca. Eighth–seventh centuries B.C.E.:
Homer writes/compiles Greek epics
The Iliad and The Odyssey.
ca. 800–ca. 500 B.C.E.: Halstatt C and
D cultures, of the Iron Age, arise in the
region around present-day Austria.
ca. 776 B.C.E.: First ancient Olympic
Games held in Greece.
ca. 753 B.C.E.: Traditional date of
the founding of Rome, although
archaeologists have found graves in
Rome dating to at least a century earlier.
ca. 650–ca. 500 B.C.E.: Etruscan
dominance of Rome, ending with Roman
rebellion against Etruscans.
ca. 600 B.C.E.: Capitoline temple built in
Rome.
ca. 525 B.C.E.: The Greek philosopher
Pythagoras declares that the earth is
round.
ca. 509 B.C.E.–ca. fi rst century B.C.E.: Ro-
man Republic.
ca. 508 B.C.E.: Beginning of democracy in
Greece.EUROPE
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