Indus Valley Civilization (3300 B.C. to 1300 B.C.

) 
Agriculturalists began building small villages throughout the Indus River Valley in present-day
India and Pakistan. Starting around 3300 B.C., these settlements grew particularly bustling.
Although the Sumerians invented cities, the people of the Indus Valley perfected them. Their
settlements of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, for instance, housed approximately 40,000 to 50,000
individuals and featured baked-brick buildings. Sophisticated sewer and water
supply systems kept these cities clean, and their spacious streets formed a strict grid structure
suggesting these sites were meticulously planned. 

The painstaking urban planning that transpired in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro indicate the people
of the Indus Valley sought uniformity. Their omnipresent bricks shared standard dimensions,
and, indeed, their standardized weights and measures rank among their most important
innovations. Other inventions included a mysterious writing system that
remains undecipherable, and novel techniques in metallurgy.

Ancient Egypt (3100 B.C. to 30 B.C.) 

By 6000 B.C., settlers arrived at the banks of the Nile and found an asylum from the scorching
sands. They tilled the soil and built villages, and around 3100 B.C., these settlements became
bustling metropolises, ruled by pharaohs who acted as statesmen — declaring laws, demanding
taxes, waging war and overseeing their territory — and divine intermediaries between the people
and their deities.  

The Egyptians thrived for thousands of years under the pharaohs and found fame for their
advances in several fields of knowledge. For instance, they possessed a vast awareness of what
became arithmetic, astronomy and anatomy, and were credited with inventing medical surgery
thanks to their skills in stitching wounds and setting broken bones. (It’s actually theorized that
their mummification practices influenced their medical talents.) 

The ancient Egyptians were also prolific writers. They independently invented a system
of hieroglyphics featuring hundreds — if not thousands — of alphabetic, syllabic and
logographic characters that they inscribed in stone. This early civilization also pioneered several
derivative scripts that were written across papyrus, a tough material made from the pith of plants
found throughout the floodplains. Above all, the people of ancient Egypt proved to be skilled
builders. Their temples and tombs are considered among the grandest constructions ever
executed, and their monuments such as the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza still remind
us of their early ingenuity. 

Ancient and Early Imperial China (2070 B.C. to A.D. 220) 

The Yellow River Valley of China fostered one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The first
farming settlements appeared there around 5000 B.C., and from these modest foundations grew a
centralized government. Starting with the Xia (2070-1600 B.C.), several successive dynasties
dominated Chinese civilization. These kingdoms supposedly sustained themselves by divine
decree, an idea that developed into the “Mandate of Heaven.” This political philosophy
encouraged rulers to act as stewards of their people and warned against bad behavior.  

In both tranquil and troubled times, Chinese culture flourished. In the Shang Dynasty (1600-
1046 B.C.), Chinese scribes wrote with characters that resemble those used today, and by around
400 B.C., the ideas of famous figures such as Confucius began blossoming into full-fledged
belief systems stressing virtue and filial piety. Beyond these philosophical achievements,
Chinese artisans created the first silk and the first forms of paper. They also fashioned the first
block printing processes and maritime compasses. The traditions of acupuncture and herbal
medicine have become one of China’s longest-lived contributions. Additionally, Chinese
builders are famed for constructing and connecting the first portions of one of the most
impressive architectural accomplishments of all time: the Great Wall. This tremendous work
started as early as the 7th century B.C.