| Invention | When | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramid Buildings | 2900 BC | Egypt | |
| City Structure | 2900 BC | Sumeria | administrative and residential sections in Uruk (modern Iraq) |
| Soap | 2800 BC | Mesopotamia | |
| Sickle | 2800 BC | Sumeria | for harvesting grain |
| First Fire Drill | 2700 BC | China | ordered by Emperor Huang Ti |
| Rope | 2600 BC | China | from hemp |
| Will | 2601 BC | Egypt | by Nik'ure, a pharaoh's son wealth left to wife, children and mistress |
| Mummification | 2600 BC | Egypt | to preserve dead bodies |
| Papyrus | 2500 BC | Egypt | for writing |
| Ink | 2500 BC | Egypt China |
|
| Dikes | 2500 BC | Mesopotamia Indus Valley |
for water control |
| Domestication of Camel | 2500 BC | Central Asia Middle East |
Bactrian camel in Central Asia Drumadary camel in Arabian Peninsula |
| The Rounded Arch | 2500 BC | Indus Valley | in Mohenjo Daro re-invented by the Etruscans c 600 BC |
| First Libraries | 2500 BC | Mesopotamia | the storage and propagation of knowledge |
| Planned Cities | 2500 BC | Indus Valley | grid system for streets |
| Schools | 2500 BC | Sumeria | |
| Irrigation, Canals | 2400 BC | Sumeria China |
increase in food production, transport |
| Umbrella, Parasol | 2400 BC | Mesopotamia | originally to keep off the sun |
| First Judicial Code | 2400 BC | Mesopotamia | by Uru Kagina, King of Lagash |
| Empire Building | 2340 BC | Mesopotamia | Sargon of Akkad, the first empire builder maintained the first standing army |
| Map Making | 2300 BC | Mesopotamia | |
| Alcohol (Beer) | 2100 BC | Sumeria | |
| Sanitation | 2000 BC | Crete | by the Minoans |
| Paved Roads | 2000 BC | Crete | by the Minoans |
| Wooden Locks | 2000 BC | Egypt | |
| Medical Prescriptions | 2000 BC | Sumeria | recorded on stone tablets |
| Underwater Tunnel | 2000 BC | Babylonia | under River Euphrates (modern day Iraq) connecting king's palace with temple |
| Glass Tools | 2000 BC | Africa | Njoro River in East Africa from black volcanic glass |
| Obelisk | 2000 BC | Egypt | in Heliopolis (near modern Cairo) |
The worship of the Sun began in Egypt c3000 BC. Imhotep, the earliest engineer known by name, lived in northern Egypt around 2970 BC. He is said to have built the Step Pyramid in Saqqara. The pyramids of Egypt feature in the writings of the Classical Greeks nearly 2000 years after they were built and still stand in the modern era. Around 2800 BC, elaborate stone relief carvings were being made by the Egyptians. The "Book of the Dead" appeared around 2100 BC.
The first libraries (centres of knowledge and study) were set up in Mesopotamia. The earliest poetry was produced in Sumeria around 2330 BC, written by a high priestess called Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad. The world's oldest story, "The Epic of Gilgamesh" appeared in Mesopotamia around 2200 BC. It includes the first flood and ark story.
The city of Mundigak (modern Kandahar in Afghanistan) was founded c2900 BC. Troy (modern Turkey) was first settled around 2500 BC. The oldest known fortress was built in Shisur (modern Oman) around 2500 BC; it was used until 1500 AD.
The Chinese calendar has its start point in 2698 BC. China recorded the earliest solar eclipse on 22 October 2137 BC.
Between 2500 BC and 2000 BC a group of nomads left their homeland north of the Black Sea and began migrating West into Europe and East into Asia. These were the Indo-Europeans. The languages of their descendents would eventually dominate the world. By 2000 BC the migrations had brought them into northern Italy via the Alps.
