| Invention | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3000 BCE | Brick Buildings | Egypt Sumeria |
|
| 3000 BCE | Button | Indus Valley | re-invented in Germany, 1235 |
| 3000 BCE | Candles | Egypt Crete |
|
| 3000 BCE | Cotton Cultivation | South America Central America |
|
| 3000 BCE | Glass | Middle East | in modern Syria, Lebanon |
| 3000 BCE | Oil Palm, Yam Cultivation | Africa | in West Africa |
| 3000 BCE | Potters Wheel | Mesopotamia | |
| 3000 BCE | Reed Boats | Egypt Mesopotamia |
|
| 3000 BCE | Standard Weights | Egypt | |
| 3000 BCE | Sundial (Simple Gnomon) | Egypt | a gnomon is an vertical stick |
| 3000 BCE | Use of Bronze | Mesopotamia | used in armour |
| 3000 BCE | Use of Coca | South America | leaves chewed as a narcotic |
| 2900 BCE | City Structure | Sumeria | administrative and residential sections in Uruk (modern Iraq) |
| 2900 BCE | Pyramid Buildings | Egypt | |
| 2800 BCE | Sickle | Sumeria | for harvesting grain |
| 2800 BCE | Soap | Mesopotamia | |
| 2700 BCE | First Fire Drill | China | ordered by Emperor Huang Ti |
| 2601 BCE | Will | Egypt | by Nik'ure, a pharaoh's son wealth left to wife, children and mistress |
| 2600 BCE | Mummification | Egypt | to preserve dead bodies |
| 2600 BCE | Rope | China | from hemp |
| 2500 BCE | Dikes | Mesopotamia Indus Valley |
for water control |
| 2500 BCE | Domestication of Camel | Central Asia Middle East |
Bactrian camel in Central Asia Drumadary camel in Arabian Peninsula |
| 2500 BCE | First Libraries | Mesopotamia | the storage and propagation of knowledge |
| 2500 BCE | Ink | Egypt China |
|
| 2500 BCE | Papyrus | Egypt | for writing |
| 2500 BCE | Planned Cities | Indus Valley | grid system for streets |
| 2500 BCE | Schools | Sumeria | |
| 2500 BCE | The Rounded Arch | Indus Valley | at Mohenjo Daro; re-invented by the Etruscans c 600 BC |
| 2400 BCE | First Judicial Code | Mesopotamia | by Uru Kagina, King of Lagash |
| 2400 BCE | Irrigation, Canals | Sumeria China |
increase in food production, transport |
| 2400 BCE | Umbrella, Parasol | Mesopotamia | originally to keep off the sun |
| 2340 BCE | Empire Building | Mesopotamia | Sargon of Akkad, the first empire builder maintained the first standing army |
| 2300 BCE | Map Making | Mesopotamia | |
| 2100 BCE | Alcohol (Beer) | Sumeria | |
| 2000 BCE | Glass Tools | Africa | Njoro River in East Africa from black volcanic glass |
| 2000 BCE | Medical Prescriptions | Sumeria | recorded on stone tablets |
| 2000 BCE | Obelisk | Egypt | in Heliopolis (near modern Cairo) |
| 2000 BCE | Paved Roads | Crete | by the Minoans |
| 2000 BCE | Sanitation | Crete | by the Minoans |
| 2000 BCE | Underwater Tunnel | Babylonia | under River Euphrates (modern day Iraq) connecting king's palace with temple |
| 2000 BCE | Wooden Locks | Egypt |
The worship of the Sun began in Egypt c3000 BCE. Imhotep, the earliest engineer known by name, lived in northern Egypt around 2970 BCE. 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 BCE, elaborate stone relief carvings were being made by the Egyptians. The "Book of the Dead" appeared around 2100 BCE.
The first libraries (centres of knowledge and study) were set up in Mesopotamia. The earliest poetry was produced in Sumeria around 2330 BCE, 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 BCE. It includes the first flood and ark story.
The city of Mundigak (modern Kandahar in Afghanistan) was founded c2900 BCE. Troy (modern Turkey) was first settled around 2500 BCE. The oldest known fortress was built in Shisur (modern Oman) around 2500 BCE; it was used until 1500.
The Chinese calendar has its start point in 2698 BCE. China recorded the earliest solar eclipse on 22 October 2137 BCE.
Between 2500 BCE and 2000 BCE 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 BCE the migrations had brought them into northern Italy via the Alps.
