Media History Project
mediahst@umn.edu

3500-1 B.C.E.

Most early dates are approximate

  • 3500: In Sumer and Elam, the start of pictographic writing.
  • 3500: Egyptian pharaohs also listen to lyres and a kind of clarinet.
  • 3372: Start of the Mayan calendar.
  • 3000: Sumerians write wedge-shaped cuneiform numerals and ideographic symbols.
  • 3000: Egypt develops hieroglyphic writing.
  • 3000: In the Mediterranean or Near East, an abacus derived from counting boards.
  • 3000: People light the night with candles.
  • 3000: In China, a bamboo flute.
  • 3000: Appalachian dulcimer may have started in the Near East.
  • 2784: Estimated date of the first Egyptian civil year of 12 months, 365 days.
  • 2700: Chinese ink mixes soot, pine smoke, lamp oil, musk, and gelatin from donkey skin.
  • 2640: China produces silk. It will serve as a writing surface.
  • 2600: In Egypt, scribes employ hieratic writing, a condensed, cursive hieroglyphic.
  • 2500: Earliest known glass.
  • 2400: In India, engraved seals identify the writer.
  • 2350: Mesopotamian king uses homing pigeons.
  • 2300: Mesopotamian Semites use cuneiform and base-10 numbering.
  • 2300: Early Britons move from stone age to bronze age.
  • 2300: Akkadian is the diplomatic language of the Near East.
  • 2300: In the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan), Proto-Indian writing.
  • 2200: Oldest existing document written on papyrus.
  • 2060: Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, in Sumeria, creates first known code of law.
  • 2000: In the Fertile Crescent, sundials.
  • 2000: In Sumer, the first known written legend, Gilgamesh, a poetic Noah’s ark tale.
  • 2000: In Egypt, percussion instruments are played.
  • 2000: Enheduanna, a woman in Mesopotamia, writes first signed text, a hymn.
  • 2000: Vikings toot on trumpets.
  • 2000: Nine Greek muses, responsible for poetry, history, comedy, song, dance.
  • 1900: Place value numeration in Babylonia.
  • 1800: Writing in the Minoan civilization of Crete.
  • 1700: The written law code of Hammurabi, in Babylonia, carved on a stone pillar.
  • 1700: Alphabetic symbols, a few written by Semites in Canaan.
  • 1500: Decimal system spreads through the Near East.
  • 1500: In India, sacred Hindu hymns of the Rig Veda are written in Sanskrit.
  • 1500: Indian astronomers write that the Earth is a globe that circles the sun.
  • 1500: In Crete, the Phaistos disc; symbols carved in relief are pressed into soft clay.
  • 1500: Babylonian mathematicians figure out the Pythagorean Theorem.
  • 1500: The Book of the Dead guides wealthy Egyptians into the afterlife.
  • 1500: In the Near East, Hittites play guitar, tamborine, lyre and trumpet.
  • 1450: In Crete, "Linear B" clay tablets show a shift from pictographs to syllables.
  • 1400: Oldest record of writing in China, on bones and tortoise shells.
  • 1350: In Egypt, pharaoh Akhnaton introduces monotheism, but it doesn’t survive him.
  • 1300: Thirty Ugaritic alphabetic cuneiform symbols on tablets.
  • 1300: In modern-day Syria, musical notation.
  • 1300: Drum beat codes sound alarms during Shang Dynasty in China.
  • 1259: Egyptians and Hittites sign first written peace treaty.
  • 1250: Moses brings the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.
  • 1200: The Phoenician alphabet, 22 letters, all consonants.
  • 1200: Egyptians use pigeons for military communication.
  • 1000: Alphabetic writing appears in various parts of the Near East.
  • 1000: In ancient Israel, instrumental music accompanies religious ceremonies.
  • 950: The oldest books of the Bible are written.
  • 900: China’s Zhou Dynasty has an organized postal service for government use.
  • 900: Phonetic alphabet spreads across the Mediterranean.
  • 900: Oldest extant writing in Western Hemisphere; Olmec stone, found in 2006 C.E.
  • 900: Beacon fires and smoke signals are used in China.
  • 900: Start of the writing of the Hindu Upanishads.
  • 850: The Iliad and the Odyssey, 300 years after the Trojan War, ascribed to Homer.
  • 841: Verified Chinese historical chronology begins.
  • 800: In the Near East, leather is a writing surface; rolled as scrolls.
  • 800: Greeks improve Phoenician alphabet by adding vowels; capital letters only.
  • 800: Greeks develop choral music.
  • 776: Carrier pigeons bear news of the Olympic games.
  • 775: Chinese astronomers record a solar eclipse, first Chinese proven date.
  • 753: Estimated founding of Rome; start of the Roman calendar.
  • 750: The book of Amos.
  • 750: Egyptian demotic writing, a cursive derived from hieratic, hieroglyphs.
  • 750: Greek poet Hesiod writes Works and Days, an epic of Greek rural life.
  • 710: In the Egyptian city of Memphis, an account of creation carved in stone.
  • 650: Egyptian papyrus arrives in Greek cities.
  • 650: Olmecs, a pre-Mayan people, invent first writing system in Americas.
  • 650: Dionysian festivals among Greeks will lead to drama.
  • 640: A king of Ninevah collects a library, 22,000 clay tablets.
  • 640: Coins are circulated.
  • 621: Manuscript of Deuteronomy, discovered in Jerusalem.
  • 620: Draco gives Athens a written code of laws, "draconian" in its harshness.
  • 610: Anaximander writes first known book of philosophy.
  • 600: First appearance of Latin.
  • 600: Thales of Miletus posits that life is dependent upon water.
  • 600: In India, an early version of a violin.
  • 600: In Ninevah, a map of the known world, carved on clay tablet.
  • 600: From Lesbos, Sappho’s poetry; it will lead to the term "lesbian."
  • 600: The Near East has coins, clocks, calendars.
  • 600: Mediterranean cultures agree on left-to-right writing.
  • 585: Thales of Miletus develops physical science, geometry, and a rational worldview.
  • 575: In Babylonian exile, Jewish scholars begin to compile the books of the Bible.
  • 575: Zarathrustra (Zoroaster) preaches and starts a new religion in the Middle East.
  • 530: In Greece, a belief that mathematics is the study of reality, not just logic.
  • 530: In Athens, a public library.
  • 528: Buddhism begins as Siddhartha Gautama finds enlightenment.
  • 526: In China, a written code of laws.
  • 500: Chinese government officials use established, speedy courier service.
  • 500: Heraclitus argues that permanence is an illusion; only change exists.
  • 500: Chinese philosopher Lao Tze, Taoist founder, is curator of royal archives.
  • 500: Greek telegraph: trumpets, drums, shouting, beacon fires, smoke, mirrors.
  • 500: Persia has a form of pony express.
  • 500: Xenophones examines fossils, speculates on evolution.
  • 500: Unknown prophet, "second Isaiah," writes, preaches of Yahweh’s universality.
  • 500: In India, the system of numerals that will be known in the West as "Arabic."
  • 500: In India, the writing of the Vedic hymns is completed.
  • 500: In present-day Nigeria, the Nok people produce terra cotta art.
  • 500: The Analects of Confucius.
  • 500: Chinese scholars write on bamboo with reeds dipped in pigment.
  • 500: Greeks build theaters as drama emerges.
  • 500: Pythagoras concludes that Earth is a sphere, not flat.
  • 490: Pheidippides dies after bringing to Athens the news of victory at Marathon.
  • 480: Aesop, possibly a freed slave, writes his Fables.
  • 475: Parmenides, Greek philosopher, argues that reality is an unchanging substance.
  • 475: Philosopher Heraclitis posits opposite view that the world is constantly changing.
  • 469: Birth of Socrates, inventor of the art of philosophical dialogue.
  • 458: From Aeschylus, the "father of tragedy," Oresteia.
  • 450: Anaxagoras is first Western philosopher to distinguish mind from matter.
  • 450: Anaxagoras concludes that moonlight is reflected sunlight; explains eclipses.
  • 450: Herodotus draws a map of the known world.
  • 449: Rome’s written Laws of the Twelve Tables cover both civil and criminal matters.
  • 443: Sophocles’ Antigone.
  • 438: Death of Pindar, arguably the greatest of the Greek lyric poets.
  • 435: In China, a solar calendar.
  • 435: Phidias sculpts the Zeus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.
  • 432: Greek astronomer Meton adjusts the lunar calendar to a solar year.
  • 431: Euripedes’ Medea.
  • 431: The Athenian ruler, Pericles, delivers his Funeral Oration.
  • 430: Euripides’ The Trojans.
  • 428: Sophocles, Oedipus Rex.
  • 427: Birth of Plato, author of the Socratic Dialogues and The Republic.
  • 423: Aristophanes’ satire, The Clouds, caricatures Socrates.
  • 420: Herodotus’ History of the Persian War; does interviews.
  • 420: Writings by Hippocrates begin the scientific study of medicine.
  • 420: Socrates, Democritus locate thought as coming from the brain.
  • 415: Euripides, The Trojan Women.
  • 415: Lysistrata, comedy by Aristophanes.
  • 415: Protagoras teaches that human beings are "the measure of all things."
  • 409: Sophocles, Electra.
  • 405: Euripides’ Bacchae.
  • 405: Aristophanes, The Frogs.
  • 401: Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus.
  • 400: First illustrated manuscripts.
  • 400: In India, Panini codifies Sanskrit grammar.
  • 400: Chinese write on silk as well as wood, bamboo.
  • 400: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.
  • 400: In Central America, Zapotec writing.
  • 400: Greeks use carrier pigeons.
  • 400: Democritus originates theory that matter consists of colliding atoms.
  • 400: Xenophon’s Anabasis tells dramatic tale of Greek army fighting their way home.
  • 399: Socrates drinks poison. Nothing written by famed philosopher survives.
  • 396: Plato’s Apologia defends Socrates.
  • 387: Plato’s Symposium uses Socratic logic.
  • 386: Plato founds the Academy.
  • 384: Birth of Aristotle.
  • 360: Plato, The Republc.
  • 350: From the Greek author Archestratus, a cookbook.
  • 350: In Organon, Aristotle explains logical reasoning.
  • 350: Diogenes preaches the simple, self-sufficient life.
  • 347: Death of Plato, who leaves an unparalleled mark on Western thought.
  • 340: Aristotle’s logic; it will be a source of knowledge for more than 2,000 years.
  • 340: Aristotle begins musical theory.
  • 335: Aristotle founds his academy, the Lyceum.
  • 323: Theophrastus classifies plant life.
  • 322: Death of Aristotle, the great collector of human knowledge.
  • 320: Greek sculpture spreads across Near East.
  • 312: Start of the ancient Greek calendar, the Seleucid Era.
  • 300: Epicurus starts philosophical school based on simple life that avoids pain.
  • 300: Indian epic poem, the Mahabharata, attains much of its modern form.
  • 300: Euclid’s Elements explain geometry. Optics explains depth perception.
  • 295: Founding of Alexandrian Library. Euclid teaches there.
  • 275: Manetho, Egyptian priest, writes history of Egypt.
  • 260: Aristarchus uses geometry to estimate moon’s size, distance.
  • 250: Diophantus’ Arithmetica explains algebra.
  • 250: Brahmi, the first strictly Indian writing, in King Asoka’s edicts.
  • 250: In Near East city of Pergamum, parchment is made as a writing surface.
  • 250: The zero appears for the first time, in Babylonian place-value system.
  • 240: Latin literature starts to emerge.
  • 240: Eratosthenes caluclates Earth’s diameter.
  • 230: Aristarchus of Samos: first scientist to realize that Earth circles the Sun.
  • 220: Archimedes, Sicilian geometrician, leaves records of his many inventions.
  • 213: China’s Ch’in emperor, Shihuang, orders destruction of all books.
  • 200: Greek scientist Eratosthenes accurately measures size of the Earth.
  • 200: Greeks, Romans use wax-on-wood tablets for note taking.
  • 200: Tipao gazettes are circulated to Chinese officials.
  • 196: Cutting of the Rosetta Stone in hieroglyphics, hieratic, and Greek.
  • 185: In Rome, Plautus and Terence write comedies.
  • 170: Books are written on parchment and vellum, treated animal skins.
  • 165: The Book of Daniel.
  • 150: Hipparchus, astronomer, invents trigonometry, calculates length of the year.
  • 150: The modern Hebrew alphabet, derived from Aramaic cursive letters.
  • 150: The book of Ecclesiastes.
  • 150: Paper is placed in Chinese tombs.
  • 150: Alexandria is the greatest center of Hellenistic and Hebrew culture.
  • 150: The Septuagint, a version of the Old Testament, is translated into Greek.
  • 146: Polybius completes 40 volumes of early Roman history.
  • 146: Polybius describes complex torch signaling system in use by Greeks.
  • 118: Codification of the Roman constitution is completed.
  • 105: In Alexandria, the first college of technology is founded.
  • 100: Oldest surviving fragment of Bible: Ten Commandments, in Hebrew.
  • 100: Greek builds recently discovered Antikythera astronomy computer.
  • 80: In China, a collection of biographies of famous women.
  • 67: Sallust writes a history of Rome during the past decade.
  • 63: Marcus Tullius Tiro, ex-slave of Cicero, invents a shorthand system.
  • 59: Julius Caesar orders postings of Acta Diurna.
  • 57: Lucretius’ 6-volume De Rerum Natura extols Epicurean philosophy.
  • 55: Marcus Tullius Cicero writes on rhetoric, De Oratore.
  • 54: Cicero on politics, De Republica.
  • 51: Caesar’s account of the Gallic war; will be read by pupils for centuries.
  • 50: An early oboe.
  • 47: Alexandrian Library survives fire set by Julius Caesar’s troops; many books lost.
  • 46: Julius Caesar introduces the solar Julian calendar, with leap years.
  • 44: Caesar killed. Remarkable life includes writing Commentaries and Civil War.
  • 39: In Rome, the first public library, at the Libertas Temple.
  • 37: Virgil (or Vergil) writes the Bucolics, or Eclogues.
  • 35: The Satires of Horace.
  • 30: Virgil writes more poetry of farm life, the Georgics.
  • 28: Rome establishes two large libraries, the Octavian and the Palatine.
  • 19: Virgil dies; the Aeneid, one of the greatest of the epic poems, is unfinished.
  • 13: Some of the finest lyrical poems of the mature Horace appear.
  • 8: Horace, greatest of Latin lyric poets, dies after writing Satires, Odes, Epistles.
  • 4: Likely birth of Jesus, according to modern calculations.