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3000 BC| c. 8000 BC–c. 2700 BC | Europe [tools] | The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age begins in western Europe. It is characterized by the use of microliths (very small stone tools mounted on a shaft), chipped stone tools, and bone, antler, and wooden tools. Important inventions include the barbed fish-hook, harpoon, woven basket, clay cooking pot, and the comb. Some examples of these tools have been found at Star Carr in Yorkshire, England. | | c. 3000 BC | Sumeria [transport] | The chariot is invented in Ur and Tutub in Sumeria. It is constructed of solid wheels that rotate on a fixed axle, a wooden platform protected by sidescreens framed with wood and covered with skins, and a draft pole linked to the yoke of a pair of oxen. They are mounted by both spear-carriers and charioteers. | | c. 3000 BC | Egypt [weights and measures] | The cubit, the length of the arm from the elbow to the extended finger tips, is devised in Egypt as the standard unit of linear measure. A royal cubit of black granite serves as the standard for all other cubit sticks. | | c. 3000 BC | Middle East [animal husbandry] | Camels are domesticated in the Middle East. | | c. 3000 BC | Mesopotamia, Egypt [farming] | Irrigation canals begin to be built in Mesopotamia and Egypt. | | c. 3000 BC | Egypt [everyday life] | The Egyptians develop a civil calendar of 365 days divided into twelve 30-day months, plus five intercalated days added at the end. It is based on the lunar cycle and regulated by the appearance of Sirius (the Dog Star) above the horizon, and the flooding of the Nile. | | c. 3000 BC | South Asia [materials] | Cotton fabric is first woven in the Indus valley. | | c. 3000 BC | Egypt [materials] | Papyrus, derived from reed, is invented in Egypt. | | c. 3000 BC | Babylon [maths] | The Sumerians of Babylon develop a sexagesimal (based on 60) numbering system. Used for recording financial transactions, the order of the numbers determines their relative, or unit value (place-value), although no zero value is used. It continues to be used for mathematics and astronomy until the 17th century AD. | | c. 3000 BC | Europe [other structures] | The building of megalithic monuments begins to spread throughout northwestern Europe. Great stones are used to build either chambered barrows (passage graves such as those found at West Kennet in Wiltshire, England, or at New Grange, Ireland) or, later, impressive monuments of upright stones for religious and/or social purposes (such as those at Avebury and Stonehenge in England, or at Carnac in France). | | c. 3000 BC | Egypt [other structures] | The arch, a fundamental architectural structure, is first used in Egypt at a tomb in Helouan, outside Cairo. | | c. 3000 BC | Middle East [technology] | The abacus, which uses rods and beads for making calculations, is developed in the Middle East and adopted throughout the Mediterranean. A form of the abacus is also used in China at this time. | | c. 3000 BC | Egypt, Crete [tools] | Candles made of tallow begin to be used in Egypt and Crete. |
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