Five objects from the British Museum's collection tell the story of the emergence of the earliest cities in the river valleys of North Africa and Asia
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- A History of the World in 100 Objects
- The First Cities and States (4000 - 2000 BC)
The First Cities and States (4000 - 2000 BC)
Available now on BBC iPlayer
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Listen to the latest programme
Early Writing Tablet
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Fri, 5 Feb 2010.
5/5. Neil MacGregor finds the earliest example of writing: a 5,000-year-old tablet about beer.
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Also available
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Jade Axe
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Thu, 4 Feb 2010.
4/5. Neil MacGregor tells the story of a 6,000-year-old axe found in Kent.
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Indus Seal
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Wed, 3 Feb 2010.
3/5. Neil MacGregor examines stone stamps from the Indus Valley in modern-day Pakistan.
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Standard of Ur
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Tue, 2 Feb 2010.
2/5. Neil MacGregor describes the discovery of a set of mosaics from the ancient city of Ur.
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King Den's Sandal Label
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Mon, 1 Feb 2010.
1/5. Neil MacGregor investigates a great Pharoah's sandal label.
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Featured
Where these objects were found
11 King Den's sandal label
12 Standard of Ur
13 Indus seal
14 Jade Axe
15 Early writing tablet
Browse all British Museum objects on the A History of the World site
The First Cities and States (4000 - 2000 BC)
The world’s first cities and states emerged in the river valleys of North Africa and Asia about 6000 – 5000 years ago. For the first time people came together to live in settlements larger than villages. In these communities there is evidence of kings, rulers and great differences in power and wealth. These changes took place in what is today Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and India. But there are important differences between the early cities and states in these three regions. The world’s earliest writing also developed during this period. The surviving records of early writing are almost all administrative lists.
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