Image credit: Viacheslav Lopatin/ДЇor a long time, scholars believed that Mesopotamia was the first civilization. Remains of culture of Mesopotamia ancient civilization. Old carving from the Middle East history. Mesopotamia (circa 3500 BCE вЂ“ 500 BCE) Assyrian wall relief, detail of panorama with royal lion hunt. Other historians, however, claim their end was due to a great flood. It is perhaps this disinterest in war that led to their downfall at the hands of Central Asian invaders. Instead, they were a peaceful people who traded amicably with neighboring civilizations. It is estimated that they lived without armor and weapons for more than 700 years. But what is more astounding is that archaeologists have found no traces of warfare or mass violence. There is even evidence that houses had individual bathrooms that led to a sophisticated underground sewage system. By 2500 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization was thriving, its people living in dozens of highly developed and spacious urban centers. 3300 BCE is when historians generally clock the first signs of urbanization. The earliest people gathered around the basin of the Indus River, establishing farming settlements. Image credit: Faraz Akhtar Malik/Д®xtending from modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan to northwest India, the Indus Valley Civilization covered 1.25 million kilometers, making it the most widespread civilization of the ancient world. Historic sculptures which were found in Indus valley city of Mohenjo-daro are today made by artists in Pakistan to be sold as souvenirs. The Indus Valley Civilization (circa 3300 BCE вЂ“ 1900 BCE) The Dancing Girl and Priest-King pottery sculptures are made with un-fired clay. Because of numerous wars and invasions, their ancient cultural was slowly replaced over time. Believe it or not, they were also the first people to use toothpaste and wear wigs. They are also credited with developing the first phonetic alphabet which was widely used due to the invention of papyrus paper, which in turn led to the development of the first postal system. They were the first people to use waterways as trade routes and to make tools from bronze. The Ancient Egyptians can be defined as a civilization of вЂњfirsts.вЂќ They made huge advancements in math and were pioneers of medical science. They frequently performed human sacrifices as offerings to their gods, but since they believed spirits simply moved on to the next world, there was nothing malicious about the ritualistic act. Their religion is not fully understood, but the Maya people believed in a heaven and an underworld known as Xibalba. They built extravagant structures, temples, and pyramids-some grander than those in Egypt. At their height, their population exceeded 19 million people. It is around this time that the earliest developments in agriculture occurred. Their hunter-gatherer lifestyle can be traced back to 7000 BCE, but the first permanent villages were built around 2600 BCE. The Maya Civilization was largely made up of the indigenous people of Central America and Mexico. The Maya Civilization (circa 2600 BCE вЂ“ 900 CE) Ancient Maya statue on the rocks along the sea. From the ancient Egyptians to the lesser-known Jiahu people, the following article briefly explores six of the worldвЂ™s oldest civilizations.

However, there are dozens of civilizations that have been around long before the Greeks and Romans made their stamp on human history. Both have shaped modern society in some way, whether it be their long-lasting social, cultural, or political influences. When it comes to ancient civilizations, most people think of the Greeks and Romans.

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