Paleolithic Period
The Paleolithic Period lasts from the beginnings of human life until about 10,000 BCE.  Evidence suggests that the earliest humans lived in East Africa, and slowly migrated to Europe and Asia.  Over time, some of these early peoples migrated across a land bridge from Asia to America and spread out there.  Others moved by boat to the various Pacific island chains.  During these migrations, ideas and beliefs were transmitted between different cultures through warfare and trade.

Paleolithic people were nomads. They lived in groups of 20 -30, and spent most of their time hunting and gathering.  In these groups, work was divided between men and women, with the men hunting game animals, and women gathering fruits, berries, and other edibles.  These early peoples developed simple tools such as spears and axes made from bone, wood, and stone.  Human beings lived in this manner from earliest times until about 10,000 BCE, when they started to cultivate crops and domesticate animals.  This is known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Early River Civilizations
Egypt: Ancient Egypt consisted of Upper Egypt in the south, and Lower Egypt in the north.  About 3100 BCE, Menes, King of Upper Egypt, united the two kingdoms.  Under Menes and his successors, the Nile river became a highway in the exchange of goods and ideas.  Merchants would take ships and barges up and down the river trading goods from inner Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. This helped to make Egypt a very powerful nation.

During the New Kingdom, (1550 BCE - 1100 BCE) powerful pharaohs conquered an empire that stretched from Nubia in the south, to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. For centuries, Nubia was a major rival and trading partner of Egypt's.  Nubia sent ivory, cattle, and slaves to Egypt, and left a cultural mark when Egypt conquered them during the New Kingdom Period.  Nubia conquered Egypt in the 8th century BCE, and ruled for about 100 years.  Nubian influence can be seen in Egyptian art, which portrays Nubian soldiers, musicians, and prisoners of war.

Mesopotamia: The Sumerians in Mesopotamia established trade along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and across the desert.  They traded goods within the Middle East, with Egypt, the Mediterranean, and as far away as India. Many other groups controlled this region at one time or another, adding to the diversity of culture.  By the early 600s BCE, the Assyrians had conquered the entire Fertile Crescent, but their empire was short lived.  Later, around 500 BCE, the region was conquered and made part of the Persian Empire under the great leader Darius.  Under Darius, the Persian Empire covered the Middle East, Asia Minor, Egypt, and a small part of India.  Extensive trade occurred throughout the empire which resulted in vast cultural diffusion.

Persian Empire  c. 493 BCE

Indus River: About 2500 BCE, the first Indian civilization began on the Indus River.  Like other early civilizations, most people were farmers, with their main crop being cotton.  Merchants would travel as far as the city states of Sumeria to trade their cotton cloth.  About 1750 BCE, this civilization began to decline, and was replaced by nomadic warriors called Aryans.