Q1.
But when did civilisation begin, in the sense we have now defined?
Answer
There is no single date, because civilisation began at different times in different parts of the world. The chapter gives three examples, and Fig. 6.2 on page 87 draws them.
| Where | Modern country | When it began |
|---|---|---|
| Mesopotamia | Modern Iraq and Syria | About 6,000 years ago — around 4000 BCE on Fig. 6.2 |
| Ancient Egypt | Egypt | “A few centuries later” — around 3100 BCE on Fig. 6.2 |
| Indus-Sarasvatī | India and Pakistan (and a site in Afghanistan) | Cities from about 2600 BCE, lasting to about 1900 BCE |
6,000 years ago ≈ 6000 − 2026 = about 4000 BCE — which is exactly where Fig. 6.2 starts.
Why it started in these places. All three grew up on great river systems — the Tigris and Euphrates, the Nile, and the Indus with the Sarasvatī. Rivers make the soil fertile, water the fields, and carry boats. That is the condition the seventh characteristic — a productive agriculture — needs.
Why the book says these civilisations still matter: “In many ways, humanity would not have reached its present stage without the enormous contributions and advances of those ancient civilisations.” Writing, cities, drains, measured weights, wheeled carts, metal tools, long-distance trade — these were invented once, in societies like these, and we have been using them ever since.
Tip: ‘about 6,000 years ago’ and ‘about 4000 BCE’ mean the same thing. When a book mixes the two ways of counting, convert one into the other before you compare dates.