The 36th millennium before the common era

The 36th millennium before the common era is a span of one hundred years beginning in 3600 BCE and ending in 3501 BCE. During this period, part of the Middle East was in what historians of early times call the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, while other regions remained in the Neolithic or New Stone Age.

No complete written historical record exists for this period. Knowledge comes from archaeology: the remains of settlements, tools, metal artifacts, and carbon-14 dating. Dates derived from this evidence carry significant margins of error, potentially spanning several centuries.

Mesopotamia and the emergence of writing

In southern Iraq, the city of Uruk reached its height. Uruk had become one of the largest settlements in the world, with monumental temples, agricultural works using irrigation, and specialized labor. By the end of this period and in the centuries that followed, marks were made to record goods and taxes—a development that led to cuneiform writing. The precise date of writing's origin remains disputed.

Egypt before statehood

Along the Nile, Naqada culture was strengthening. Burial goods show evidence of social hierarchy and wealth disparity. Trade extended to Nubia and the Levant. This period laid the groundwork for Egyptian unification, which occurred centuries later.

Europe and Asia

In Europe, farming spread to new territories, and stone monuments such as communal tombs were built. In East Asia, cultures along the Yellow River and Yangtze developed rice cultivation and pottery of high technical quality. In South Asia, settlements in Balochistan and around the Indus valley expanded.