Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000-5,500 years, with cuneiform possibly being the oldest form of writing. Genetic evidence, however, points to the first appearance of human beings about 150,000 years ago. There is also a growing body of evidence that Homo sapiens first left Africa about 60,000 years ago. For further information about human origins, see Evolution of Homo sapiens. Civilizations Ancient Egypt Ancient Rome Assyria China Babylonia Hellenic civilization Indus Valley civilization, unified from 2600 BC - 1900 BC. History of ancient Israel and Judah Kingdom of Israel Kingdom of Judah Mesopotamia Mitanni Native American Sumeria Susa Urartu -- Kingdom from 860 BC to 585 BC Ideas Timeline of trends in music to 1899 and early music Ancient philosophy\n This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.