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2990 BCE

This year falls in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3200–2000 BCE). Writing appears in Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3200 BCE, and the written record begins. The first cities, kings and states grow up along the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Nile and the Indus.

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Civilization · Middle and Late Bronze Age · Minoan civilizationMinoan civilizationc. 3000–1100 BCEThe Minoans built Europe's first advanced civilization on the island of Crete. Their palace at Knossos was a maze of courtyards and frescoes. The civilization faded about 1100 BCE, leaving the legend of the Minotaur.