The end of this period marked the end of

PRE-HISTORIC ERA
the last Ice Age , which resulted in the
extinction of many large mammals and
Earth’s beginnings can be traced back 4.5 rising sea levels and climate change  that
billion years, but human evolution only counts eventually caused man to migrate

for a tiny speck of its history. The Prehistoric During the Mesolithic period (about 10,000
Period—or when there was human life before B.C. to 8,000 B.C.), humans used small
stone tools, now also polished and
records documented human activity—roughly sometimes crafted with points and
dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C. attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve
as spears and arrows. They often lived
It is generally categorized in three
nomadically in camps near rivers and
archaeological periods: the Stone Age, Bronze other bodies of water. Agriculture was
Age and Iron Age. introduced during this time, which led to
more permanent settlements in villages.

THE STONE AGE Finally, during the Neolithic period

(roughly 8,000 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.), ancient
Divided into three periods: Paleolithic (or humans switched from hunter/gatherer
Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (or Middle mode to agriculture and food production.
Stone Age), and Neolithic (or New Stone They domesticated animals and cultivated
Age), this era is marked by the use of cereal grains. They used polished hand
tools by our early human ancestors (who axes, adzes for ploughing and tilling the
evolved around 300,000 B.C.) and the land and started to settle in the plains.
eventual transformation from a culture of Advancements were made not only in
hunting and gathering to farming and food tools but also in farming, home
production. During this era, early humans construction and art, including pottery,
shared the planet with a number of now- sewing and weaving.
extinct hominin relatives, including
Neanderthals and Denisovans.

In the Paleolithic period (roughly 2.5 THE BRONZE AGE

million years ago to 10,000 B.C.), early
humans lived in caves or simple huts or
tepees and were hunters and gatherers.
During the Bronze Age  (about 3,000 B.C.
They used basic stone and bone tools, as
to 1,300 B.C.), metalworking advances
well as crude stone axes, for hunting birds
were made, as bronze, a copper and tin
and wild animals. They cooked their prey,
alloy, was discovered. Now used for
including woolly mammoths, deer and
weapons and tools, the harder metal
bison, using controlled fire. They also
replaced its stone predecessors, and
fished and collected berries, fruit and nuts.
helped spark innovations including the ox-
drawn plow and the wheel.
Ancient humans in the Paleolithic period
were also the first to leave behind art.
They used combinations of minerals, This time period also brought advances in
ochres, burnt bone meal and charcoal architecture and art, including the
invention of the potter’s wheel, and
mixed into water, blood, animal fats and
textiles—clothing consisted of mostly wool
tree saps to etch humans, animals and items such as skirts, kilts, tunics and
signs. They also carved small figurines cloaks. Home dwellings morphed to so-
from stones, clay, bones and antlers. called roundhouses, consisting of a
circular stone wall with a thatched or turf Egyptian civilization has flourished
roof, complete with a fireplace or hearth, continuously since prehistoric times. While the
and more villages and cities began to civilization's rulers, writing, natural climate,
form. religion and borders have changed many times
over the millennia, Egypt still exists as a
modern-day country. 
Organized government, law and warfare,
as well as beginnings of religion, also The civilization has always been strongly
came into play during the Bronze Age, connected with other parts of the world,
perhaps most notably relating to bringing in and exporting goods, religions,
the  ancient Egyptians  who built food, people and ideas. At times ancient Egypt
the pyramids  during this time. The earliest ruled territory outside the modern-day country's
written accounts, including border, controlling territory in what is now
Egyptian hieroglyphs  and petroglyphs Sudan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and
(rock engravings), are also dated to this Palestine. 
era.
The country was also occupied by other
powers — the Persians, Nubians, Greeks and
THE IRON AGE
Romans all conquered the country at different
points in time. 
The discovery  of ways to heat and forge
iron kicked off the Iron Age  (roughly 1,300 A number of names were used for Egypt in
B.C. to 900 B.C.). At the time, the metal ancient times. A popular ancient name for
was seen as more precious than gold, and Egypt was "Kemet," which means the "black
wrought iron (which would be replaced by land." Scholars generally believe that this
steel with the advent of smelting iron) was name derives from the fertile soil that is left
easier to manufacture than bronze. over when the Nile flood recedes in August. 

The flooding of the Nile occurred between June

Along with mass production of steel tools and August and the fertile soil it created was
and weapons, the age saw even further vital to ancient Egypt's survival, with fertility
advances in architecture, with four-room playing an important role in Egyptian religion.
homes, some complete with stables for The burial of Tutankhamun — in which
animals, joining more rudimentary hill his penis was mummified erect — is but one
forts, as well as royal palaces, temples example of how important fertility was in the
and other religious structures. Early city rituals and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.
planning also took place, with blocks of  
homes being erected along paved or The country's ancient rulers are referred to
cobblestone streets and water systems put today as "pharaohs," although in ancient times
into place. they each used a series of names as part of a
royal titular, wrote Ronald Leprohon, an
Egyptology professor at the University of
Agriculture, art and religion all became Toronto, in his book "The Great Name: Ancient
more sophisticated and writing systems Egyptian Royal Titulary" (Society of Biblical
and written documentation, including Literature, 2013). The word pharaoh actually
alphabets, began to emerge, ushering in originates from the term "per-aa" which means
the Early Historical Period. "the Great House," Leprohon wrote. The term
was first incorporated into a royal titulary during
EGYPTIAN ERA the rule of Thutmose III (reign ca. 1479–1425
B.C.) wrote Leprohon.