World 2000BC

emerged. Although cities developed independently in several regions, they shared certain characteristics. Urban societies were hierarchical, with complex labour divisions. They were administered, economically and spiritually, by an elite literate class, and in some cases, were subject to a divine monarch. Monuments came to symbolize and represent the powers of the ruling elite. Elsewhere, farming communities came together to create ritual centres or burial sites, while craftsmen experimented with new materials and techniques, such as copper and bronze casting, and glazed pottery. All these developments indicate that urban and non-urban societies were attaining a high degree of social organization.
The fertile river valleys of the Nile, Tigris, Eupharates, Indus, and Yellow River were able to support very large populations, and it was here that the great urban civilizations of the ancient world