The ancient Roman historian Pliny suggested that Phoenician merchants had made the first glass in the region of Syria around 5000 B.C.E. But according to the archaeological evidence, the first man made glass was in Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3500 B.C.E.
Wooden oars, with canoe-shaped pottery, dating from 5000-4500 B.C.E. have been discovered in a Hemudu culture site at Yuyao, Zhejiang, in modern China.
Scientists believe that apples were first domesticated in the Tian Shan region of southern Kazakhstan. In fact, by as early as 2000 B.C.E., domesticated apples were being grafted in the Near East.
Pottery found by archaeologists at the Skorba Temples resembles that found in Italy, and suggests that the Maltese islands were first settled in 5200 B.C.E. mainly by Stone Age hunters or farmers who had arrived from the Italian island of Sicily, possibly the Sicani.
Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world.
The Vinča symbols are a set of symbols found on Neolithic era artifacts from the Vinča culture of Southeastern Europe. The nature and purpose of the symbols is a mystery.
Muscat’s notability as a port was acknowledged by Western Civilization as early as the 1st century CE by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, who referred to it as Cryptus Portus, and by Pliny the Elder, who called it Amithoscuta. Muscat is now the capital and largest city of Oman.
The sophisticated furnace and smelter featured earthen pipe-like air vents with hundreds of tiny holes in them and a chimney to ensure air goes into the furnace to feed the fire and smoke comes out away from the workers.
The Neolithic long house was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe beginning at least as early as the period 5000 to 6000 B.C.E. They first appeared in central Europe in connection with the early Neolithic cultures such as the Linear Pottery culture or Cucuteni culture.
The historic origin of sesame was favored by its ability to grow in areas that do not support the growth of other crops. It is also a robust crop that needs little farming support and is resilient in extreme conditions.
