Humans of ancient Persia invent the comb
Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating back to 5,000 years ago in Persia.
Middle East
Ancient Sumerians create clay tablets listing hundreds of medicinal plants
In Mesopotamia, the written study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who created clay tablets with lists of hundreds of medicinal plants (such as myrrh and opium).
Damascus – perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world – is founded in modern-day Syria
Pottery from the 3rd millennium B.C.E. has been discovered in the Old City of Damascus.
The Kura–Araxes culture thrives in the Caucauses
The Kura–Araxes culture was a civilization that existed from about 4000 B.C.E. until about 2000 B.C.E. The earliest evidence for this culture is found on the Ararat plain; it spread northward in Caucasus by 3000 B.C.E.
Humans make glass for the first time, perhaps in modern-day Syria
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.
Eridu, perhaps the world’s first city, is founded in modern-day Iraq
Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world.
First communal activity begins at the location of Muscat in modern-day Oman
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.
Humans invent lead smelting, perhaps in modern-day Turkey
The earliest known cast lead beads were found in the Çatalhöyük site in Anatolia (Turkey), and dated from about 6500 B.C.E., but the metal may have been known earlier.
Ubaid culture thrives in ancient Mesopotamia
Ubaid culture is characterized by large unwalled village settlements, multi-roomed rectangular mud-brick houses and the appearance of the first temples of public architecture in Mesopotamia.
Çatalhöyük, a large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in modern-day Turkey, flourishes
The population of the eastern mound has been estimated to be, at maximum, 10,000 people.