The cradle of civilization is any of the possible locations for the emergence of civilization. It is usually applied to the Ancient Near Eastern Chalcolithic (Ubaid period, Naqada culture), especially in the Fertile Crescent (Levant and Mesopotamia), but also extended to sites in Anatolia[1] and the Persian Plateau, besides other Asian cultures situated along large river valleys, notably the Indus River in Indian Subcontinent[2] and the Yellow River in China.[3]
Civilization is usually taken to presuppose the presence of agriculture and urban settlements, and as such is a consequence of the Neolithic Revolution.[4] This entails that there isn’t a single “cradle”, but several independent developments of civilization, of which the Near Eastern Neolithic was the first. The extent to which there was significant influence between the early civilizations in the Fertile Crescent and East Asia is disputed, while the civilizations of the Andes and Mesoamerica are accepted as having emerged independently from those in Eurasia. If writing is taken as a prerequisite for civilization, the earliest “cradle” is Early Dynastic Egypt and Sumer (Jemdet Nasr).
