People of the Shang Dynasty begin using oracle bones for divination
Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy, a form of divination, in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty.
13th Century B.C.E.
The Olmec civilization begins to flourish in modern-day Mexico
The mysterious Olmec civilization, located in ancient Mexico, prospered in Mesoamerica from c. 1200 B.C.E. to c. 400 B.C.E. and is generally considered the forerunner of all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya and Aztecs.
The Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism, is completed
The Rigveda is one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. It is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language.
The Slab Grave culture flourishes in modern-day Mongolia
The Slab Grave culture is a archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Mongols from 1,300 to 300 B.C.E.
The Yajurveda, one of the four Vedas of the Hindu tradition, is completed
The Yajurveda is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas.
Urnfield culture begins to thrive in central Europe
The Urnfield culture (c. 1300 B.C.E. – 750 B.C.E.) was a late Bronze Age culture of central Europe. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns which were then buried in fields.
Babylonian astronomers create cuneiform star catalogues
The earliest known star catalogues were compiled by the ancient Babylonian astronomers of Mesopotamia in the late 2nd millennium B.C.E., during the Kassite Period (ca. 1531-1155 B.C.E.).
The ancient Mayan city of Caracol is founded in modern-day Belize
Long thought to be a tertiary center, it is now known that the site was one of the most important regional political centers of the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Period.