Civilization Society & Cultural Firsts — from Civilization & Society Foundations to Language, Symbols & Learning to Firsts in Art, Music & Culture.
The first alphabet came from the Phoenicians.
The first dictionary was compiled in ancient China.
The first library was the Library of Ashurbanipal.
The first university was Al Quaraouiyine in Morocco.
The first school curriculum came from ancient Sumer.
The first known poem was the Epic of Gilgamesh.
The first encyclopedia was compiled by Pliny the Elder.
The first textbook was written in ancient Greece.
The first writing instrument was a reed stylus.
The first known map was a clay tablet from Babylonia.
The first city ever built was Uruk in ancient Mesopotamia.
The first written language was Sumerian cuneiform.
The first calendar was created by the Egyptians.
The first road network was built by the Romans.
The first sewer system was built in the Indus Valley.
The first civilization to use zero? The Maya.
The first postal service was started in Persia.
The first democracy was born in Athens.
The first census was conducted in ancient Babylon.
The first organized religion was Sumerian polytheism.
The first monotheistic religion was Zoroastrianism.
The first temples were built in Göbekli Tepe.
The first prophet on record? Zoroaster.
The first recorded prayer was Sumerian.
The first concept of heaven and hell came from ancient Egypt.
The first religious law was the Mosaic Law.
The first sacred pilgrimage was to Mecca.
The first philosophical school was Plato’s Academy.
The first cave paintings were made in Chauvet Cave.
The first sculpture was the Venus of Willendorf.
The first musical instrument was a bone flute.
The first theatrical performance was in ancient Greece.
The first painter whose name we know? Apelles of Kos.
The first orchestra formed in ancient China.
The first mosaic artwork was found in Mesopotamia.
The first recorded song was Hurrian Hymn No. 6.
The first artist to sign their work? The potter Sophilos.
The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
The first dome structure was built in Mesopotamia.
The first public park was in ancient Persia.
The first known palace was Knossos in Crete.
The first tower was the Tower of Jericho.
The first columned temple? The Parthenon.
The first clock tower was in China.
The first bridges were made by the Romans.
The first roads paved with stones? Ancient Babylon.
The first aqueducts were Roman marvels.
The first woven fabric was from the Neolithic era.
The first buttons were ornamental in the Indus Valley.
The first lipstick was worn by ancient Sumerians.
The first public bath was built in Mohenjo-Daro.
The first mirror was made from polished obsidian.
The first haircutting tools came from Egypt.
The first hat worn was the “petasos” in ancient Greece.
The first fashion designer? Charles Frederick Worth.
The first dance style was tribal storytelling through movement.
The first farming village was Jericho.
The first domesticated plant was wheat.
The first fermentation process made beer.
The first recipe recorded was for bread.
The first cooking pots were made from clay.
The first use of forks came from the Middle East.
The first community oven was in ancient Rome.
The first use of chopsticks was in ancient China.
The first banks were in Babylonian temples.
The first marketplace was in ancient Mesopotamia.
The first written receipt was on a clay tablet.
The first stocks traded in Amsterdam (1602).
The first paper money came from China.
The first insurance policy was in Genoa (1347).
The first international trade route? The Silk Road.
The first businesswoman? Tapputi, a Mesopotamian perfumer.
The first shopping list was found in Uruk.
The first war recorded was between Sumer and Elam.
The first peace treaty was between Egypt and the Hittites.
The first empire was the Akkadian Empire.
The first king with written laws was Hammurabi.
The first parliament was in Iceland (Althing, 930 CE).
The first non-violent movement? Buddhism’s spread by Ashoka.
The first compass was invented in China.
The first circumnavigation of the globe was by Magellan’s crew.
The first ocean map was drawn by the Greeks.
The first explorer to reach the North Pole was Robert Peary.
The first recorded sky chart was Babylonian.
The first known globe was made by Crates of Mallus.
The first land claimed by humans? Africa.
The first navigators were Polynesians with stars.
The first discovery of the Americas by Europeans was by Leif Erikson.
The first hot air balloon flight carried a duck, a rooster & a sheep!
The first festival was celebrated in honor of the moon.