Places

Punt: A fabled land known for gold, ebony, wild animals, ivory, leopard skins, live apes, incense (especially myrrh), and aromatic gum1 . A trade expedition to Punt is recorded at Deir el-Bahari (1493 BC)1 .

Amarna: Akhenaten moved the Egyptian capital to Amarna2 .... It was built with a new architectural style that emphasised light and used pre-fab cut stone blocks4 .

Abu Simbel: The location of a temple of Ramesses II, which stood on the border with Nubia5 .... The walls of Abu Simbel depict Ramesses II's claimed victory in the Battle of Kadesh6 .

Valley of the Kings: Located on the western bank of the Nile, it was used as a secret rock-cut tomb for pharaohs beginning with Amenhotep (~1505 BC)7 .

Indus Valley: The location where the Indus Valley Civilisation emerged, in what is now Pakistan and India8 .... The Indus River descends onto the semiarid Indus Plain from its source in Tibet9 

Sarasvati River (Ghaggar-Hakra): An ancient river in the Indus Valley that disappeared sometime between 4000 and 1600 BC11 .

Mehrgarh: The earliest Neolithic site in the northwest Indian subcontinent, occupied continuously from ca. 7000 to 2600 BC12 . It is located near the Bolan Pass in Balochistan, a trade route between the Indus Valley and what is now Afghanistan12 .

Mohenjo-Daro: One of the major cities of the Mature Harappan period13 . It is the largest of the Mature Harappan cities, covering 120 hectares and home to 40,000–80,000 people14 .

Harappa: A major city of the Indus Valley Civilisation13 .... British engineers took burnt mudbrick from Harappan sites to use for ballast15 . Recent excavation of about 200 burials in Harappa at foot of two main city mounds16 .

Kot Diji: An example of a large city from the Early Harappan period with defensive walls17 ....

Huanghe (Yellow) River Valley: Located in the north of China, it has evidence for the origins of agriculture and early state development19 . The Huanghe River flows through a region of loess soil19 .

Yangtze River Valley: Located in the south of China, it is warmer and better watered with milder winters and hot summers19 .... Asian rice was domesticated in the middle Yangtze ~9,500 BC21 

Erlitou: A true city with 20,000 people that is similar to other cities of this period and different from Longshan centers22 . It has elite centres with palace enclosures surrounded by clusters of low-status villages and workshops22 . It may have been the capital of the Xia state22 ....

Hemudu: A wet site in the Yangtze River Valley with excellent preservation21 . There is evidence of rice-paddy cultivation, including a thick layer of rice from a broken granary21 .

Anyang (Yin): Recognised as the last capital of the Shang Dynasty24 . It stretches over 5.8 km and has a large ceremonial and administrative centre with royal residences, meeting halls, and temples built on rammed earth platforms25 .

Huanbei: A palace-temple complex just north of Yin that was intentionally burned down by its ruler after less than 50 years26 .

Sanxingdui: An early city with a defensive rammed earth wall and buildings27 . It contains two sacrificial pits filled with bronzes, ivory, and jades27 .

Xiaotun: A ritual complex about 70 hectares in area that was part palace and part temple28 . It is the location where most oracle bones have been found28 .

Tyre: An important Phoenician city-state, located on the coast of present-day Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel29 .

Gordion (Gordium): The capital of the Phrygians, located on the central Anatolian plateau30 . It had a citadel surrounded by a stone wall reinforced with a timber frame31 .

Urartu: A mountain kingdom located in Armenia (Biblical Ararat), with its capital at Tushpa32 .... Multiple kingdoms formed a single kingdom (Urartu) to protect themselves from the Assyrians32 .

Nineveh: The capital was moved from Nimrud to Nineveh by Sennacherib34 . Here he built a fabulous palace on a citadel34 .

Babylon: The capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar35 .

Nimrud: The capital built by Ashurnasirpal II using tribute36 .

Behistun: Located in Western Iran. The memorial of Darius’s reign played a key role in the decipherment of cuneiform37 ....

Palatine Hill: A founding location of Rome. Iron Age Palatine Huts are located there39 ....

Pompeii: A Roman town near present-day Naples in the Campania region of SW Italy41 . It was destroyed and buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD41 .

Carthage: Located in North Africa, around present-day Tunisia42 . It was initially founded by the Phoenicians in the 9th century BC42