What is the oldest civilization in the world?

Question

What is the oldest civilization in the world?

Answer 1

It depends on what you mean by the oldest civilisation.  There are many variables to consider here, you have to narrow it down.

Widely accepted as the first complex civilisation on Earth is Sumer, Mesopotamia.  

Widely accepted as the earliest rise of civilisation on Earth is the Natufian culture in the Mediterranean which can be traced back to 12,000bc.

The oldest civilization still existing today is China.

Answer 2

Small groups of flimsy shelters in the equatorial section of the world . Their exact locations and names have been long lost .

Yep , some will mention Ur in Iraq , but that came long long after the very first primitive groups .

Civilization doesn't mean large cities of stone palaces .

Answer 3

Miami...ever see those old wrinklies down there.  They give me the wild eye!

Answer 4

Mesopotamia

Answer 5

Depends how you define civilisation. What about the Lower and Upper Palaeolithic? The Acheulian stone tool industry? Or the Chattelperronian?

Answer 6

Mesopotamian

Answer 7

~~Mesopotamia~~

Answer 8

To clarify, What is the oldest existing civiliation?

Answer 9

Good question and since you qualified it, I'd be interested in the various answers.

I will watch this baby!

I liked...Mit Hilde's answer. The "Mathilda"version is an Australian bastardization of the phrase..."mit Hilde".

It was adequately explained in a piece when the Olympics were in Aussie Land!

Do the research and enjoy!

Answer 10

NOT Mesopotamia.

The oldest one in the West is the ancient Anatolian civilisation that built Gobekli Tepe (11,500 BP) and pre-dated the Mesopotamians by a LOT. They appear to have been an Indo European people, as their expansion coincides with the spread of Indo European languages, from about 9,000 years ago. they were the most likley discoverers of farming in the West.

http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpre...

However, the far East Jomon culture seems to have been building big monuments well prior to this, These are underwater now, as the sea levels are about 200m higher than they were.

http://mathildasweirdworldweblog.wordpre...

Also, there's a submerged temple complex off the SE coast of India that's probably as old as Gobekli Tepe.

http://mathildasweirdworldweblog.wordpre...