The woolly mammoth, the last species of mammoth, becomes extinct on Wrangel Island between 2500–2000 BCE, the most recent survival of all known mammoth populations.

Much smaller in size than typical mammoths due to limited food supply, and isolated from the mainland for six thousand years, five hundred to one thousand mammoths lived on the island at a time.

Maritime East Asia (2205–2062 BCE): Agricultural Expansion, Cultural Decline, and the Birth of the Xia Dynasty

Between 2205 BCE and 2062 BCE, Maritime East Asia—comprising lower Primorsky Krai, the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Archipelago below northern Hokkaido, Taiwan, and southern, central, and northeastern China—experiences crucial transformations marked by shifts in agricultural practices, climatic upheaval leading to cultural decline, and foundational events associated with legendary Chinese rulers. These developments notably include the agricultural practices of Korea's Middle Jeulmun period, the climatic challenges that cause the decline of China's flourishing Longshan culture, and the rise of legendary figures like Shun and Yu the Great, culminating in the establishment of China’s first hereditary dynasty, the Xia Dynasty.

Middle Jeulmun Agriculture on the Korean Peninsula

During Korea’s Middle Jeulmun period (ca. 3500–2000 BCE), agricultural practices gain importance as a supplement to traditional subsistence methods. Archaeological evidence from at least fourteen sites across the peninsula confirms early cultivation practices through finds such as carbonized plant remains and agricultural stone tools.

Notably, Dongsam-dong Shellmidden in southern Korea yields direct AMS radiocarbon dates for domesticated foxtail millet (Setaria italica ssp. italica), firmly placing its cultivation within this era (Crawford and Lee, 2003). Additional evidence, though somewhat controversial, emerges at Jitam-ri (Chitam-ni) in present-day North Korea. Here, excavations of pit-house structures yield carbonized grains described by local archaeologists as domesticated millet, although limitations in excavation methods and documentation leave room for scholarly debate.

Nevertheless, cultivation remains largely supplementary during this era. Subsistence in Korea continues heavily emphasizing deep-sea fishing, shellfish gathering, and hunting. Simultaneously, the distinctive "Classic Jeulmun" pottery, known locally as Bitsalmunui, develops, characterized by intricate comb-patterning, cord-wrapping, and decorative patterns covering entire vessel surfaces. This pottery is primarily identified in west-central and southern coastal Korea, reflecting regional cultural developments and the increasing complexity of Jeulmun societies.

Collapse of the Late Longshan Culture in China

In China, this period witnesses a dramatic demographic and cultural shift associated with a major climatic event, the 4.2 kiloyear BP aridification event (around 2200 BCE). The previously thriving Longshan culture—known especially for its refined black pottery and urbanizing settlements—faces severe environmental challenges, including drought, cooling climate, and declining agricultural productivity, particularly affecting the Yishu River Basin.

The resulting agricultural failures, notably impacting rice production, lead to substantial population reductions, societal fragmentation, and the disappearance of sophisticated ritual pottery characteristic of the Longshan tradition. Around 2000 BCE (4000 cal. yr BP), archaeological records show that Longshan settlements are gradually replaced by simpler, less sophisticated, and more fragmented cultural groups.

Legendary Chinese Rulers: Shun and Yu the Great

Concurrently, legendary historical narratives transmitted through later Confucian texts provide context for China’s social and political transformations. According to these traditions, the virtuous sage-emperor Shun rules during this time, symbolizing moral integrity and exemplary governance. Shun’s reign is credited with key administrative accomplishments, including standardizing weights and measures, organizing China into twelve administrative provinces, and regulating waterways and infrastructure projects.

Shun’s most significant legacy, however, is his choice of successor, Yu the Great—the celebrated hero famed for controlling the catastrophic flooding of previous decades. Yu is honored in later traditions as a foundational figure, renowned for his mastery of waterways and his pioneering role in early Chinese bronze technology. Cultural memory of Yu survives in rituals such as the Taoist Yu’s Step, a ritual dance commemorating the distinctive limp Yu reportedly developed due to his exhausting labors in flood control.

Establishment of the Xia Dynasty

Around 2070 BCE, according to Chinese literary tradition, Yu the Great officially establishes the Xia Dynasty, China’s first imperial dynasty characterized by hereditary succession. Named after Yu’s own Si clan, the Xia Dynasty symbolizes the crucial transition from tribal or collective leadership structures to formal, dynastic monarchy. Some early historical sources alternatively suggest the Xia Dynasty originated as a confederation of agricultural village leaders organized primarily for defense against northern nomadic intrusions from Mongolia and Manchuria.

Though modern historians debate the Xia Dynasty’s precise historical veracity, its cultural importance is undisputed. Yu’s reign, particularly his legendary founding acts—including organizing China into nine zhou (provinces) during meetings at Mount Miao—establishes an enduring template for subsequent Chinese imperial administration.

Legacy of the Era: Climatic Stress, Cultural Resilience, and Dynastic Foundations

Thus, the era 2205–2062 BCE represents a decisive turning point in Maritime East Asia’s historical and cultural trajectory. On the Korean Peninsula, early agricultural experimentation complements traditional subsistence strategies, signaling nascent complexity within Jeulmun societies. In China, environmental stress triggers the decline of the previously dominant Longshan culture, marking a pivotal cultural shift toward simpler, dispersed societies. Meanwhile, legendary sage-rulers Shun and Yu symbolize enduring models of governance, moral virtue, and technological innovation, culminating in the foundational legacy of China’s earliest recognized dynasty—the Xia.

These developments set critical precedents, profoundly shaping the social, political, and cultural foundations upon which future civilizations throughout Lower East Asia continue to build.

At least fourteen sites from Korea's Middle Jeulmun period (circa 3500-2000 BCE) have yielded evidence of cultivation in the form of carbonized plant remains and agricultural stone tools. (Choe, C P and Martin T Bale (2002) Current Perspectives on Settlement, Subsistence, and Cultivation in Prehistoric Korea. For example, Crawford and Lee, using AMS dating techniques, directly dated a domesticated foxtail millet (Setaria italica ssp. italica) seed from the Dongsam-dong Shellmidden site to the Middle Jeulmun (Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee 2003. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. Antiquity 77(295):87-95.).

Another example of Middle Jeulmun cultivation is found at Jitam-ri (Chitam-ni) in North Korea.

A pit-house at Jitam-ri yielded several hundred grams of some carbonized cultigen that North Korean archaeologists state is millet.

However, not all archaeologists accept the grains as domesticated millet because it was gathered out of context in an unsystematic way, only black-and-white photos of the find exist, and the original description is in Korean only.

Cultivation was likely a supplement to a subsistence regime that continued to heavily emphasize deep-sea fishing, shellfish gathering, and hunting.

"Classic Jeulmun" or Bitsalmunui pottery in which comb-patterning, cord-wrapping, and other decorations extend across the entire outer surface of the vessel, appeared at the end of the Early Jeulmun and is found in West-central and South-coastal Korea in the Middle Jeulmun.

The Neolithic population in China had reached its peak during the Longshan culture.

The drought associated with the 4.2 kiloyear BP aridification event may have caused the collapse of Neolithic cultures around Central China during the late third millennium BCE.

In the Yishu River Basin, the flourishing Longshan culture is hit by a cooling that makes the rice paddies fall short in output.

The scarcity in natural resource leads to substantial decrease in population and subsequent drop in archaeological sites, marked by the disappearance of high-quality black pottery found in ritual burials.

About 4000 cal. yr BP, Longshan culture is displaced by cultures that are relatively underdeveloped, simple and unsophisticated.

Chinese events during this period are shrouded in legend, according to which the emperor Shun, later characterized by Confucius as a model of integrity and resplendent virtue, rules China.

Shun is credited with standardizing weights and measures, regulating waterways, and organizing the kingdom into twelve provinces or regions.

During his reign, marvelous phenomena reportedly occur in the heavens and on earth.

He makes the ingenious Yu, the Tamer of the Flood, his successor.

(Later Chinese traditions will honor this legendary culture hero as the shaper of the country's waterways and the originator of bronze technology.

The Taoist ritual known as Yu's Step, a dance in which one foot is dragged behind the other, commemorates the limp Yu supposedly developed as a result of his exhausting labors.)

As Yu the Great, he inaugurates China's Xia dynasty, named for the Si clan from which Yu springs, in about 2070, making the rulership hereditary in his family and thereby founding the first imperial dynasty in China. (According to other Chinese literary sources, this earliest Chinese dynasty is derived from a leading member of the village agricultural units that cooperated in valley defense against perennial intrusions of mounted nomad archers from Mongolia and Manchuria to the north.)

The Sintashta culture emerges from the interaction of two antecedent cultures.

Its immediate predecessor in the Ural-Tobol steppe was the Poltavka culture, an offshoot of the cattle-herding Yamnaya horizon that moved east into the region between 2800 and 2600 BCE.

Several Sintashta towns were built over older Poltovka settlements or close to Poltovka cemeteries, and Poltovka motifs are common on Sintashta pottery.

Sintashta material culture also shows the influence of the late Abashevo culture, a collection of settlements in the forest steppe zone north of the Sintashta region that were also predominantly pastoralist.

The first Sintashta settlements appear around 2100 BCE, during a period of climatic change that sees the already arid Kazakh steppe region become even more cold and dry.

The marshy lowlands around the Ural and upper Tobol rivers, previously favored as winter refuges, become increasingly important for survival.

Under these pressures both Poltovka and Abashevo herders settle permanently in river valley strongholds, eschewing more defensible hilltop locations.

Hillforts appear in many parts of central Europe and western Britain at the same time that new fighting methods are adopted.

The Middle East: 2205–2062 BCE

Transition, Collapse, and Cultural Resilience

Decline of Akkadian Dominance

For the period 2205 to 2062 BCE, the Middle East experienced significant upheaval and cultural transformation. Akkadian dominance over southern Mesopotamia, despite their military might, proved short-lived, lasting approximately two centuries. By 2180 BCE, Akkadian rule was destabilized by an extended period of drought, accompanied by widespread abandonment of settlements in northern Mesopotamia. Archaeological evidence documents migrations and dramatic population shifts southward as northern agricultural plains became unsustainable.

Invasions and Defensive Measures

The fall of Akkadian authority coincided with invasions by the Gutians, mountain tribesmen from the eastern Zagros region, and the Amorites (Mar.tu), nomadic groups from the northwest. These incursions prompted the construction of a defensive barrier, known as the "Repeller of the Amorites," stretching approximately 180 kilometers across central Mesopotamia.

Gutian Rule and Agricultural Decline

Gutian rule was marked by administrative inefficiency and neglect of vital infrastructure such as irrigation canals, leading to agricultural decline and widespread famine. During this period, much of southern Mesopotamia fell into a "dark age" characterized by reduced prosperity and trade collapse, exemplified by dramatic shrinkage at sites like Tell Brak.

Elamite Revival and Subsequent Decline

In Elam, located in modern-day southwestern Iran, independence from Akkadian influence was restored under Kutik-Inshushinak around 2240 BCE. His reign saw a brief revival of cultural identity, including the adoption of the Linear Elamite script. Despite this resurgence, Elam soon succumbed to Gutian incursions, disrupting its autonomy once again.

Lagash and Cultural Flourishing

Meanwhile, the city-state of Lagash, under rulers such as Ur-Bau and Gudea, entered a period of relative independence and cultural flourishing. Gudea, renowned for his artistic patronage, commissioned significant temple-building projects, importing materials from regions as distant as Arabia and the Lebanon mountains. His statues, crafted in fine diorite, reflect a zenith in Sumerian neo-classical art.

Climatic Crisis and Urban Collapse

Severe climatic conditions around 2200 BCE, likely exacerbated by volcanic eruptions, led to widespread drought across the region, causing the abandonment of sites such as Tell Leilan and significant population movements. Cities across the Levant were similarly devastated, many destroyed by fire and earthquakes; notable among these was Byblos, destroyed around 2150 BCE yet retaining its historical significance as one of the oldest continually inhabited cities.

Ziggurats and Religious Authority

Ziggurats, emblematic Mesopotamian religious structures, began achieving new architectural complexity during this period. Constructed primarily as stepped pyramids topped by temples and dedicated to local deities, these structures symbolized the close relationship between religious authority and urban governance. Important cities such as Nippur continued as religious centers, conferring legitimacy to regional rulers.

Thus, despite facing significant ecological, military, and political challenges, this period of Mesopotamian history witnessed both cultural resilience and innovation, laying critical foundations for future civilizations.

Akkadian hegemony over southern Mesopotamia lasts only two hundred years, despite their military prowess.

Sargon 's great-grandson is overthrown by the Guti, a mountain people from the east.

The fall of the Akkadians and the subsequent reemergence of Sumer under the king of Ur, who defeats the Guti, ushers in the third phase of Sumerian history.

In this final phase, which is characterized by a synthesis of Sumerian and Akkadian cultures, the king of Ur establishes hegemony over much of Mesopotamia.

Sumerian supremacy, however, is on the wane.

The prosperous era that had arisen about 2500 BCE in the Aegean, Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia lasts until about 2200, coincident with the onset of the 4.2 kiloyear BP aridification event, caused by an unknown agency and resulting in both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

These events are associated with a three-century-long dry spell in the Near East, the worst in the past ten thousand years.

What appears to be a sudden, unanticipated, catastrophic reduction in the Nile floods over two or three decades, caused by a global climatic cooling, reduces the amount of rainfall in Egypt, Ethiopia, and East Africa, contributing to the great famine and subsequent downfall of the Old Kingdom.

The desiccation of northeastern Africa reaches a peak in this age, producing conditions similar to those of modern times.

Water levels in the Nile drop precipitously.

It is very likely that it is the cause of the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt as well as the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.

The drought may have also initiated southeastward habitat tracking within the Harappan cultural domain.

A phase of intense aridity in ≈4.2 ka BP is well recorded across North Africa, the Near East, the Red Sea, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, and even mid-continental North America.

Glaciers throughout the mountain ranges of western Canada advance at about this time.

Evidence has also been found in an Italian cave flowstone, and in Andean glacier ice.

The onset of the aridification in Mesopotamia near 4100 BP also coincided with a cooling event in the North Atlantic, known as Bond event 3.

The Subatlantic climatic period, which largely pertains to Western Europe, follows, characterized in general by rather mild winters and fairly warm summers.

Images of horses, identified by their short ears, flowing manes, and tails that bushed out at the dock, began to appear in artistic media in Mesopotamia during the Akkadian period, 2300-2100 BCE.