The world in the 12th century BCE

In the 12th century BCE (1200 to 1101 BCE), the timeline shows 20 states, empires and colonies and 135 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Shang dynasty, New Kingdom of Egypt, Hittite Empire (New Kingdom), Phoenician city-states and Kuru Kingdom.

Previous: 13th century BCE Next: 11th century BCE

Events

• 1200 BCE Late Bronze Age collapse, Europe. Palaces at Mycenae, Pylos and Thebes burn and Linear B writing disappears as trade across the eastern Mediterranean breaks down.
• 1200 BCE San Lorenzo rises as the first Olmec center, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. Olmec rulers at San Lorenzo carve colossal basalt heads from stone dragged some 60 km from the Tuxtla Mountains.
• 1177 BCE Late Bronze Age collapse, Middle East. Within a few decades Hattusa is abandoned, Ugarit is burned and Sea Peoples raid the coasts. The palace states of the eastern Mediterranean collapse.

Central and Southern Africa

• Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Khoisan hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 1100 CE
• Pastoral Neolithic herders c. 3000 BCE to 700 CE
• East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Lower Congo hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Great Lakes hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Pre-settlement Madagascar c. 3200 BCE to 400 CE

North and West Africa

• New Kingdom of Egypt c. 1550 to 1069 BCE
• Nok culture c. 1500 BCE to 1 CE
• Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Cushitic-speaking pastoralists c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
• Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Middle Nile herders and farmers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Saharan cattle pastoralists c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Tropical forest hunter-gatherers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Ethiopian highland farmers c. 3000 to 980 BCE
• Tichitt culture c. 2200 to 400 BCE
• Land of Punt c. 2500 to 980 BCE
• Gajiganna culture c. 1800 to 800 BCE
• Egyptian Nubia (Viceroyalty of Kush) c. 1500 to 1070 BCE
• Libu and Meshwesh c. 1250 to 945 BCE

Europe

• Nuragic civilization c. 1800 to 238 BCE
• Nordic Bronze Age c. 1700 to 500 BCE
• Urnfield culture c. 1300 to 750 BCE
• Mycenaean Greece c. 1600 to 1100 BCE
• Volga Finnic peoples c. 1800 BCE to 1100 CE
• Baltic Finnic tribes c. 1500 BCE to 1250 CE
• Thracians c. 1200 BCE to 46 CE
• Talayotic culture c. 1300 to 123 BCE
• Bronze Age Gaul c. 1800 to 800 BCE
• Lusatian culture c. 1300 to 500 BCE
• Middle and Late Bronze Age Britain c. 1500 to 800 BCE
• Srubnaya culture c. 1800 to 1200 BCE
• Atlantic Bronze Age c. 1300 to 700 BCE
• Cogotas I culture c. 1700 to 1100 BCE
• Terramare culture c. 1700 to 1150 BCE
• Apennine culture c. 1600 to 1150 BCE
• Tumulus culture c. 1600 to 1200 BCE
• Proto-Villanovan culture c. 1200 to 900 BCE

Middle East

• Hittite Empire (New Kingdom) c. 1400 to 1180 BCE
• Phoenician city-states c. 1200 to 332 BCE
• Middle Assyrian Empire 1365 to 912 BCE
• Kassite Babylonia c. 1595 to 1155 BCE
• Middle Elamite period c. 1500 to 1100 BCE
• Zagros highland peoples c. 3200 to 800 BCE
• Arabian pastoral nomads c. 3200 to 900 BCE
• Dilmun c. 2800 to 544 BCE
• South Semitic peoples of Yemen c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Canaanites c. 3200 to 1150 BCE
• Troy c. 3000 to 1180 BCE
• Byblos c. 2800 to 1200 BCE
• Hurrians c. 2500 to 1000 BCE
• Luwians c. 2000 to 700 BCE
• Colchian culture c. 1700 to 600 BCE
• Ugarit c. 1800 to 1185 BCE
• Philistines c. 1175 to 604 BCE
• Babylonia (Isin II and later dynasties) c. 1155 to 626 BCE
• Iranian-speaking pastoralists c. 1200 to 700 BCE
• Syro-Hittite states c. 1180 to 710 BCE
• Egyptian Canaan c. 1550 to 1130 BCE
• Nairi tribes c. 1200 to 860 BCE
• Israelite tribes c. 1200 to 930 BCE

South Asia

• Kuru Kingdom c. 1200 to 500 BCE
• Rigvedic tribes c. 1500 to 1100 BCE
• Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Balangoda culture c. 3200 to 900 BCE
• Eastern Iranian peoples c. 1500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Microlithic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Neolithic and Chalcolithic farmers of the Ganges c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Early Dravidian-speaking peoples c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Southern Neolithic c. 3000 to 1200 BCE
• Gandhara grave culture c. 1600 to 500 BCE
• Megalithic culture of the Deccan c. 1200 to 100 BCE
• Iron Age villages of western India c. 1200 to 200 BCE
• Pandu Rajar Dhibi culture c. 1600 to 750 BCE
• Jorwe culture c. 1400 to 700 BCE
• Painted Grey Ware culture c. 1200 to 600 BCE

Central and North Asia

• Andronovo culture c. 2000 to 900 BCE
• Uralic hunter-fishers of western Siberia c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Baikal hunter-fishers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Yaz culture c. 1500 to 500 BCE
• Andronovo herders of Dzungaria c. 1800 to 900 BCE
• Karasuk culture c. 1500 to 800 BCE
• Deer stone and khirigsuur culture c. 1400 to 700 BCE

East Asia

• Shang dynasty c. 1600 to 1046 BCE
• Jomon culture c. 3200 to 300 BCE
• Sanxingdui culture c. 1700 to 1150 BCE
• Formosan Austronesian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Qiang peoples c. 1300 BCE to the present
• Neolithic farmers of the Tibetan plateau c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Amur and Ussuri foragers c. 3200 to 1100 BCE
• Mumun pottery period c. 1500 to 300 BCE
• Shu kingdom (Jinsha) c. 1150 to 316 BCE
• Maqiao culture c. 1900 to 1200 BCE

Southeast Asia

• Austronesian peoples c. 2200 BCE to 900 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers c. 2000 BCE to 500 CE
• Ban Chiang culture c. 2000 BCE to 200 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers of the Mekong c. 2000 BCE to 100 CE
• Austronesian peoples of Sumatra and Malaya c. 1500 BCE to 500 CE
• Austronesian farmers of Java and Wallacea c. 1500 BCE to 400 CE
• Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 2000 BCE to the present
• Neolithic and Bronze Age farmers of Burma c. 2000 to 200 BCE
• Phung Nguyen and Dong Dau cultures c. 2000 to 1000 BCE

North America

• Arctic Small Tool tradition c. 2500 to 800 BCE
• Poverty Point culture c. 1700 to 1100 BCE
• Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
• California Archaic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Shield Archaic c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Plains Archaic hunters c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Maritime Archaic c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Eastern Archaic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Locarno Beach and Marpole cultures c. 1800 BCE to 500 CE
• Basketmaker culture c. 1500 BCE to 750 CE
• Early Agricultural period farmers c. 2100 BCE to 50 CE
• Pre-Dorset c. 2500 to 500 BCE
• Saqqaq culture c. 2500 to 800 BCE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

• Olmec civilization c. 1600 to 400 BCE
• San Lorenzo phase (Olmec) c. 1400 to 900 BCE
• Casimiroid culture c. 3200 to 200 BCE
• Ortoiroid culture c. 3200 to 400 BCE
• Desert Archaic foragers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Archaic foragers and gardeners of the isthmus c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Archaic maize farmers c. 3200 to 1200 BCE
• Archaic peoples of the Maya region c. 3200 to 1200 BCE
• Early farmers of the northern deserts c. 1500 BCE to 700 CE
• Monagrillo culture c. 2500 to 1200 BCE
• San José Mogote c. 1500 to 500 BCE
• Mokaya culture c. 1900 to 1000 BCE
• Tlatilco culture c. 1200 to 400 BCE
• Early Preclassic Maya villages c. 1200 to 600 BCE

South America

• Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Sambaqui shell-mound builders c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Interior Archaic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Pampas and Patagonian Archaic hunters c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Mayo-Chinchipe culture c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Amazonian Archaic foragers c. 3200 to 1000 BCE
• Chiripa culture c. 1500 to 100 BCE
• Kotosh religious tradition c. 2300 to 1200 BCE
• Chorrera culture c. 1300 to 300 BCE
• Cupisnique culture c. 1500 to 500 BCE
• Casma valley centers (Sechín) c. 1800 to 900 BCE
• Machalilla culture c. 1800 to 1100 BCE

Oceania

• Aboriginal Australian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Lapita culture c. 1600 to 500 BCE
• Papuan farmers and foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Kuk Swamp agriculture c. 3200 to 500 BCE
• Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1280 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 to 100 BCE
• Pre-Latte Chamorro c. 1500 BCE to 900 CE