Although the earliest examples of writing may be traced back to the Early Bronze I period, the first literary texts date to the Early Bronze III. In Sumer these took the form of royal inscriptions and wisdom sayings; in Egypt the earliest literature was a collection of magical incantations known as the “Pyramid Texts.” However, Egypt’s greatest achievement for this period does not lie in the field of literature but in architecture with the construction of the pyramids of Giza.

The efflorescence of literary activity in the Early Bronze III did not bypass the Levant, where the Eblaite civilization arose on the plains of Syria. The discovery of their archive was totally unexpected.

Further west, among the rolling hills of north-central Anatolia, we have what arguably is the beginning of the “Hattic” civilization. Further west still, on the Aegean coast, the first Trojans built their city on the Hellespont while another remarkable civilization flourished on the Cyclades. We will see if it possible to trace the outlines of Greek and Hittite civilization in the earliest strata of these early bronze cities.

The following is a roadmap for this section.