What was the longest-lasting civilization?

Published

2 years ago

May 30, 2023

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Ancient Egypt, China and Mesopotamia are all frequently cited as long-lasting civilizations, enduring for thousands of years. But which of these societies lasted the longest?

It turns out, that’s not a straightforward question, for a few reasons. First, modern historians and archaeologists don’t agree on a single definition of a civilization, including when one begins and when one ends, and many experts are doubtful whether civilizations can be measured in this way.

Second, all great civilizations had periods when they were ruled by “foreigners” — the Hyksos in Egypt, for example — which complicates whether they should be considered continuous civilizations.

Third, the culture near the beginning of a civilization might have been different from the culture near its end. As a result, many modern historians and archaeologists do not consider the idea of “civilization” useful; instead, they talk of “cultures” and “traditions.”

Related: What’s the world’s oldest civilization?

The situation was different 100 years ago, when historians and archaeologists were happy to label some cultures as “civilizations.” In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was “a complicated acceptance of a hierarchy of human societies,” in part to justify European colonial empires, Rowan Flad, an archaeologist at Harvard University, told Live Science.

“There was no difficulty for people who were coming from a European or American standpoint to identify certain traditions and certain cultures as being civilized, and others not,” he said.Is China the longest-lasting civilization?

This Chinese text may be the oldest known atlas of the human body. (Image credit: The History Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)

By most measures — the use of writing, the establishment of cities (what “civilization” originally meant) or continuous traditions — it seems the Chinese civilization may be the longest-lasting. How it should be measured, however, is disputed.

“It depends on how you define civilization and how you define Chinese, because I think there are reasonable multiple ways you can define both of those concepts,” said Flad, an expert in the emergence of complex societies in China.

As an example, he highlighted Chinese writing; forms of the same symbols are used today and on the 3,200-year-old Oracle Bones, the earliest examples of writing in China.

“When you think about the [Chinese] written language, there’s absolutely no controversy that there’s continuity from 3,250 years ago or so to the present,” he said.

But the same criterion can’t be used elsewhere, Flad said. For example, the earliest writing in the Americas is attributed to the Olmecs in about 900 B.C. Writing was also known to the Maya after about 250 B.C. But the Incas, who ruled parts of South America for about 400 years until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, seem to have had no writing (although they used knotted cords called quipu or khipu to encode information.)Ancient and modern China

Fog along the Great Wall of China (Image credit: Darrell Gulin via Getty Images)

Based on the archaeology of early states in what’s now Chinese territory, including Neolithic ruins of the Liangzhu culture in the Yangtze River Delta, it’s sometimes claimed that Chinese civilization is over 5,000 years old. But some historians see China’s present as too different from its past for it to qualify as one continuous civilization.

“I don’t think that what is happening today in China is closely related to things that happened, say, before 1949 [China’s revolution under Mao Zedong] or 1911 [the Xinhai revolution that ended China’s last imperial dynasty],” Julia Schneider, a conceptual historian at University College Cork in Ireland, told Live Science.

Related: Have any human societies ever lived underground?

Schneider, an expert in China’s history, noted that pro-Chinese politicians and historians sometimes claim China’s civilization is the world’s longest-lasting, as “a point of legitimacy.” But “what was Chinese? — that is the problem.” The region encompassed a vast area and many different ethnicities at different times, and what happened in the Chinese heartlands could be “culturally very far away” than what happened elsewhere, she said.Egypt and Mesopotamia

An ancient relief of an Assyrian god from Mesopotamia. (Image credit: Gilmanshin via Getty Images)

Next to China, ancient Egypt and then Mesopotamia are usually considered the longest-lasting civilizations. By one estimate, measuring from the time of the first pharaohs and the use of hieroglyphic writing until its native religion was replaced by Christianity, the ancient Egyptian civilization endured for about 3,500 years.Related mysteries—What is the oldest-known archaeological site in the world?

—Who was the world’s first author?

—What was the largest empire in the world?

But Egypt was sometimes ruled by foreign dynasties, and both hieroglyphics and the Egyptian religion had different forms at certain times.

In Mesopotamia, Sumerian writing began in about 3200 B.C., and worship of Mesopotamian gods probably lasted until the third century A.D., Philip Jones, associate curator and keeper of collections at the Babylonian section of Philadelphia’s Penn Museum, told Live Science. By that count, Mesopotamia might be seen as lasting as long as the Egyptian civilization.

“What most people mean by ‘civilization’ has to be understood as a high-level extrapolation that tends to lose focus when you look more closely,” Jones said. “But, that said, unless history is to be seen as an almost infinite set of micro-events, people have a right to expect historians to attempt to divide history into more manageable chunks.”

World

‘They’re the ones who wronged us’: Freed Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi rebukes UK and US over ‘harm they’ve caused’

Published

57 mins ago

February 1, 2025

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'They're the ones who wronged us': Freed Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi rebukes UK and US over 'harm they've caused'

One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released by Israel has told Sky News that the world has ignored Palestinians and says Britain is one of the countries he blames for taking away his freedom.

Zakaria Zubeidi was imprisoned in 2019 after being found guilty by an Israeli military court of involvement in terrorism.

He was released as part of the ceasefire agreement and welcomed back to the West Bank by crowds of well-wishers, including the man who was prime minister less than a year ago.

Analysis: Zubeidi an ‘extremist’ to Israel but inspiration to Palestine

In his first interview with a European broadcaster, Zubeidi told Sky News he still believes in “a resistance that will lead us to freedom” but claimed that Israeli occupation of the West Bank was wholly down to the international community.

“My life is worthless without freedom,” he said, speaking in Ramallah. “Freedom has no price. But the world that has denied me my freedom – particularly Britain, France, and the United States – must return what they have taken from me and my children.

“They are the ones who need to reconsider their mistakes, not me.

“They are the ones who have wronged us, and they should think about rectifying the harm they have caused to me and my children.”

Zubeidi, whose mother, brother and son have all died as a result of Israeli military action, has admitted involvement in a 2002 bombing that killed six people.

However, he has also been acclaimed by many in the West Bank as a symbol of the resistance.

He was famously part of a group of prisoners who briefly escaped their Israeli jail after using kitchen utensils to dig a tunnel.

“My message to the Palestinian people is to prioritise their safety and well-being because the assault being carried out against them is immense. I have no message for the occupation [Israel],” he said.

“My message is to the world – the same world that granted the occupation the right to live on my land – to grant me my freedom.”

In common with many other released prisoners, he claimed to have been beaten while behind bars, saying: “The situation in Israeli prisons is extremely harsh. We’ve witnessed it all: severe beatings, attack dogs, relentless insults. Every form of abuse imaginable has been inflicted on the bodies of our prisoners.”

While many in Israel will consider Zubeidi to be a dangerous, murderous extremist, he is considered a totemic figure in the West Bank, and a natural leader in Jenin, where he grew up in a refugee camp.

After being released, Israeli authorities banned him from returning to Jenin.

Instead, he has remained in Ramallah, where a long line of people came to a school building to shake his hand and hug him.

Among them, former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned less than a year ago.

He embraced Zubeidi and told Sky News the release of prisoners could be a catalyst for an enduring peace deal.

“We would like to see all prisoners released and we would like to see all hostages going home,” said Mr Shtayyeh.

He continued: “It’s a historic moment for everybody. It’s time for this bloodshed to stop. And I think it is a moment of truth for everybody.

“In Gaza, 60,000 people have been killed, more than 120,000 have been injured. And of course, there have been so many casualties in Israel, too.

“We know that. And this time Palestinians are desperate for peace. We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody.”

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The offensive followed Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when it took 250 people hostage and killed around 1,200 others.

UK

‘We’ll play some more soon’: Emails believed to be from Prince Andrew to Epstein after he claimed to cut contact revealed

Published

57 mins ago

February 1, 2025

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'We'll play some more soon': Emails believed to be from Prince Andrew to Epstein after he claimed to cut contact revealed

The Duke of York told Jeffrey Epstein they would “play some more soon!” two months after he claimed he cut contact with the convicted paedophile.

The emails were disclosed in a filing by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are defending an appeal by former Barclays boss, Jes Staley.

Staley is challenging a decision to ban him from the industry for misleading regulators on his ties to Epstein, one of the most severe measures the FCA can impose.

The court documents show an exchange of messages between Epstein and “a member of the British Royal Family” – believed to be Prince Andrew. It suggests the duke and Epstein – who killed himself in jail in 2019 – were in contact for longer than he has previously admitted.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. After his release, Epstein and the duke were photographed walking together in New York’s Central Park, in December 2010.

The prince has claimed this was the last contact he had with Epstein.

In a 2019 interview with Newsnight, Andrew said he visited Epstein in person to tell him they could no longer be friends, believing it was the “honourable” thing to do.

Yet emails between the pair, which were handed to a court in London, show they kept exchanging messages until at least 27 February 2011.

On this date, Andrew emailed Epstein: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”

The disgraced duke has come under fire for his relationship with the paedophile financier. In 2022, he settled a multi-million pound claim with Virginia Giuffre, who said she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with the royal.

Andrew stepped down from royal duties and public life and had claimed he never met Ms Giuffre. He agreed to settle the claim without admitting liability.

He has previously strenuously denied all allegations against him.

Newsnight interview ‘ill-advised’ – aide

Other court documents released on Friday revealed one of the prince’s senior aides admitted in a letter to an alleged Chinese spy that the duke’s Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis was “hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful”.

Dominic Hampshire wrote to Yang Tengbo on Buckingham Palace notepaper in March 2020.

In the letter, he said they “have dealt with the aftermath of a hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful television interview”.

Mr Hampshire praised Mr Yang, writing that “in what originally seemed like a lost cause, you have somehow managed to not only salvage but maintain and then incredibly, enhance the reputation of my principal [Prince Andrew] in China.

“Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor; we orchestrated a very powerful verbal message of support to China at a Chinese New Year’s dinner and between the three of us, we have written, amended and then always agreed a number of letters at the highest level possible.”

Mr Yang said in a statement on Friday the spying allegations against him are “entirely unfounded”.

The Jes Staley emails

Emails showed Epstein inviting Andrew to meet Staley on 27 February, saying: “jes staley will be in London on next tue afternoon, if you have time [sic].”

Andrew replied: “Jes is coming on 1st March or next week?”

The pair then engaged in a discussion about press articles, before the duke told Epstein they would “play some more soon”.

Sky News has contacted Prince Andrew for a comment.

The prince still making uncomfortable headlines for his family

Just when you thought Prince Andrew couldn’t fall any further, another twist emerges in his shameful association with Jeffrey Epstein.

He’d claimed the last time he had contact with the convicted paedophile was in December 2010, when the pair were infamously photographed together in Central Park.

The Duke of York insisted he thought he was being “honourable” when choosing to stay with Epstein and personally tell him they could no longer be friends.

But this email suggests the pair stayed in touch beyond this date. We don’t know for how long, but it leaves Prince Andrew once more facing difficult and damaging questions about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

And yet again, Andrew’s judgement is under considerable scrutiny.

Last year had ended badly for the disgraced Duke after his association with an alleged Chinese spy was exposed. He had to keep clear of the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas day gathering at Sandringham.

The Duke of York has always denied witnessing or suspecting any of Epstein’s behaviour.

But their friendship cost him his reputation.

He now leads a reclusive life in Windsor, stripped of responsibility and royal roles. Yet still making uncomfortable headlines for the rest of his family.

Environment

This is New Jersey’s largest high-rise residential rooftop solar array

Published

2 hours ago

January 31, 2025

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This is New Jersey's largest high-rise residential rooftop solar array

New York-based real estate developer LeFrak has installed the largest rooftop solar array on a high-rise multifamily residential building in New Jersey.

The Beach, a 336-unit waterfront rental tower in Jersey City’s Newport neighborhood, now hosts a 180kW, 450-panel rooftop solar system that will offset 13% of the building’s carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 37 gas-powered cars from the road annually. Sunkeeper Solar, a Brooklyn-based solar energy company, installed the nearly $1 million system.

The new rooftop solar offsets energy produced by electrical systems used in The Beach’s common area spaces, including those that power elevators and lighting, as well as cooling and ventilation in the high-rise building’s lobby and amenities. The Beach’s roof design and the building’s orientation optimize the amount of solar power generated by the system.

“Solar makes sense on multi-family buildings, and especially because Jersey City is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, projects like this should become the bar for new development. Going solar saves consumers money, reduces air pollution, and creates a more resilient energy grid – solar is a double green amenity,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.

Last year, LeFrak partnered with EV-sharing platform Envoy to offer Newport residents exclusive car-sharing benefits and access to a fleet of on-site electric vehicles, representing Envoy’s first expansion into New Jersey.

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