3rd millennium BC

From top left clockwise: Pyramid of Djoser; Khufu; Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; Cuneiform, a contract for the sale of a field and a house; Enheduana, a high priestess and one of the earliest known authors in history; Gudea (Background: Standard of Ur). The 3rd millennium BC spanned the years 3000 to 2001 BC. This period of time corresponds to the Early to Middle Bronze Age, characterized by the early empires in the Ancient Near East. In Ancient Egypt, the Early Dynastic Period is followed by the Old Kingdom. In Mesopotamia, the Early Dynastic Period is followed by the Akkadian Empire. In what is now Northwest India and Pakistan, the Indus Valley Civilization developed a state society.

World population growth relaxed after the burst due to the Neolithic Revolution. World population was largely stable, at roughly 60 million, with a slow overall growth rate at roughly 0.03% p.a.