Ancient Near East

[to Wikipedia editors- this article needs major rewriting and expansion]

The ancient Near East or ancient Middle East refers to the early civilizations predating classical antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East, a region which includes Egypt, Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq, the Levant (Modern Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan), the Arabian Peninsula, Persia (Modern Iran, and Anatolia (Modern Turkey). Some users of the term would extend its application into the Caucasus region, into modern Afghanistan (see Bactria, and into Modern Greece (see Minoan and Mycenaean Greece). The Ancient Middle East refers to a period of time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BCE to the expansion of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BCE. As such, it is a term widely employed in the fields of Near Eastern archeology, ancient History and Egyptology. The Middle East, especially an area known as the Fertile Crescent is thought to be the cradle of civilization and was home to the first farming communities 11,000 years ago.

5th millennium BCE

Stone age (2,000,000 BP - 3300 BCE)	Paleolithic (2,000,000 BP - 8300 BCE)	Lower Paleolithic	2,000,000 BP - 300,000 BP
		Middle Paleolithic	300,000 BP - 30,000 BP
		Upper Paleolithic	30,000 BP - 12,000 BP
		Epipaleolithic	12,000 BP - 8300 BCE
	Neolithic (8300 BCE - 4500 BCE)	Pre-pottery Neolithic	8300 BCE - 5500 BCE
	Neolithic (8300 BCE - 4500 BCE)	Pottery Neolithic	5500 BCE - 4500 BCE
	Chalcolithic (4500 BCE - 3300 BCE)	Early Chalcolithic	4500 BCE - 4000 BCE
	Chalcolithic (4500 BCE - 3300 BCE)	Late Chalcolithic (Ghassulian)	4000 BCE - 3300 BCE
Bronze Age (3300 BCE - 1200 BCE)	Early Bronze Age (3300 BCE - 2000 BCE)	Early Bronze Age I	3300 BCE - 3000 BCE
		Early Bronze Age II	3000 BCE - 2700 BCE
		Early Bronze Age III	2700 BCE - 2200 BCE
		Early Bronze Age IV	2200 BCE - 2000 BCE
	Middle Bronze Age (2000 BCE - 1550 BCE)	Middle Bronze Age I	2000 BCE - 1750 BCE
		Middle Bronze Age II	1750 BCE - 1650 BCE
		Middle Bronze Age III	1650 BCE - 1550 BCE
	Late Bronze Age (1550 BCE - 1200 BCE)	Late Bronze Age I	1550 BCE - 1400 BCE
		Late Bronze Age II A	1400 BCE - 1300 BCE
		Late Bronze Age II B	1300 BCE - 1200 BCE
Iron Age (1200 BCE - 586 BCE)	Iron Age I (1200 BCE - 1000 BCE)	Iron Age I A	1200 BCE - 1150 BCE
	Iron Age I (1200 BCE - 1000 BCE)	Iron Age I B	1150 BCE - 1000 BCE
	Iron Age II (1000 BCE - 586 BCE)	Iron Age II A	1000 BCE - 900 BCE
		Iron Age II B	900 BCE - 700 BCE
		Iron Age II C	700 BCE - 586 BCE

Ancient Near East.net — an information and content portal for the archaeology, ancient history, and culture of the ancient Near East and Egypt
Archaeowiki.org—a wiki for the research and documentation of the ancient Near East and Egypt
ETANA — website hosted by a consortium of universities in the interests of providing digitized resources and relevant web links
The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium
Resources on Biblical Archaeology
Ancient Near East Photographs This collection, created by Professor Scott Noegel, documents artifacts and archaeological sites of the ancient Near East; from the University of Washington Libraries Digital Image Collection

Jack Sasson, The Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, New York, 1995
Marc Van de Mieroop, History of the Ancient Near East: Ca. 3000-323 B.C., Blackwell Publishers, 2003