31st century BC

The 31st century BC was a century that lasted from the year 3100 BC to 3001 BC.

Events

Spiral design altar block from the Tarxien Temples of Malta, uncovered by Sir Themistocles Zammit

Front and back sides of Narmer Palette, this facsimile on display at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The palette depicts Narmer unifying Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.

• c. 3100 BC: Polo (Meitei: Sagol Kangjei^[a]) was first played in Manipur state.^[b][2][3]
• c. 3100 BC?: The Anu Ziggurat and White Temple are built in Uruk.
• c. 3100 BC?: Predynastic period (Neolithic) ends in Ancient Egypt.
• c. 3100 BC?: Early Dynastic (Archaic) period starts in Ancient Egypt.
• c. 3100 BC?: The first temple of Tarxien is in use by the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta.^[4]
• c. 3100 BC?: First stage in the construction of Stonehenge.^[5]
• c. 3100 BC: Oldest adobe building in the Americas was built in Peru.
• c. 3100 BC – 2600 BC: Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, Scotland is inhabited.^[6]
• c. 3090 BC: Narmer (Menes) unifies Upper and Lower Egypt into one country; he rules this new country from Memphis.
• c. 3051 BC: The oldest currently living organism, a Great Basin bristlecone pine, undergoes germination in the White Mountains of California.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Drainage and sewage system in the Indus Valley
• Dams, canals, stone sculptures using inclined plane and lever in Sumer and the Tigris–Euphrates Valley
• Copper was in use, both as tools and weapons.
• Senet, one of the oldest-known board games in the world is invented.
• c. 3100 BC – Invention of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt
• The Sydney rock engravings date to around 3000 BC (Sydney, Australia).^[7]

Notes

1. This name is mentioned in the record.
2. The Guinness World Records clarified the record of the origin of polo as Manipur (3100 BC) in 1991 edition, from its former record, Persia mentioned in 1984 edition.^[1]