Bearers of the Lapita culture, known for their dentate-stamped pottery, settled islands from the Bismarck Archipelago to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, laying the foundations of Polynesian societies.
The Nok culture flourished in present-day central Nigeria, known for its terracotta sculptures and as one of the earliest iron-smelting cultures in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Olmecs develop the earliest known complex civilization of Mesoamerica along Mexico's Gulf Coast, known for their colossal stone heads.
A Bronze Age and early Iron Age culture of the Red River valley and north-central Vietnam, famous for its bronze drums.
Siddhartha Gautama attains enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and teaches in the Ganges plain, founding Buddhism.
In the desert of southern Peru, the Nazca and earlier cultures create enormous geoglyphs on the ground, best seen in full from above.
Athenian forces defeat the first Persian invasion of Greece.
The Greek fleet, urged on by Themistocles, defeats the Persian navy, turning the tide of Xerxes' second invasion of Greece.
A small Greek force led by the Spartan king Leonidas holds off the Persian army of Xerxes I before being overwhelmed.
Seven major states vie for supremacy for over two centuries, an era that also sees the flourishing of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
Under Pericles, the Athenians build the Parthenon on the Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena.
A long war between Athens and the Sparta-led Peloponnesian League ends in Athens' defeat.