5000-500 B.C 3 Horse domesticated on south Russian steppe. 3000 Minoan civilization starts, the earliest in Europe. 3000  Silk first produced in China. 3000 Sumerians develop first writing system. 2500 Domestication of the Bactrian and Arabian camel, vital for desert travel. 1700 Horse-drawn chariot introduced in Near East. 1500 Iron technology developed in Asia Minor. 1500 Seminomadic stockbreeding tribes inhaabit steppes. 900 Spread of mounted nomadism. 753 Rome founded. 707 Cimmerians, earliest-known mounted nomads, defeat k ...