Not Mesopotamia, but the world's oldest city existed in THIS country, hints evidence | CPT PPP Coverage

New archaeological evidence has suggested that the world’s first cities did not come into existence in Mesopotamia or Central Asia, but actually emerged in Ukraine.

In the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung’s recent publication, the researchers talked about the remnants of what appeared like “the largest city in the world” which were scattered pottery shards.

These Trypillia mega-sites date back to 4000 BCE in Ukraine, which makes it the oldest urban settlement of the world.

These archaeological discoveries not only push the origins of cities back in time but also, as per Euromaidan Press, “It sparks heated debates about early social organization, sustainability, and what a city even is.”

Archaeologist from the University of Kiel, Joseph Muller, started researching these giant settlements in Ukraine in 2011, on the basis of the foundational research done in the 1960s.

More than 250 sites were first identified by a military topographer which featured intriguing vegetation patterns like concentric formations that hinted at human construction.

The researchers used geomagnetic techniques and unveiled structures hidden beneath the surface of the Earth, which included discovering Trypillia megasites that span more than 100 hectares.

The Trypillia mega-sites, which are among the earliest planned cities known, were not anything like modern-day urban centres.

As reported by U-krane, the sites were circular or oval in shape and the houses were in concentric rings, with boulevards or wide corridors in between them.

“These are the first planned cities of humanity,” stated NZZ (Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung) as it noted that the best site is better than Monaco in size and can be compared to Central Park.

Watch: Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass urges German museum to return Nefertiti’s bust

According to the evidence, the houses were made of wood and clay and were likely to have been burned down in an ancient conflict.

“Individual graves are something with which the group of burying people represents their role to others. This reflection of social structures does not exist here,” said Müller. “If there are no graves marked in an archaeologist-friendly way, that does not mean that a cult of the dead did not exist,” he added.

The new discoveries have challenged our earlier assumptions as per which urbanisation took place in the later period of human history.

(With inputs from agencies)

We compile ‘news of the day’ content in an unbiased manner and contextually classify it to promote the growth of knowledge by sharing it just like Not Mesopotamia, but the world's oldest city existed in THIS country, hints evidence