Figure 10.6 The world’s first cities arose in six urban hearth areas. The dates shown are conservative figures for the rise of urban life in each area. For example, some scholars would suggest that urban life in Mesopotamia existed by 5000 b.c.e. Ongoing discoveries suggest that urban life appeared earlier in each of the hearth areas and that there are probably other hearth areas—in West Africa, for example (see also the World Heritage Site on The Great Zimbabwe National Monument in Chapter 1).