The Holy Land was the first region to enter the Bronze Age, which began with the rise of the Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. The Bronze Age period covered an entire millennium. One of the most important discoveries about the period is the link between the Early Bonze Age and the First Dynasty of Egypt, which was based on the presence of Canaanite vessels among the funerary offerings in the royal tombs of the First Dynasty. These vessels have become one of the cornerstones in the chronology of the Near East in the Early Bronze period. Numerous other types of vessels are known from this area.
Animals occupied an important place in ancient art across a number of civilisations and in a variety of media such as painting, pottery, jewellery.
