It may be understood from the passage that early civilisations in Asia .............. .

Early civilisations in Asia achieved high levels of
development within the traditional agricultural economies
on which they depended. There were brilliant
achievements in art, architecture, language and literature,
as well as early science and technology. Many of the
devices that Europeans later came to depend on
originated in Asia, such as gunpowder, paper, the wheel
and the compass. While European civilisation was slow
developing during the Middle Ages, Asia's great
civilisations flowered in unmatched brilliance and
prosperity. When Marco Polo travelled to China in the 13th
century, he marvelled at the magnificence of China's
great civilisation, already 3,000 years old. Less famous
Europeans were to echo him later.