By about 3500 B.C., there had developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia a highly advanced social and economic life. (II) Copper and bronze were being used, although on a limited scale, and trading contacts with other countries had been established. (III) It is the opinion of most archaeologists that civilisation first developed in the Middle East. (IV) Many of these contacts were with Syria, which, lying between Egypt and Mesopotamia, had participated at an early date in the general advance of material and cultural development. (V) Moreover, Syria was endowed with a number of resources that were lacking in Egypt and Mesopotamia.