The ancestry of the jewelry we know can be traced in large part back to its origins in Mesopotamia. The great early civilizations developed along major river valleys. The Su-merian civilization was born in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Egypt rose along the Nile. India ascended from the Indus River and, in the Far East, China developed on the banks of the Hwang. As these civilizations prospered, so did their goldsmiths. It seems certain that Sumerian o;old-smiths had developed the art and craft to a high degree for their own use by 3000 B.C. Remarkable jewelry pieces have been recovered by archeologists during systematic excavations around Ur of the Chaldees, a great city which was the center of Sumerian culture at that time. In one grave—for Queen Shubad —there was an incredible cheap engagement rings treasure trove. The Queen herself had a kind of beaded coverlet made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and other kinds of chalcedony. By her side were found hairpins of gold with lapis lazuli heads. She wore ornate head ornaments fashioned of gold rings, leaves, and flowers. Her ladies-in-waiting—buried with her along with all her other attendants—wore gold diadems and other jewelry.