Ok kiddo, so a really, really long time ago, before anyone wrote things down or had fancy technology, there were people who lived in different parts of the world, like in places we now call Egypt and Mesopotamia. These people were called ancient civilizations, and they did some pretty cool things.
One of these ancient civilizations, called the Sumerians, lived in Mesopotamia around the year 4000 BCE (that's a really big number!). They were some of the first people to ever use writing, and they wrote on clay tablets with a tool called a stylus instead of using paper and pencils like we do now.
They also built really big temples and cities, designed irrigation systems to bring water to their crops, and even made laws so that everyone knew how to behave. They were really smart and creative, and they inspired other civilizations soon after to do great things too.
So, 40th century BCE is a way to talk about a time long, long ago when these ancient civilizations were just starting to create amazing things that would impact the world for thousands of years to come.