The story of human civilization has long been told as a gradual process, from farming to cities, but this narrative may be outdated. The emergence of Homo sapiens around 300,000 years ago and the development of civilizations 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia have led some to believe that agriculture was the catalyst for urbanization.
However, new discoveries suggest that this assumption is flawed. Cities sprouted up across various regions, including India, China, Egypt, and central Europe, around the same time as Mesopotamia. Moreover, research indicates that agriculture may not be the driving force behind civilization, but rather a response to an unsustainable hunter-gathering lifestyle.
A significant clue lies in Göbekli Tepe, southern Turkey, which has yielded a 12,000-year-old megalithic site featuring circular enclosures and T-shaped stone pillars. This finding challenges our understanding of the early development of civilizations. The construction of such monumental structures would have required large-scale cooperation among workers and leaders.
By reevaluating this timeline and definition of civilization, archaeologists can gain a more nuanced understanding of human history and societal evolution.
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535311-400-were-uncovering-a-radically-different-view-of-civilisations-origins