"In general terms, there are two eras that characterize the 200,000 years or so of human presence on Earth: first, and for most of this time, the hunter-gatherers, nomadic groups that roamed the land in search of food and shelter. Then came what we call "civilization," product of the fixation of larger groups around fertile areas. Presumably, the first were the Natufians some time around 10,000 BCE, along the swath of land between Israel and Jordan."

"Knowledge of past civilizations and culture depends crucially on what archeological excavations are able to find, and on how these findings are interpreted. It is possible that other agricultural societies were already established before the Natufians and we simply haven't been able to uncover any evidence. This is a basic trait of so-called historical sciences, where what at one time is known as the "first" may be superseded by new discoveries. In a sense, the search is endless."