Before the invention and introduction of writing, such as cuneiform all information and knowledge was passed along verbally, either through direct transmission or through stories passed down.

It is not as if all of a sudden civilization started because of writing and nothing happened before, but these events coincide and are somewhat mutually dependent on each other. The earliest know civilizations were ones such Sumerian’s and Egyptians were located in areas that had boasted large human populations for thousands of years. But several human inventions, and some good ol climate change, greatly altered how these people lived.

Humans have been hunter-gatherers for the vast majority of their existence on this planet, relying on the fauna and flora that nature provides and did not rely on permanent settlements. In fact staying in one place was almost impossible and large heavy items counter productive. Any given area could only support human population for so long before its resources would be exhausted and a time for regrowth needed. As well, animal herds, such as deer, move. The area needed to support a relatively small number of people was significant, encouraging dispersal of populations and, also, dispersal of information learned by these people.

This is where climate change is key, which has been given such a bad reputation lately. Climate change is one of the most important factors in the story of us.

The climate of the Fertile Crescent (the cradle of civilization) and Egypt altered greatly between 9000-4000bce. After the end of the last ice age in 12000bce huge amounts of fresh water released from the melted ice sheets caused more rain, larger monsoons, formation of lakes, etc. This encourages and fostered our former way of life.

However, between 9-4000bce the climate changes dramatically AGAIN. The monsoons, for example, that had shifted north and made the Sahara desert fertile grassland suitable for animal herds, shifted back south and (for simplicity sake I am going to use Egypt as an example but the same can be said of almost all western civilizations) desertification began to transform North Africa back into a desert and roughly what we know it as today.

Now. What were these widely dispersed hunter gatherers to do? They needed the huge tracts of space to support their lively hoods and the populations of animals they needed to survive. Less suitable space meant more people living in that space. As the grasslands receded, population density rose.

Fast forward a few thousand years to about 5000bce. All those scattered hunter gatherers that had been spread out happily over North Africa had found themselves crammed into comparatively small spaces (again, using Egypt for example) along the Nile, which was the only area that could support large populations. But that area could and would not support a large population of hunter gatherers. Something had to change or these people would simply die from starvation.

Enter agriculture. While animal husbandry had been around a little while longer, agriculture was a game changer. While hunter gatherers need huge spaces to survive, an efficient farmer can support a much larger population with less space. Perfect!

Now they can farm. Why leave and roam around from place to place like they had in the past? Why not stay on their farms, irrigate and fertilize the fields and thus never have to move? This encouraged permanent settlements, towns, cities. Where once large heavy objects were a hindrance to movement (ever been camping?) now they were incredibly useful (think farming tools). All of a sudden we have CIVILIZATION!

Now, and this is where writing and civilization are co-dependent, we have a city with a large population that isn’t going anywhere. They can’t run off to greener pastures at the first sign of famine. Granaries and supplies are needed for tough times.

On top of that, now that one farmer can support several people, those who are not busy in the fields can now be specialized to certain tasks. Now we can have carpenters, metal workers, soldiers, etc.

How could they keep track of how much grain they had in storage? How much bronze the metal worker needed to forge the spears for the army? How much wood the carpenter needed to build the houses? How much pay the army got? Writing, and with it the beginning of recorded history.