ABSTRACT
Human beings lived as hunter-gatherers long before the first glimmers of civilization—including agriculture and cities—appeared in what is today the Middle East. There, starting about 5,000 years ago, three great cultures arose that had a particularly lasting impact on Western Civilization: ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and ancient Israel. Early humans left no written records, and only a few archaeological traces, so little is known about their daily lives, but we do know that the first humans developed two remarkable traits: language and culture. No historical records exist that can tell us why the first cities in Mesopotamia and Egypt were created. It seems that, as agriculture grew more intensive and productive, cities developed naturally to facilitate trade. Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were both arid regions. The basis of the economy was agriculture, so careful engineering was required to store and channel precious water.
