The Birth of Cities in Ancient West Asia

Abstract

In what amounts to the blink of an eye in the history of humanity, we have become city dwellers. At the start of human existence, everyone moved; all human groups were hunters and foragers who moved seasonally, following the annual cycles of plants and animals. This pattern prevailed for millions of years. In West Asia, groups began staying in one place for some or all of the year only about 15,000 years ago. By 5000 years ago, cities had appeared. Today, the majority of humans on earth live in urban settlements. It was the most dramatic and rapid transition in human history. Where did it start, and how did it happen?