Before we learn and study the Tree of Life in detail, perhaps it is best we start with a brief lesson in history and proceed all the way back to the rise of civilization.
When focusing on one aspect of a culture, past or present, it is important to examine other aspects of the culture. In doing so, we begin to understand the reasoning behind and why importance was placed on the one aspect being studied, which is in our case The Tree of Life.
We Start with What we Know
For the purpose of finding a place to start*, we begin with what our current, written history tells us is the rise of and beginning of civilization. That is, the time we observe the first humans migrating out of Africa and leading less nomadic lives in a somewhat, partial agrarian society with the beginnings of animal husbandry. It is this setting that describes the rise of civilization.
The Rise of Civilization as Cureently Understood - The Natufian Culture in the Levant
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| image credit - Natufian Culture location, map as of 10,000 to 8,500 B.C.E |
- The rise of civilization begins with the Natufian culture, 13,000 to 9,800 B.C.E.
Natufian culture location is in the Levant (or Levantine region), an umbrella term describing the geographical location that covers the expanse of land east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Mesopotamia, south of the Taurus Mountains and north of the Arabian Desert in southwest Asia at the time of the Natufian people.
When we look at the birth of civilization, we proceed back further to understand how this first civilization came to be. Looking at the Natufian culture does this nicely. We observe humans coming out of Africa for the first time, finding this region and beginning less-nomadic, new sedentary lives. Furthermore, it is the Natufian who begin work with grain farming and animal husbandry.
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| Image Credit - mortars and grinding stones from Natufian Culture |
It is here where we see the first evidence of hunter-gatherers beginning a more sedentary lifestyle. The Tell Abu Hureva shows that a small village existed with small huts made of wood, brushwood and reeds. Inside the huts were underground storage places for food. It is during this time that we discover the first cereal grains were harvested, like wheat and, especially rye. It is the harvesting of small grains for food (versus collecting larger berries and nuts from plants) that helps pave the way for agriculture.
It is also important to note that the Levant at the time of the Natufian Culture was bio-diverse woodlands and not the arid, dry desert it is today. Therefore, as the hunter-gathers began working with grain, they also had plentiful access to hunting and gathering plant foods in one area, all allowing for a more sedentary lifestyle.
The video below, The Natufian Culture and the Origins of Agriculture, is an excellent tool for learning about the rise of civilization, the Natufian Culture in the Levant:
This video is from John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist. Paleoanthropology is a fascinating field of anthropology that includes studying the fossils of hominids. You can watch other John Hawks videos and read his personal blog.
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| Click to book pic on AMAZON |
* I know countless believe the birth of civilization originates much further back to the stars, which is why I emphasize what our current, accepted, history of civilization is based on our current academic understandings.
An offsite dissertation you may be interested in:
Material Images of Humans from the Natufian to Pottery Neolithic Periods in the Levant Vol. 1 Text
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