From the Levant: architects of civilization
First permanent villages, before farms
Culinary pioneers, creators of royal red
For generations, we've been told a compelling story about human progress: agriculture enabled permanent settlements, which in turn gave rise to organized societies, religious institutions, and the foundations of civilization. It's a tidy narrative that places farming at the heart of humanity's great leap forward. But recent archaeological discoveries tell a far more intriguing tale.
Hunter-gatherers, it turns out, were busy building the foundations of civilization long before the first wheat field was planted. From sophisticated settlements to monumental temples, these pre-agricultural societies challenge our fundamental assumptions about human social development. (1)
(Podcast version of the article if you prefer to listen, otherwise read on!)
Podcast: The Natufians,
Pioneers and Trendsetters
The Natufians: Early Pioneers in the Levant
Consider the Natufians of the Levant, who established the first known permanent villages some 12,000 years ago across what is now Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan. These innovative hunter-gatherers constructed dwellings of stone and mud brick, including impressive round structures that demonstrated architectural sophistication. Their settlements grew to house up to 500 people, featured community buildings and shared food storage facilities - suggesting sophisticated social organization rather than primitive chaos. The Natufian name was coined by Dorothy Garrod, the archeologist who first discovered such settlements, near Wadi Al Natuf, a river valley in the Palestinian West Bank. (2)
The Natufians created a complex material culture that would influence civilizations for millennia to come. They made considerable advancements in the development of tools, such as stone sickles, mortars and pestles, fishing hooks, harpoons, and needles. Natufians engaged in long distance trade, as evidenced by the provenance of different materials at excavation sites.
Their culinary achievements were equally impressive. Not only did they create what appears to be the world's oldest known bread—a pita-like creation—but they also left behind evidence of humanity's first known brewery. These hunter-gatherers had mastered the art of fermentation long before the advent of systematic agriculture. (3) The Natufians ensured a stable food supply and a varied diet, by relying on a mix of hunting, foraging, and farming. They gathered wild wheat, barley, and lentils and hunted large mammals such as gazelles and wild boars.
Their sophistication extended to aesthetics. Perhaps their most lasting innovation was the creation of red madder dye, an organic red pigment which provided a richer and more intense red as compared to mineral-based pigments such as ochre that had been commonly used at the time. (4)
It took sourcing materials from hundreds of miles away and quite a bit of work to create this vibrant, distinctive madder red color and associated ornaments. Red madder dye would later become a symbol of power and prestige across ancient civilizations, from the Indus Valley to the Ancient Egyptians. Madder pigment was also used in the shroud of Turin, and in paintings by Vermeer and Van Gogh. (5)
All in all, the Natufians played a key role in the transition towards agricultural villages, and their innovations shaped the trajectory of human societies.
Temples Before Settlements
Another striking challenge to conventional wisdom comes from Göbekli Tepe in modern-day Turkey. This monumental site, dating back 11,500 years, features massive pillars carved with menacing creatures - lions, snakes, vultures, and scorpions. Built by hunter-gatherers, it required hundreds of people working together to construct, suggesting sophisticated social organization long before agriculture took hold.
The site appears to have been a seasonal gathering place, corresponding with periods of natural abundance when gazelle herds roamed the plains and wild plants were plentiful. These hunter-gatherers created a ritual center that brought large groups together for elaborate feasts and ceremonies—the kind of social complexity traditionally associated with much later agricultural societies.
A Richer Story of Civilization's Origins
What emerges from these findings is not a story of sudden transformation through agriculture, but rather one of gradual innovation driven by sophisticated hunter-gatherers. The Natufians, in particular, demonstrate how the foundations of civilization—permanent settlements, social organization, technological innovation, and long-distance trade—preceded systematic farming.
This revised understanding of our past carries profound implications for how we think about human social development. Rather than seeing civilization as a product of agriculture, we might better understand agriculture as one of many innovations that emerged from already complex societies. The true story of civilization's origins, it seems, is far richer and more nuanced than we once imagined.
(1) For more information, refer to the thought-provoking book The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber and David Wengrow
(2) The archeologist was Dorothy Garrod, who was a pioneer in her own right, and later became the very first woman professor at Cambridge University. She worked mostly with women as she lived in a segregated society. Her excavations in Palestine were conducted almost entirely by local Palestinian women whom she trained. Only befitting that the avant-garde Natufians were discovered by a trail blazer for women! See Dorothy Garrod - Wikipedia
(4) The Natufian culture: A brighter shade of red (archaeology.wiki) Note that red madder pigment was eventually widely used, until 1870 with the development of less expensive synthetic pigments.
(5) Madder was also used in Ancient Rome - though it was replaced by Tyrian purple as the ultimate status symbol. Tyrian purple was produced by the Phoenicians, with the city of Tyre being the most renowned for its production. The process of producing this purple was extremely labor-intensive and time consuming, making it a highly coveted and expensive dye. In Rome the color was reserved for the Imperial family, the most senior senators, and victorious generals during triumph processions.