Before Writing: The Hidden Beginnings of Human Civilization

Using archaeological evidence and newer research methods, I trace the largely undocumented transition from mobile communities to farming, settlements, and early cities. The account spans roughly 12,000 years and explains what traces in stone, bone, and clay can reveal—and what remains unknown about people’s lives and beliefs.

■ From early settlements to farming
- Taş Tepeler, Göbekli Tepe, and the growth of agriculture and exchange
- Çatalhöyük, household life, and practices surrounding the dead
■ Change, crisis, and the first cities
- Farming’s spread, conflict, and adaptation to climate disruption
- Uruk, administration, early accounting, and the emergence of writing

For viewers interested in archaeology, prehistory, or the origins of civilization, this offers a broad chronological framework and examples of how evidence is interpreted. Watch for a perspective that places modern life within a longer human timeline, while keeping in mind that many personal details from this period cannot be recovered; the closing section also presents the Human Era calendar and related artbooks.