Cycles of Civilization: Rise and Fall

Hello there, and welcome to Mindful Universe, where quiet curiosity meets the deep currents

of human history and wonder is allowed to unfold slowly without rush. Tonight,

we're going to explore one of the most profound questions we can ask about our species and

our past. What if the story of civilization isn't a simple upward climb from caves

to cities? What if it's a more complex narrative, a story that loops and repeats,

that rises and falls, that has been interrupted and restarted more than once? We're taught a particular

narrative about human history. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers for hundreds of

thousands of years, living in small bands, following game animals, gathering plants,