8000BC: Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia refers to the place where humans first formed civilisations. It was here that people first gathered in large cities, learned to write, create governments and farm land. For this reason Mesopotamia is often called the 'Cradle of Civilisation.' The word Mesopotamia means 'the land between rivers.' Today this land is located mostly in the country of Iraq. This is the backbone of human history as we know it.

"The history of Mesopotamia outlines a blueprint, a warning so to speak for humanity. The Mesopotamians made a crucial er, they devastated the environment around them by over populating and over farming the land. The environment died and so then did they. There is a clear relationship between environmental devastation and the decline of their civilisation. If that is not warning enough for mankind today, I don't know what is. We haven't learnt from our mistakes yet, we are doomed to the same fate as the Mesopotamians."

John Hughes, Historian, 2001

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