The Rise of the Cities Part 1: What Is a City?

How do we know an ancient site is really a city?

Byblos, one of the oldest cities in human history. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons.

In human history, there have been two major revolutions that have significantly affected our lives. The first was the Neolithic revolution when we abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and became farmers. Next was the urban revolution, which began with the urbanization of farming communities, laying the groundwork for future human progress.

The urban revolution was a watershed moment in human history. We had more time to focus our energy on innovations once we had food security. But have you ever thought about when we stopped living in small farming communities and decided that city life was better?

Or did specialization in skills force people to move to cities? There was a clear division of labor once humans realized we all have unique talents that are better used for the overall progress of the community.

In this four-part series, my focus will be on the urban revolution and the rise of cities. My in…