Chapter 1 The Birth of Civilization

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Culture may be defined as the ways of living built up by a group and passed on from a generation to another. It includes behavior such as courtship and child-rearing practices; material things such as tools, clothing, and shelter; and ideas, institutions, and beliefs. Language, apparently a uniquely human trait, lies behind our ability to create ideas and institutions and to transmit culture from one generation to another. Our flexible and dexterous hands enable us to hold and make tools and so to create the material artifacts of culture. Because culture is learned and not inherited, it permits rapid adaption to changing conditions, making possible the spread of humanity to almost all the lands of the globe.

During the Paleolithic,