the.com/ancient cities
proof that humans have always preferred living on top of each other, on purpose.
means urban settlements built thousands of years ago that pioneered the very idea of civilization: density, law, trade, and other people's business.
from the word city traces to the latin civitas, meaning citizenship or community, but the thing itself predates the word by millennia, starting with grain surpluses that let people stop farming and start arguing in public.
first cityuruk hit 40,000 people around 3100 bce
catalhoyuk oddityno streets, houses entered through the roof
jericho's wallsbuilt around 8000 bce, before pottery existed
sewer techmohenjo-daro had covered drains 4,500 years ago
for instance
uruk — mesopotamian city that gave the world writing, around 3100 bce
catalhoyuk — anatolian settlement of 8,000 people with no visible streets
mohenjo-daro — indus valley city with better plumbing than medieval london
teotihuacan — mexican metropolis of 125,000, builders unknown to this day