Years ago anthropologist Margret Mead was asked by a student what she thought was the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fish hooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mean quotes "The first sign of civilization in a culture was a femur that had been broken and then healed".
Mead explained that in the animal kingdom if you break your leg, you die. A broken femur that is healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety, and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone through difficulty is where civilization starts.”
Much later YouTube John Green discovered that “It’s all a lie.” We don’t know the source of this quote, the start of civilization has more to do with taxes than any of us would like, and a broken femur doesn’t automatically mean death in the animal kingdom. But worst of all, people have died from femur fractures while living in civilization. Like John says, “It’s a seductive lie, perhaps because at its core it's true.”