The Birth of Civilization Was Revealed in this 15,000-year-old Fractured Femur
Margaret Mead, the famed anthropologist, was queried by a student about what she would consider the first sign of civilization in society. Clay pots, fishing hooks, hunting tools, grinding stones, or religious symbols would have been what the student expected as an answer. Instead, Mead asserted that the discovery of a 15,000-year-old fragment of a femur at an archaeological site was the first proof of civilization.
The femur is the longest and strongest bone in the human body, connecting the hip to the knee. A broken femur is extremely painful and incapacitating. Even with access to modern healthcare, a broken femur can take four to six months to heal properly. The discovered bone had fractured and then had healed.
In the animal world, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, you cannot drink or hunt for food, and if discovered by predators, you will be eaten. No wild creature survives a broken leg. Someone took the time to stay with the injured person, bandage their wounds, apply a splint, carry them to safety, and care for them as they recovered. According to Mead, civilization began when people put others' welfare above their self-interest to help each other through difficult times.
Insight and Application
The safety and security found within your tribe were one of the first hallmarks of civilization. In a recent TED Talk, leadership guru Simon Sinek expresses the idea that employees who do not feel safe expend all their energy protecting themselves. They do not take healthy risks, fulfil only their required duties, are reluctant to share credit, and blame others when things go awry. Employees who feel secure in their organization are more apt to act in the company's interest because they do not have to worry excessively about themselves or their position. They look after colleagues and customers, own up to their blunders, and share credit and recognition.
Safety, in all its forms, physical, psychological, emotional, and financial, allow employees the security to perform at their best.
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