[Picture of text that reads:]
Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.

But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough to heal.

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken the 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 else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said

    • CethinEnglish
      33•1 year ago

      It’s a meme in the original sense of the word meme:

      an element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other nongenetic means.

      I think we should share those memes too.

      • ProdigalFrogEnglish
        20•1 year ago

        I think there could be a place for that, but the sidebar for this community does say ‘When you need a laugh’, so maybe we could create another community for that kind of meme?

        • poVoq
          1•1 year ago

          Or just change the sidebar description? But this is something for the mods of this community to decide. If they think this thread is off topic they can easily delete or lock it.

          • ProdigalFrogEnglish
            1•1 year ago

            Fair enough, and it did get quite a lot of upvotes to be fair.

    • @samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
      19•1 year ago

      Also, she never said that and humans aren’t the only animals who care for their injured. Pretty much a fail all around.