WHETHER you think the human story begins in a garden in Mesopotamia known as Eden, or more prosaically on the savannahs of present-day east Africa, it is clear that Homo sapiens did not start life as an urban creature.

• 无论认为人类历史始于被称作伊甸园的美索不达米亚地区花园，还是在如今平淡无奇的东非大草原，有清楚明白：现代人类起源并不在城市。