Civilization
Main articles: History of the world and Cradle of civilization Further information: History of Africa , History of the Americas , History of Antarctica , and History of Eurasia Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci epitomizes the advances in art and science seen during the Renaissance. Throughout more than 90% of its history, Homo sapiens lived in small bands as nomadic hunter-gatherers . As language became more complex, the ability to remember and communicate information resulted, according to a theory proposed by Richard Dawkins , in a new replicator: the meme .Ideas could be exchanged quickly and passed down the generations. Cultural evolution quickly outpaced biological evolution , and history proper began. Between 8500 and 7000 BC , humans in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals:...