I get Discover Magazine because my son is interested in science. He’s still too young to read Discover, but I figure with his growing interest in science it’s wise for me to start brushing up. I’m happy to report that the magazine is always fascinating. Even so, I sometimes get behind in my reading. Fortunately, I didn’t recycle the December 2009 issue without taking a look. I recently picked it up and became engrossed in The Dawn of Civilization: Writing, Urban Life, and Warfare by Andrew Lawler (the article is now available online if you want to read it– see below). Archeologist Joan Oates has discovered amazing finds in a place called Brak in Syria. It looks like the discovery of Brak, which dates to about 3,800 B.C., will rewrite history. Oates’s team has evidence that Brak is the location of the first known cities. According to the article, conventional wisdom had it that urban life began a 1,000 years later in today’s Iraq. Here’s the kicker: Oates’s team even discovered that Brak had suburbs! That’s right, folks. Don’t let anyone tell you that it began with Levittown. The ‘burbs are quite literally as old as the dawn of civilization!

If you’re interested in the article, it’s now available online at discovermagazine.com

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