Cities investigates the symbiotic link between urban living and civilization—there have been no cities without civilization, no civilizations without cities. The world’s first settlements were in Mesopotamia, where the emergence of farming created the calories necessary for people to feed themselves on a permanent basis. This led to an exponential increase in population and a blossoming of innovation —civilization itself.

Originally released by PBS, 2018. Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on December 04, 2018.

Gobekli Tepe (4:29); --Sociability and Cultural Evolution (3:12); -- Agricultural Revolution (3:37); -- Asikli Höyük (3:04); -- Early Permanent Dwellings (3:52); -- Early Farming Challenges (5:28); -- Specialization (3:53); -- Arslantepe Archaeological Site (4:42); -- Embryonic Dictatorship (2:40); -- Creating a Social Glue (1:57); -- Sumerian City of Ur (3:34); -- Mesopotamian Middle Class and Innovations (6:25); -- Urban Brain Analogy (3:44); -- Credits: First Civilizations: Part 3 (0:31); .