Years ago, a student asked renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead what she thought the first sign of civilisation was. The student wanted to know when she thought humans *truly* distinguished themselves from other animals. The student was expecting Mead to reference clay pots, tools, religious artefacts, evidence of storytelling, or something similar.

Her response: she believes the first evidence of civilisation is a 15,000 year-old fracture femur bon that had healed. She explained": it takes weeks or months to truly heal a broken femur…which, in the animal kingdom, means certain death. A broken leg means you cannot find shelter, run from danger or hunt for food. Other animal species will typically abandon a member of the pack that sustains a major injury like a broken leg.

So this healed femur bone indicated something special: that someone (or a group of people) had devoted significant time, energy and resources to help a very vulnerable person. They put another person’s life before their own.

In time of increasing division and hostility, it’s helpful to be reminded that this is what it means to be civilised: to be compassionate, selfless, tender, and merciful.