Hmm.
"'Civilisation did not arise as the result of a benign environment which allowed humanity to indulge a preference for living in complex, urban civilised societies,' he told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
"'On the contrary, what we tend to think of today as civilisation was an accidental by-product of unplanned adaptation to catastrophic climate change. Civilisation was a last resort,' he added.'
TODO Re-read Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel for contrast.
[download paper]
