Once, a student asked Margaret Mead...

Once, a student asked Margaret Mead (a well-known anthropologist) where civilization began. The student expected answers like the wheel, clay pottery shards, fish hooks, or other ancient tools. But Mead’s answer was surprising: “In a cave where a healed and mended femur was found,” she replied with a smile. To the question: Why? She explained: Because in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You can’t hunt, you can’t escape from predators — you simply can’t survive. But a healed femur means someone stayed. Someone helped. Someone cared enough to protect you, feed you, and wait with you. Someone was patient. The first sign of civilization is not an invention, my dear ones, she told them — it is compassion and patience. The heart.