Think of great cities of the past and images of crowded streets, bustling markets, and houses crammed together probably come to mind. But what if I told you that this vision could be completely wrong? Recent archaeological discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of ancient cities, revealing a level of sophistication that challenges our assumptions.
Far from being hotbeds of disease, many of these early urban settlements were designed with a public health focus that could still teach us something today. It's time to reconsider everything we thought we knew about ancient urban life.
A Journey Through Time: Çatalhöyük, The Cradle of Urbanization
Imagine being able to go back in time over 9.000 years. You would find yourself in Çatalhöyük, in what is now Turkey, in what is thought to be the oldest agricultural village in the world. Here, thousands of people lived in mud-brick houses, so close together that the inhabitants entered their homes through a ladder and a trap door in the roof. It seems like a chaotic organization, doesn't it? And yet, there was method to this apparent madness.
Archaeologists have discovered that the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük kept their homes incredibly clean, regularly sweeping the floors and even plastering the interior walls several times a year. This attention to hygiene was no accident: it was a first line of defense against disease in an era when humans were beginning to live in close proximity to domestic animals.
The Mysterious Escape: When Ancient Cities Were Empty
Despite these efforts, around 6000 BC, Çatalhöyük was mysteriously abandoned. The population dispersed into smaller settlements in the surrounding plain and beyond. This was not an isolated case: other large agricultural populations in the region dispersed at the same time.
What caused these early cities to disintegrate? The answer may lie in ancient DNA. Scientists They identified the presence of bovine tuberculosis in the region as early as 8500 BC, and shortly thereafter in human infant bone remains. Salmonella It has been dated to 4500 BC. It is possible that zoonotic diseases, transmitted from animals to humans, have reached a critical point, making life in densely populated cities too risky: but the story of ancient cities does not end there.
Urban Rebirth: The Mega-Cities of Trypillia
About 2.000 years later, around 4000 BC, large urban populations reappeared in the megalithic settlements of the Trypillia culture, west of the Black Sea. Places such as Nebelivka e Maidanetske, in present-day Ukraine, housed thousands of people. But this time, something was different. What?
Ancient cities, new design, the same goal: survival
The hundreds of two-story wooden houses of the 4000 BC settlements were arranged in concentric ovals, spaced evenly apart. They were grouped into wedge-shaped neighborhoods, each with its own large assembly house. This arrangement was no accident either: it may have played a crucial role in preventing the spread of disease.
Researchers Alexander Bentley e Simon Carrignon they decided to test this theory using computer simulations (find the research here). And they found that this “cluster” arrangement can significantly reduce foodborne disease outbreaks.
The Legacy of Ancient Cities
Ancient cities have left us more than just ruins to admire. They have taught us valuable lessons about how to adapt and survive the challenges of urban life, including disease. From Çatalhöyük to Nebelivka, we see a progression in urban planning that reflects a growing awareness of the importance of design in public health.
Although the inhabitants of these ancient cities probably did not fully understand the mechanisms of disease transmission, their instinct to avoid signs of contagion shaped the way they built their settlements. The periodic intentional burning of houses in Nebelivka, for example, may have been a pest control tactic.
Lessons for the present
As we address our modern health challenges, we might draw inspiration from these ancient solutions. Social distancing, which has become so familiar to us during the recent pandemic, is not a modern invention. It was already embedded in the design of ancient cities thousands of years ago.
The early cities of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indochina Valley, which developed around 3500 BC, took these lessons to a new level. With tens of thousands of inhabitants, these cities introduced innovations such as specialized neighborhoods, food storage systems, and public waterworks, all of which contributed to public health.
Our ancestors found creative ways to adapt and thrive – and thank you to modern technologies we are discovering that some solutions to tomorrow's problems are hidden in the foundations of yesterday's cities.
