There is perhaps no better example than the Fertile Crescent as the way in which the power
of nature shaped and influenced the philosophy of humanity. Located in a zone with
Mediterranean-like climate, minor and damp winters paired with longer warm and dry
summers, an abundance of domesticable animals and a wide variety of domesticable plant
life, the region allowed many species of plants to survive and evolve, leading the
population to settle into a food production model and boosting population and relative
health and wealth. The Fertile Crescent’s Mediterranean zone also allowed for a vast range
of environments such as mountains and its high altitudes. Diamond stated, “Its range of
elevations, from the lowest spot on Earth to mountains of 18,000 feet” (140). The different
environments created by nature allowed for variety and diversity in plant species to be
discovered, leading to an increased knowledge of wild plants to domesticate in order to
take advantage of its resources. The hunter-gatherers of Tell Abu Hureyra are an example
of how nature effected the development and thinking of the people of that particular
region. With their knowledge and understanding of the nature that surrounded them, the
hunter-gatherers of Tell Abu Hureyra collected and congregated local wild plants that
benefitted them the most and avoided wasting their time and energy and potential
poisoning from collecting wild plants that they weren’t familiar with. Early in the
colonization of the Fertile Crescent, nature and its components and resources helped man
develop the domestication of animal and plants, which helped to change the way humanity
