Inspired by this story: “Many years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead asked students what they considered the first sign of civilization. The students expected Mead to talk about fishhooks, clay pots, or dressed stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture is a femur that was broken and then healed. Mead explained that if a living creature in the animal kingdom breaks a leg, then with a broken leg it cannot escape. danger, reaching the river to drink or hunt for food. It becomes prey for predators as the bone takes quite a long time to heal. A femur that has been broken and then healed is evidence that someone has taken the time to stay with. those who suffered this injury, bandaged the wounds, carried the person to safety and guarded him until he recovered. Helping another person during a difficult period is the act where civilization begins, Meade said. "For the record, even more. inspiring after M. Mead's quote about human culture and humanity: Animals of other species also care, heal, support in difficult times. For example, vampire bats practice hunting “with reserve” for those who are sick and cannot fly out (and they have such a thing: if you don’t eat for one day, you die). Moreover, they remember which of their brothers showed concern, and, if necessary, will repay them in kind. Dolphins also take care of sick or injured relatives. It is known that a healthy dolphin will swim under a sick one for several hours in a row, thereby pushing it to the surface of the water so that it can breathe. Etc. But here's something else interesting. Survival for those who have suffered injury or illness is not easy. And it’s true that sometimes you need to put in a lot of effort to pull someone else out. Paleontologist Drobyshevsky writes that people showed concern for their neighbors 2 million years ago - examples of bone fusion, skeletons of people who lived to an advanced (conditionally) age, which show some of the diseases they had suffered. They would be less than likely to survive their vicissitudes without outside help. For example, Shanidar I without an arm and an eye, Shanidar IV with a broken rib on his back, a Neanderthal woman without a hand, Shanidar V with a healed head wound - and other examples from Asia (Mappe, a man with a healed “hole” star in his forehead; Saint-Césaire in France, where part of the head seemed to have been completely blown off, but the wound had healed) - they still lived for several years, if not a couple of decades, after receiving injuries. And what are those who lived without, for example, teeth worth? You understand that this significantly changes the nutrition process. In addition to living with and healing injuries, an example of human care is caring for those who are born with a pathology that clearly complicates their survival. And he lived to adulthood and old age. This is one of the signs that help was provided in those around him, there was no such thing as someone who was abandoned as unnecessary, undesirable. Probably, I am writing all this again to remind you of the love that I believe in. Multiple examples of mutual assistance in the animal world and in human societies can be interpreted as barter, mutual exchange. As in the example of vampire mice - you give me, I give you. In insects, altruism and self-sacrifice are motivated by some biological program, it is an instinctive reaction and, although a single sacrifice seems to be a meaningless act, insects are driven by the idea of ​​​​preserving the gene pool of their species. Like many other, “more developed” representatives of the animal world. However, inexplicable from the point of view of preserving the gene pool is concern for the “orphan and wretched”, for those who are born with such characteristics of psychophysical development that seem to complicate their ability to survive - and may complicate this same super-task for direct descendants. For example, with congenital diseases. Preserving them for the sake of the gene pool would be pointless from the point of view of cynical eugenics. Although here I will make a reservation that the laws of evolution sometimes play tricks on us..