Geographical Analysis of Early Civilization Toward the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution( dated approximately 10,000 b.c.), the ancestors of modern man began the great transformation from nomadic gatherers and hunters, to recognizably civilized people. This change is evidenced by the agricultural and urban revolutions, as well as the establishment of well defined religious, social, and governmental structures; all of which constitute the criterion for civilization. The development of these essential components in early civilizations and those of centuries to follow, would be dramatically affected by the physical geography surrounding t