The Descent of Man

Fuego, it struck me that the possession of some
property, a fixed abode, and the union of many
families under a chief, were the indispensable
requisites for civilisation. Such habits almost
necessitate the cultivation of the ground; and
the first steps in cultivation would probably
result, as I have elsewhere shewn (8. 'The Variation
of Animals and Plants under Domestication,'
vol. i. p. 309.), from some such accident as
the seeds of a fruit-tree falling on a heap of refuse,
and producing an unusually fine variety.
The problem, however, of the first advance of
savages towards civilisation is at present much
too difficult to be solved.
NATURAL SELECTION AS AFFECTING
CIVILISED NATIONS.
I have hitherto only considered the advancement
of man from a semi-human condition to
that of the modern savage. But some remarks
on the action of natural selection on civilised