Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to Tides of History, Add Free on Amazon Music.

Download the app today.

The Cawing and Squawking of the Sea Birds rang out over the reeds and grasses of the marsh.

They were here in their dozens and hundreds, basking in the morning light as it came

up over the low hills to the east and illuminated the indistinct shoreline where the sea gradually

transitioned to land.

For these birds 10,000 years ago, they were living in a paradise.

They stood in the shallow water taking flight from time to time, looking for the fish and

small animals that thrived in this in-between landscape.

Splashes in the water were a telltale sign that they'd found something worth eating.

Their beaks plunging down beneath the surface to snag an unfortunate bit of prey.

The birds weren't the only thing disturbing the surface of the water.

Two men were there too, using carved wooden paddles to drive their short dugout canoe

through the shallow marshlands.

Whenever they spotted a particularly good-looking fish, one of them grabbed a harpoon, tipped

with a sharp bone point and used it to spear the unfortunate swim.

Once caught, the fish flopped into a basket woven from reeds where it joined more of its

kind among the day's catch.

The morning sun slowly rose above the marshes the two men maneuvered through the maze

of channels and reeds.

Hamed swapping through their attention, they stopped at a little patch of dry land where

a clever snare had caught a large gray hare in by the foot.

...