Looking far back in time, we can find tangible evidence of how humans coming together changed the world. In fact, anthropologists have realized that ideas, tools, and other artifacts are not invented or changed in isolation, but are the product of specific settings. For instance, when early humans shifted from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles, language, agriculture, and social dynamics developed in complexity as humans came together. These primordial gatherings, most often held around a fire with music and dancing, were how our ancestors shared ideas, developed oral traditions, and formed familial bonds. It is scientifically recognized that technological advancements were made not by acting alone, but only as a social, communal group. This tendency for humans to gather has been present throughout ancient history and has fundamentally carved our evolutionary path.

Spanning forward about 12,000 years, we can look to the hippies of the 60’s and 70’s for another well known example of how humans gathering lead to change. Philosophically, hippie thought drew upon the earlier Beat generation, and rallied a counterculture that had novel implications on society. Hippies spearheaded the ecology movement. They combated racism. They encouraged equal rights, individual pride, free thought, and liberated sexual stereotypes. They questioned societal materialism, and developed their own distinctive lifestyle. In four years, their antiwar movement turned into an unstoppable force, with gatherings and protests influencing the end of American occupation in Vietnam. When considering the weird and wonderful hippie movement, the power of humans uniting under a common cause to rally change is evident.