Two, once writing enters the picture, you have actual history instead of just a lot of guesswork and archaeology. And three, without writing, I would not have a job. So I'd like to personally thank Mesopotamia for making it possible for me to work while reclining in my lazy boy. So why did this writing happen in Mesopotamia? Well, the Fertile Crescent, while it is fertile, is lacking pretty much everything else. In order to get metal for tools or stone for sculpture or wood for burning, Mesopotamia had to trade. This trading eventually led Mesopotamia to develop the world's first territorial kingdom, which will become very important and will eventually culminate in some extraordinarily inbred Habsburgs.