One of the factors that allowed civilizations to thrive was man's ability to

 The correct answer is : The ability to specialize and divide the work.

Explanation:  The development, the prosperity of a civilization is the process in which people improve their living conditions, through knowledge and technology to meet their primary and complementary needs. According to the capacities of people and the organization, opportunities for growth can be expanded.

this isn't a question and if you're going to list things be kind and use commas.

it took then around 17,500 years