A new study suggests that the lack of textile trade, specifically wool production, hindered the growth of the Southern Levant region, including modern-day Israel, for millennia. The region's inability to support large-scale sheep herding prevented the production and trade of wool, which was a significant economic and social resource in other ancient civilizations. This limitation affected the development of cities, political structures, and economic growth in the Southern Levant. However, in the first millennium BCE, the Israelites and Judeans began writing down their national narratives, ensuring their survival as a people.