"Why do we spend so much time on Mesopotamia?"
I'd say for at least three reasons:
1. Scripture records that civilization originated there.
2. Mesopotamia has written records older than what's known from India or elsewhere.
3. Meosopotamian civilization in the early 3rd millennium BC and earlier was more advanced than what's known from India or elsewhere during the same period, in terms of agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, written language, literature, religion, etc. Even with these new finds, it remains the case that the development of Mesopotamian civilization preceded the development of Indian civilization. For instance the walled community at Jericho is older than the find described in this article.
Thanks, I didn't know that. How old is Jerico? Who built Jerico, the Ubaidians?