You will get award a game peice as you go along with the game. At this point, just keeping the villagers alive until you get your field going is the first thing to stay on top of.

Thanks.......Buny

In addition to gathering food and researching, you can drag your villagers around on the map and look for things that they can do.

Don't feel too stupid. I also played the game for nearly as long as you did before I realized what the table was for.

It's not really very obvious that standing at a table, moving bowls around all day, will lead to scientific breakthroughs in spirituality or fertility.

It may be a little late to ask, but did you use the tutorial? It certainly does give you a nudge in the right direction quite often.....including towards the research table