The First Cities & States

Watch

• The rise and fall of history’s first empire - Soraya Field Fiorio ↗TED-Ed
• Ancient Mesopotamia 101 | National Geographic ↗National Geographic
• New Beginnings Cities and States Class 7 Full Chapter (Animation) ↗BrightPoint Education
• New Beginnings: Cities and States Explained Like a Movie | Class VII ↗EduRev Class 6 - 10
• New Beginnings: Cities and States | Class 7 Social Science | Chapter 4 | Explained ↗Study Vistara
• 8. The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities ↗Fall of Civilizations

Read

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind ↗An accessible, sweeping narrative of human development, offering a compelling overview of the agricultural revolution's role in the emergence of early settlements and states.Yuval Noah Harari
• Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States ↗This provocative work challenges conventional wisdom on the benefits of early state formation, arguing that the first states were often fragile, coercive, and disease-ridden.James C. Scott
• The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity ↗A monumental re-evaluation of human history, dismantling simplistic narratives of societal evolution and revealing the diverse, often experimental, forms of early social and political organisation.David Graeber and David Wengrow
• The Urban RevolutionA seminal essay outlining the ten defining characteristics of early cities, providing a foundational framework for understanding the transition from village life to complex urban societies.V. Gordon Childe
• A Theory of the Origin of the StateThis seminal article presents the influential circumscription theory, arguing that environmental or social constraints, population pressure, and warfare are key drivers in the emergence of early states.Robert L. Carneiro

Voices to follow

• James C. Scott ↗His provocative scholarship challenges conventional wisdom on the origins of the state, arguing for the often-overlooked downsides of early sedentism and agriculture.Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University
• David Wengrow ↗Co-author of a paradigm-shifting work that re-examines the historical trajectory of human societies, offering a nuanced view of how cities and states emerged without necessarily entailing hierarchy.Professor of Comparative Archaeology, University College London
• Ian Morris ↗A grand-narrative historian who synthesises vast archaeological and historical data to explain the long-term development of human societies, including the rise of early urbanism and state power.Professor of Classics and History, Stanford University
• Joyce Marcus ↗A preeminent archaeologist whose extensive fieldwork and analysis have illuminated the complex political and social structures of early Mesoamerican city-states.Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Latin American Archaeology, University of Michigan

Glossary

• AgricultureAgriculture is the practice of farming, which means growing crops and raising animals for food, clothing, and other resources. It allowed people to settle in one place instead of constantly moving to find food. For example, when early humans learned to plant wheat and domesticate sheep, they started practicing agriculture, leading to permanent villages.
• City-StateA city-state is like a country that is just one city and the land immediately around it, ruling itself independently. It has its own government, laws, and army, acting like a small nation. For example, in ancient Mesopotamia, the city of Ur was a city-state, making its own decisions and not being part of a larger kingdom.
• CivilizationA civilization is a large, organized society with advanced features like cities, a system of government, different jobs for people, and often writing or complex art. It's a way of life where many people live together in an organized way. For example, ancient Egypt, with its pharaohs, pyramids, and hieroglyphs, is considered a great civilization.
• EmpireAn empire is a very large group of states or countries controlled by a single ruler or government. It usually grows by conquering other lands and bringing them under its power. For example, the Roman Empire grew so large that it controlled vast territories across Europe, Africa, and Asia, all under the rule of its emperors.
• GovernmentA government is the system or group of people that makes and enforces laws for a community, city, or country. Its job is to keep order, provide services, and protect its people. For example, your school has a principal and teachers who act as a form of government, setting rules and organizing activities for the students.
• IrrigationIrrigation is a method of supplying water to land or crops, usually through channels, ditches, or pipes, especially in dry areas. It helps farmers grow food even when there isn't enough rain. For example, ancient Egyptians used irrigation by building canals to bring water from the Nile River to their fields, allowing them to grow crops in the desert.
• Monumental ArchitectureMonumental architecture refers to very large, impressive buildings or structures, often built for public display, religious purposes, or to show the power of a ruler. These structures are meant to last a long time and make a big statement. For example, the Great Pyramids of Egypt or the ziggurats of Mesopotamia are examples of monumental architecture, built to honor gods or pharaohs.
• Social HierarchySocial hierarchy is a way of organizing people in a society into different levels or ranks, often based on their wealth, power, or job. People at the top usually have more influence than those at the bottom. For example, in ancient societies, kings and priests were often at the top of the social hierarchy, while farmers and laborers were at the bottom.
• SpecializationSpecialization is when people focus on doing one specific job or skill instead of trying to do everything themselves. This allows them to become very good at that one thing, like making pottery or building houses. For example, in a city, some people might specialize in baking bread, while others specialize in being carpenters, instead of everyone trying to farm, build, and cook all at once.
• UrbanizationUrbanization is the process where more and more people move from rural areas (the countryside) to cities, causing cities to grow in size and population. It's about how cities become bigger and more important. For example, when many farmers leave their villages to find work in a growing city, that's urbanization happening.

Threads 4

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Freshwater Systems Environment

  The earliest states grew up around big irrigation systems that watered the crops. Sharing that water fairly meant keeping records, bossing crews around, and forcing people to dig canals. Managing water may have accidentally birthed the first bureaucracy, meaning government by paperwork and officials.

• Rivers, Watersheds, and Water Systems Geography

  Taming a wild river to stop floods and feed farms took huge crowds of people working together in lockstep. Someone had to organize all that labor, keep records, and give orders, and that machinery became government itself. Historians call it the 'hydraulic civilization': controlling water may have created the state.

• Writing Systems Literature

  The oldest writing we've dug up isn't poetry or prayers; it's receipts, like 'so-and-so owes this much grain.' People invented written symbols to keep track of taxes and storehouses. In other words, boring bureaucracy, not storytelling, is what first taught humans to write.

• What Schools Are For Education

  The very first schools weren't about wisdom or big ideas. They were set up in ancient Mesopotamia to train scribes to count grain and track who owed what in taxes. Writing and formal school were born together, as tools for the taxman. Education started as accounting practice.