Definitions

The first agrarian, or farming, societies¹ began about 3300 BCE. New farming practices changed where and how people lived. First, let’s understand the definitions of the words city, state, and society.

A “city” contains tens of thousands of people. It is large than a town. People in cities had a variety of jobs, but farmers lived there as well.

A “state” is a city, or many cities. A state can include villages and farms around the cities. A state could include hundreds of thousands of people, even millions. People living in a state had social rank.

From states, empires formed. They usually had a single ruler who controlled a large territory. These are often called “societies or “civilizations.”

Places of early societies

Scientists have found four places in the world where these farming societies began. All started in fertile river valleys. The first was in Mesopotamia. It was located where Iraq is today. There, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was very fertile. Easy access to water helped people there grow more crops. Mesopotamians grew wheat and lentils. They also herded sheep and goats.

The other three sites were the Nile River Valley in Africa; the Indus River Valley in Central Asia; and the Huang He (Yellow) River Valley in China. In each place, people figured out how to farm plants and animals that had been wild. The Egyptians and Nubians grew wheat and barley. They raised cattle and birds. The Indus Valley people had cattle, wheat and cotton. In China, people planted wheat in the north. Later, they learned how to grow rice in the south. They also raised pigs and chickens.

In the Americas, larger societies began to form, as well. The first was at Norte-Chico in about 3200 BCE. It was located where Peru is today. About 1500 BCE, a society took form in what became Mexico. They were the Olmec people. Farmers in Central America learned to grow corn, beans and cotton. Their only domestic animals were dogs and turkeys. In South America, people got wool from llamas and alpacas. They also used these animals to transport goods. For food, they depended mostly on potatoes and quinoa. Quinoa is a protein-rich grain.

Why and how did states emerge?

Better farming meant more food. More food meant the world’s population grew rapidly. In 8000 BCE, there were about 5 million people in the world. By 3000 BCE, the population had grown to 14 million.

A changing climate made it easier to farm. The Earth began warming about 20,000 BCE. After 8000 BCE, the climate in the northern hemisphere became drier. Drier weather attracted people to river valleys for water. During spring floods, rich soil was deposited there. It made the land fertile for farming.

As communities grew, their societies changed. They became more organized. Some people became more powerful than the rest. These people became rulers. Why did this pattern develop? Perhaps these rulers were wealthy and powerful. Perhaps they were needed to manage projects like irrigation systems or construction. Leadership skills would also have been useful in times of conflict and war. Priests and rulers also could control the food supply.

Early societies were organized differently. There was not one exact way that societies were formed. Some states were ruled by people with the most power and wealth. But other societies had leaders based on a person’s family status or spiritual powers. A smaller number of states had elders or rulers with limited power. They acted more like advisors rather than “bosses”. It’s important to know that not all societies worked in the same way.

Areas without early societies

Some areas of the world were slow to develop cities or states. Farming, though, became more common everywhere.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one example. The Bantu people lived in what is Nigeria today. There, they cultivated yams and millet and herded cattle. Small states and kingdoms emerged. But the region was difficult to farm. It took longer for a big agrarian society to form there.

Small islands in the Pacific faced other challenges. They did not have the resources to support large societies. In Australia, agriculture never really developed. The people there could thrive by means of hunting and gathering. In South America near the Amazon River, evidence shows that people fertilized the soil by adding charcoal.

Comparing early agrarian societies

The earliest agrarian states always had at least two things in common: 1) there were rulers in control; and 2) there was a system for forcing people to pay taxes or tribute.² It seems centralized rule was needed to manage large populations. Yet, these societies developed many other similar traits. These include:

• Storage of surplus food
• Development of a state religion
• Specialized jobs
• Systems of writing
• Armies and warfare
• Public buildings, like temples
• Social rank
• More inequality between men and women
• More trade

Interestingly, farming societies developed similar social systems wherever they formed. These systems helped them grow. At the same time, the differences between societies contributed to the variety of human culture.

1 We’ve made a conscious decision at WHP to use the term societies instead of civilizations in order to make sure that the course is equitable and respectful of all types of communities. The word civilization often implies that the area we’re studying is more highly evolved or better than other forms of communities such as those composed of foragers and pastoralists, which is not the case. Societies such as Mesopotamia, Egypt and Nubia, the Indus Valley, China, and those of Central America and South America are simply organized differently rather than being superior to others.
2 “Tax” and “tribute” are almost synonyms in this context, in that both are forms of payment made to some governing authority. Tax generally means money, and tribute means a required “gift” of goods.