First States
Introduction
It may not look exciting here, but this image is so significant there’s probably a historian out there with a tattoo of it. Why? It’s part of the Code of Hammurabi, some of the earliest recorded laws that we know about, and comes from the Babylonian state. Public domain.
Rare is the human whose image is recreated in stone, preserved for two millennia and put on display at the British Museum. But this guy, Ptolemy I, was a Pharaoh, and the many people under his rule believed in his authority as part of believing in their Egyptian state. By Stella, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Historians study states. They also study the people who live in states. “State” is a broad term. States may be ruled by kings, religious leaders, or democratically elected officials. States come in many sizes. The citizens of a state might have many rights or almost none.
Today’s world is almost entirely divided into states. Almost everyone belongs to one. However, in the past many people did not live in states at all.
How should a state be defined and why did states form? We will consider these questions.
What is a state?
State is the formal term used to describe a country. The state is usually defined as an organized community. People in the community live under a unified government. States usually claim control over a certain territory. A state claims authority over a group of people in the territory. The state makes and enforces laws.
People without states still make decisions. Usually, the process of making decisions is less formal. Decisions are less permanent.
Some scholars believe that states must have at least four levels of government. One level governs the whole country. Another might only control a small village.
Some scholars say this definition is not enough. People in a state must believe they are connected to others in the state. All believe they are part of the same community.
Characteristics of early states
Most of us think states allow us to elect government officials. This was not the case in the past. Few people believed they had the right to elect their government. So, how is a state defined? Historians and other scholars have suggested that early states shared several traits.
Here are six common traits of early states:
- Urban: Most early states had cities.
- Agricultural: Almost all states were built in farming societies.
- Occupational specialization: Some people were not farmers in early states. They worked with leather or metal to produce goods.
- Complex economy: Early states had large, complicated economies.
- Social stratification: People were not equal in early states. There were differences in wealth and social status.
- State authority: The government claims the authority to make and enforce laws.
A work area in Harappa, an early state in South Asia. Archaeologists and historians have identified occupational specialization in Harrapan society, but disagree about the level of social stratification. By Amir Islam, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Why did humans create states?
States are important now. Yet modern humans existed without them for about 245,000 years. So, why did humans create states? There are two explanations for the rise of states. These explanations seem to contradict each other, but both may be correct.
The first explanation is called the “coercive theory.” Some historians argue that states arise because some people want to control others. Some people might want to do less work. They recruit an army to force others to farm for them. These coercers become the government.
The second explanation is called “voluntary theory.” It has several versions. In one version, humans found that they needed to do work that required cooperation. For example, people might need to build an irrigation system. They created the state so people would work together for a goal.
Historians have tried to test these theories. They look at specific states, especially early states. They then evaluate whether the models fit the examples.
| State | Region | Era - approximately |
| Uruk | Mesopotamia | 4000-3000 BCE |
| Sumerian states | Mesopotamia | 4000-3000 BCE |
| Egypt | Northern Africa | 3500 BCE |
| Harappa | South Asia’s Indus River Valley | 2600 BCE |
| Erlitou | Central China | 1800-1600 BCE |
| Monte Albán | Southern Mexico | 300 BCE |
| Tiwanaku | South America | 300-500 CE |
| Nri | West Africa’s forests | 900 CE |
| Hawaii | Pacific Ocean | 1000 CE |
| Kitara | East African highlands | 1200-1400 CE |
Table 1 Early states, regions, and eras
The state has been important to human history. Yet not everyone in history lived in a state. We must wonder whether concentrating on the state makes us miss out on understanding people who did not live in states. We also must consider the problems that states have caused. Are states a step forward? Or would we have been better off without them? Even so, the state was a key element of human history. States are still very important today. It is useful to study their history.
Trevor Getz
Trevor Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University. He has written or edited eleven books, including the award-winning graphic history Abina and the Important Men, and co-produced several prize-winning documentaries. He is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover: Persian warriors in line © FrankvandenBergh / E+ / Getty Images
It may not look exciting here, but this image is so significant there’s probably a historian out there with a tattoo of it. Why? It’s part of the Code of Hammurabi, some of the earliest recorded laws that we know about, and comes from the Babylonian state. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Code_of_Hammurabi_IMG_1937.JPG
Rare is the human whose image is recreated in stone, preserved for two millennia and put on display at the British Museum. But this guy, Ptolemy I, was a Pharaoh, and the many people under his rule believed in his authority as part of believing in their Egyptian state. By Stella, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptolemy_I_as_Pharaoh_of_Egypt.jpg
A work area in Harappa, an early state in South Asia. Archaeologists and historians have identified occupational specialization in Harrapan society, but disagree about the level of social stratification. By Amir Islam, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harrapa_Work_Area.jpg
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