The First Civilizations Emerge on the World Stage
By Cynthia Stokes Brown, Big History Project 7/30/16
The first farming societies began about 3200 BCE. They started in three areas. The first was in Mesopotamia, now called Iraq. The second was in Egypt and Nubia (now Sudan). The third was in the Indus Valley of India. China started farming a bit later. Then, around 2000–1000 BCE, farming societies started in Central and South America. Why in these places?
We'll answer that question in a minute. First, let's define the words "city," "state," and "civilization." A city contains tens of thousands of people. It's larger than a town that contains only thousands of people. A village is made of just hundreds. In cities, people had specific jobs. They were not all farmers. The food they ate was grown by farmers nearby.
A state is a city, or several cities, and nearby villages and farms. A state could include hundreds of thousands of people, even millions. There were levels of power and wealth. A few people called elites were on top. Elites typically made up a tiny part of the population.
Yet, they had more wealth and power than everyone else combined. States were ruled by these elites. They controlled the military. They used the military to keep order and collect taxes.
Empires arose out of states. Empires were led by a single ruler who controlled large territories of cities and farmland. These large states are often called civilizations
All civilizations share certain traits. They have populations crowded together who are controlled by elites. These early civilizations always depended on the farming around them. For that reason, we call them agrarian civilizations
Places of Early Civilizations
Four of the earliest agrarian civilizations began in river valleys where food grew easily. People had already learned to grow plants and raise animals in those areas. They made it easier for civilizations to form.
The first civilization formed in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. What made Mesopotamia so rich was the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. With so much water, people could now grow a lot of food in this river valley. Wheat and barley became the major crops. Mesopotamians also grew lentils and chickpeas and herded sheep and goats.
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The next three agrarian civilizations emerged in the Nile River Valley in Egypt and Nubia, the Indus River Valley in India, and the Yellow River Valley in China. Each had its own type of plants and animals. The Egyptians and Nubians had wheat, barley, cattle, fish, and birds. The Indus Valley people raised cattle and cotton, as well as wheat, barley, lentils, sheep, goats, and chickens. In China, wheat was grown in the north. Rice was grown in the south. Pigs, chickens, and soybeans were also foods in China.
Large states developed a couple of thousand years later in the Americas. Food there was quite different. There were only a few large animals. People in Central America learned to grow maize (corn), peppers, tomatoes, squash, beans, peanuts, and cotton. Their only domestic animals were dogs and turkeys. Along the Andes Mountains in South America, people used llamas and alpacas for wool and transportation. Potatoes and quinoa were their main foods. They had guinea pigs, and fish were brought up from the coast
Why and how did states emerge?
Domesticating plants and animals marked a turning point. Now early people learned to use animals for more things. Instead of eating animals right away, they used them for milk, wool, manure, and muscle power. This caused the world’s population to grow quickly. In 8000 BCE, it was about 6 million. By 3000 BCE, it was maybe 50 million.
At the same time, the climate was changing. It had been warming since the last Ice Age. After 8000 BCE, the climate in the northern hemisphere became drier. Scientists believe changes in the Earth’s orbit may have caused this. The drying climate made people move. They went from mountains down into river valleys to find water. During floods, soil flowed into the valleys. It made the land excellent for farming.
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As food became more plentiful and people lived closer together, society changed. A few people became richer and more powerful than the rest. Why did this happen?
We can only guess. But maybe leaders were needed to manage projects like building large watering systems or handing out extra food. They also provided armed protection against enemies. At the same time, priests and rulers took control of food supplies. Controlling food meant power. They formed political or religious groups that controlled land and people.
Areas without early civilizations
Some areas of the world did not produce large cities and states early on. Even so, agriculture was beginning almost everywhere.
In Africa, people were separated from the northern coast by the Sahara desert. Rain forests covered much of the land. The Bantu people lived in Nigeria. They grew yams, oil palm trees, and herded cattle. Eventually, camels replaced horses and donkeys for travel across the Sahara. Merchants could now make their way across the desert. Small states and kingdoms emerged. But a large agrarian civilization never sprung up.
In Africa, people were separated from the northern coast by the Sahara desert. Rain forests covered much of the land. The Bantu people lived in Nigeria. They grew yams, oil palm trees, and herded cattle. Eventually, camels replaced horses and donkeys for travel across the Sahara. Merchants could now make their way across the desert. Small states and kingdoms emerged. But a large agrarian civilization never sprung up.
Small islands in the Pacific did not create large agrarian civilizations. But their smaller states and chiefdoms were similar to those around the world. In Australia, agriculture never really happened. The soil was poor, and the island was isolated
Comparing early agrarian civilizations
All of the earliest agrarian civilizations had power structures. In each, elites used the threat of force to collect taxes. States controlled people. They brought together large populations of people and kept them fed. These early civilizations developed other similar characteristics, including:
Perhaps most importantly, the civilizations in northern Africa and Eurasia connected with each other soon after they began. Together they formed an Afro-Eurasian zone. People traded goods back and forth. They exchanged ideas and technology. Roads running eastwest connected them. Sea routes ran from port to port.
In comparison, early civilizations in the Americas were hardly connected at all. They had fewer kinds of transport animals. The terrain separating them was difficult to get through.
While early civilizations shared many common features, the differences form a collage of human culture.
While early civilizations shared many common features, the differences form a collage of human culture.