Chapter 9 The First Cities and States I The Origin of the State state a form of social and political organization that has a formal central government and a division of society into classes as food economies spread and became more productive chiefdoms and eventually states developed in many parts of the world first states developed in Mesopotamia by 5500 bp and in Mesoamerica 3 000 years later chiefdoms were precursors to states with leaders chiefs How and why did chiefdoms and states start food production could support larger and denser populations complexity of the division of social and economic labor tended to grow as food production spread and intensified systems of political authority and control typically develop to handle regulatory problems encountered as the population grows or the economy increases in scale and diversity A Hydraulic Systems suggested cause of state formation is the need to regulate water based agriculture economies states have emerged to manage systems of irrigation drainage and flood control hydraulic agriculture is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for the rise of the state States can develop without them water control increases production in arid lands bc of labor demands and ability to feed more people irrigated agriculture fuels population growth leads to enlargement of system supports larger and denser concentrations of people political authorities may arise to regulate production B Long Distance Trade Routes another theory is states arise at strategic locations in regional trade networks include points of supply or exchange the cause it generalized but neither necessary nor sufficient C Population War and Circumstance Robert Carniero theory that incorporates three factors working together instead of a single cause of state formation multivariate theory wherever and whenever environmental circumscription or resource concentration increasing population and warfare exists state physical circumscribed environments include small islands social circumscription exists when neighboring societies block expansion emigration or access to resources Coastal peru circumscribed by ocean to west and andes to the east advent of food production increased population leading to bigger villages colonists split off from old villages to new one scarcity of land developed causing rivalries and raiding between villages bc circumscribed losers had to submit to winners nowhere to go formation will begin association between population density and state organization is generalized rather than universal early states arose in different places and for many reasons remember that chiefdoms and states don t inevitably arise from food production must search for specific changes in access to resources and in regulatory problems that fostered stratification and state machinery III The Urban Revolution used to describe the major transformation of human life and social institutions institutions of government including rulers with real power emerged for the first time along with social stratification A 1 This transformation came with a downside former freedoms and independence were replaced by servitude taxes rules and regulations 2 Childe listed ten key attributes of early cities and states all revealed by archaeological evidence larger size than previous settlements a b more complex composition and function within the city were full time specialist craftsmen transport workers merchants officials and priests taxes paid to a deity or divine king the building of monuments the appearance of a ruling class made up of priests civil officials and military leaders c d e f writing used for record keeping g the development of predictive sciences arithmetic geometry and astronomy the development of sophisticated art styles long distance and foreign trade the reorganization of society into territorial divisions rather than kinship groups h i j B More recently anthropologists have abandoned the term Urban Revolution for phrases such as the origin of the state the rise of the state and state formation There terms recognize that some instances of state formation lack writing and significant urbanism Attributes of States A While Childe s Urban Revolution attributes describe the first states in Mesopotamia and Egypt something less specific is needed to characterize all states including those without writing Most anthropologists today recognize the following attributes as the distinguishing characteristics of states from earlier forms of society 1 A state controls a specific territory 2 Early states had productive farming economies 3 Early states used tribute and taxation to accumulate resources 4 States are stratified into social classes 5 Early states had imposing public buildings and monumental architecture 6 Early states developed some form of record keeping system State Formation in the Middle East southern Iraq and southwestern Iran B Urban Life A Mesopotamia refers to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now 1 The first towns arose around 10 000 years ago in the Middle East 2 Jericho located in what is now Israel was the earliest known town Jericho was settled by the Natufians around 11 000 B P a b Some 2 000 people lived in the town which was surrounded by a sturdy wall with a massive tower c Around 9000 B P the town was destroyed and later rebuilt its new inhabitants living in square houses with plaster floors and burials sealed beneath d Pottery first appeared at Jericho around 8000 B P 3 Long distance trade especially of obsidian became important in the Middle East 4 atal H y k located in Anatolia Turkey was probably the largest settlement of between 9500 and 7000 B P the Neolithic people living at the site a atal H y k flourished between 8000 and 7000 B P with up to 10 000 b The town s inhabitants lived in square mud brick dwellings that had separate areas for secular and ritual activities c atal H y k appears to have lacked priests as well as a centralized political organization C The Elite Level 1 Halafian pottery 7500 6500 B P a Halafian was a widespread delicate pottery style first found in northern Syria b The elite level and the first chiefdoms emerged during the Halafian period 2 Ubaid pottery 7000 6000 B P a This style of pottery was first discovered at the site of Tell el Ubaid located in the southern part of what is now Iraq b Ubaid pottery is associated with advanced chiefdoms and perhaps the earliest states in southern Mesopotamia D Social