Paintings show the agricultural activities of the Egyptians, the first state in the history of mankind.
Prehistoric peoples who first appeared on Earth in East Africa began to gradually spread to the Far East, Asia, and Europe, and by the end of the Ice Age around 12,000. Last year, the presence of humanity spread almost everywhere in the world.
During the Ice Age, the sea level on the planet was lower than it is today, the lowest level in some places, such as the Straits of Russia between Alaska and the United States (Bering Sea). Land that allows people to cross on foot. It was here that about 20,000 years ago people traveled from Asia on foot to the Americas.
So the Native Americans, who we now call red Indians, are actually people of Asian descent. Indigenous personalities from Asia, both physically and at the root of the language, are still visible among Indian-Americans today.
In the early part of prehistoric times, known as the "Paléolitique", the ancients used wood and stone as tools and ate raw meat. But little by little, people began to invent more modern appliances and began to use fire to cook.
People in the "Stone Age" lived entirely on hunting and picking wild fruits for food. At that time, people had a lot of places to hunt. Sub-Saharan Africa, the beginning of human existence, is still rich in grasslands and forests and has not yet become as desolate as it is today.
However, climate change has turned once-forested areas into deserts. People are starving and are forced to flee to the wild, especially along some of the major rivers, such as the Nile in Africa, the Euphrates and the Tigris. (Tigris / Tigre) in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, the Indus (or Indus) in present-day Pakistan and India, and the Hanghe or Yellow River in China.
That is why it is observed that the earliest major civilizations of mankind were born in the areas adjacent to these rivers: Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.
The number of people coming out of the desert to congregate in areas adjacent to these large rivers has increased so much that at one time this narrow space could no longer sustain their livelihoods due to the location. Hunting is less than the mouth to feed.
Faced with this problem, about 8,000 BC, about 10,000 years ago, people began to break the idea of creating a brand new way of life, the most important revolution of mankind, called the "revolution. Of the Paleolithic ”(Néolitique), that is, the creation of agriculture.
In the lowlands along the rivers, there are grains that grow in the nature of wild grass, which people used to pick and eat naturally. But then people came up with an amazing idea that's never before had people picked the best grain and planted it to wait for the harvest. At the same time, people have begun to shift from hunting to capturing wild animals.
Farming and animal husbandry are the most important evolution of humankind, because in an area of the same size, agriculture can feed up to a hundred times more people than hunting, meaning that in the past Before people relied on hunting, a small area could feed only 10,000 people, and the creation of agriculture could provide food for up to 1 million people.
After people learned to farm, the total population on the planet increased from millions to hundreds of millions in a short period of time. Mankind, which was once a natural threat, has also turned into a natural threat because farming and animal husbandry are the most polluting activities, especially the release of methane (CH4), which One of the main causes of global warming.
In the Stone Age, after the agricultural revolution, people in some areas continued to live by hunting as before. However, in the area along the four major rivers, there is a very rapid development in terms of lifestyle, population and community management. The evolution that has reached an important stage in the history of mankind is the creation of a state.
The first state was born in Egypt, an area bordering the Nile. The state came first here because of two main factors.
The first factor is related to the distribution of water used in agriculture. Because Egypt is an area where rainfall is rare, farmers here rely entirely on surface water sources for their agriculture. By human nature, people on the upper ground often try to hold water for their own use, regardless of those on the lower ground, leading to disputes over water.
To avoid this constant conflict, people began to conspire to create a leader, the "king", in charge of distributing water equally to all community members.
The second factor that leads to the formation of the state is the need for security and safety. The early hunters were also warlike. But for those who started farming, they set aside time each day for sowing, plowing, cultivating, and harvesting, and no longer wanted to be busy with war. At the same time, they also need to have their own security guards in case someone disturbs their livelihood, steals their animals or crops.
Therefore, these farmers also have the idea that their community should be well-structured, have leaders to maintain order and protect their safety. Because agriculture is an activity that can yield more than the daily needs, farmers can take the rest of the harvest one by one together to supply the activities of the state, the king and the army. This practice is called paying taxes to the state. The state collects taxes from the people, but the state has an obligation to maintain order and protect the safety of the people, as well as to distribute resources so that the people can use them equally.
