[00:00.00]NARRATOR: Listen to part of a lecture in an anthropology class.
[00:04.46]FEMALE PROFESSOR: One of the big questions when we look at prehistory is: Why did the earliest states form? [00:10.43]Well, to begin we'd better define exactly what we mean when we talk about states. [00:15.22]Uh, the human groups that are the smallest and have the least social and political complexity we call "bands."[00:22.98]The groups that are the largest and most socially and politically complex we call "states."[00:30.67]So the level of complexity here refers to the organization of people into large, diverse groups and densely populated communities?
[00:39.58]and there are four levels in total: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states.[00:47.66]But-but back to my original question. [00:50.09]Why did early states form? [00:52.51] Why not just continue to live in small groups? [00:55.61]Why become more complex?
[00:58.46]One theory, called the "environmental approach" hypothesizes that the main force behind state formation was population growth. [01:09.48]It assumes that centralized management was critical to dealing with issues caused by sudden population surges, like a strain on limited food supplies.[01:20.75]At the least-complex end of the spectrum, the few families living in bands are able to meet their own basic needs. [01:28.40]They usually hunt, gather, and forage whatever foods are available to them, instead of domesticating animals and planting crops. [01:36.55]In order to efficiently take advantage of the wild foods available, bands are often nomadic, and move around following herds of animals. [01:45.43]This strategy is feasible when you have a small population.
[01:49.60]But when you have a large population, well, the whole population can't just get up and move to follow a wild herd of animals. [01:57.73] So you need sophisticated technologies to produce enough food for everyone. [02:03.09]And there is an increased need to resolve social problems that arise as people begin to compete for resources.[02:10.63]To manage intensified food production—to collect, store, and distribute food—you need centralized decision making ?centralized decision makers.
[02:21.09]It's the same thing when it comes to maintaining social order. [02:24.61]You need to create and efficiently enforce a formal legal code. [02:29.72]It makes sense to have a centralized authority in charge of that, right? [02:34.88] So a hierarchy forms. [02:37.24] By definition, states have at least three social levels: [02:41.30]usually an upper class of rulers, a middle class comprised of managers and merchants, and a lower class of craft producers and agricultural laborers.
[02:50.92]The environmental approach hypothesizes that states appear in certain environmental settings—settings which have a severe population problem or a shortage of agricultural land. [03:03.51]But not everyone agrees with the theory. [03:07.13]It definitely has some weaknesses.
[03:09.40]For example, states have developed in places like the Maya lowlands of Mesoamerica, and in Egypt's Nile River valley. [03:17.40]Both places had vast areas of fertile farmland—no shortage of agricultural land. [03:23.61]And what about population increase? [03:26.03]Well, there were some early states that formed where there wasn't any sudden population increase. [03:32.16] So it seems that these are valid criticisms of the environmental approach.
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