The Making of States 269when Neolithic peoples realized that the best farming oc-
curred in the fertile soils of river valleys, provided that they
could control the periodic flooding.^12 The centralized effort
to control the irrigation process blossomed into the first
governing body, elite social class, and civilization.
Another theory suggests that in regions of ecological
diversity, trade is necessary to procure scarce resources.
In Mexico, for example, trade networks distributed chil-
ies grown in the highlands, cotton and beans from in-
termediate elevations, and salt from the coasts to people
throughout the region. Some form of centralized authority
developed to organize trade for the procurement of these
commodities and to redistribute them.
A third theory developed by anthropologist Robert
Carneiro suggests that states develop where populations
are hemmed in by such environmental barriers as moun-
tains, deserts, seas, or other human populations as an
outcome of warfare and conflict in these circumscribed
regions.^13 As these populations grow, they have no spacediseases can be determined from skeletal remains. In
stratified societies of the past, the dominant groups usu-
ally lived longer, ate better, and enjoyed an easier life than
lower-ranking members of society, just as they do today.The Making of States
From Africa to China to the South American Andes, an-
cient civilizations are almost always associated with mag-
nificent palaces built high aboveground—with sculptures
beautifully rendered using techniques that continue into
the present and with vast, awe-inspiring engineering proj-
ects. These impressive accomplishments could indicate that
civilization is better than other cultural forms, particularly
when these societies came to dominate peoples with other
social systems. But domination is more a reflection of ag-
gression, size, and power than it is cultural superiority. In
other words, the emergence of centralized governments,
characteristic of civilizations, has allowed some cultures to
dominate others and for civilizations to flourish. Anthro-
pologists have proposed several theories to account for the
transition from small, egalitarian farming villages to large
urban centers in which population density, social inequality,
and diversity of labor required a centralized government.Ecological Theories
Ecological approaches emphasize the role of the environ-
ment in the development of states. Among these, the irriga-
tion or hydraulic theory holds that civilizations developedhydraulic theory The theory that explains civilization’s
emergence as the result of the construction of elaborate irriga-
tion systems, the functioning of which required full-time man-
agers whose control blossomed into the first governing body
and elite social class.Grave goods frequently indi-
cate the status of deceased
individuals in stratified
societies. For example, China’s
first emperor was buried with
7,000 life-size terra cotta
figures of warriors.© Tavid Rankin Bingham
(^12) Wittfogel, K. A. (1957). Oriental despotism, a comparative study of total
power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
(^13) Carneiro, R. L. (1970). A theory of the origin of the state. Science 169,
733–738.