The Exploitation of Plants and People
Nicholas Malinak
The exploitation of the environment by early humans and the subsequent development of agriculture allowed for the rise of complex societies ruled by the elite.
The
roots of complex, stratified societies stretch back to the transition from
hunter gatherer methods of 
subsistence to the
cultivation of edible plants. As Clive
Ponting notes in his book A Green History
of the World, this transition “should be seen as parts of a spectrum
of human activities of different degrees of intensity designed to exploit
ecosystems” (1993 pg. 38). As
societies of early humans discovered that the plants that they already utilized
for food could be manipulated to grow more productively and within their
control, this early agriculture became increasingly important for their
survival. Even what had formerly been
prey for hunters came under the expanded scope of agriculture as domestication
of animals began. But agriculture has
many downsides as well, requiring more effort to plant, care for, and harvest
crops and tend animals, a greater dependence on a smaller variety of
foodstuffs, and little increase in nutritional value (Ponting 41). The significant advantage of agriculture is
that it can support increased populations with relatively similar beginning
resources. Instead of having to exile
excess members of the population, the expanded population could be used to
cultivate greater amounts of food. Whereas
only four to five million people lived on the earth (Ponting 37) during the
heyday of the hunter gatherers, agriculture, and the technological advances
that have accompanied it, have allowed for a world population of greater than
six billion people with the potential
for billions more. Out of all of this
came expanded populations with ties to specific parcels of land, leading to
permanent settlements and cultures.
Agriculture
and its corresponding settlements developed independently in three parts of the
world: south-west 
evolution suggests that the development
of settled societies was an inevitable byproduct of agriculture. The first to develop agriculture was the area
of
The congregation of large numbers of people around agricultural sites was the first step in the creation of stratified societies. The direct results of this settlement included greater numbers of people in one area due to its sustainability, eventually encouraging specialization and leadership, and groups with shared histories and goals. Instead of individuals working primarily to help themselves or their immediate families, these large groupings encouraged people to assist their societies as a whole which in turn could assist them, aiding in the formation of early governments.
The largest influence in the development of social stratification was that increased efficiency allowed some individuals to focus their time and efforts away from food production and towards other endeavors. As Ponting states, “the main advantage of agriculture as opposed to gathering and hunting is that in return for greater effort it enables a much higher output of food to be obtained from a smaller area” (1993 54). These excess members of the population could turn to other matters that were vital in the development of civilization. Religion was not only a central aspect of these early societies, but a way in which the citizens believed that food production could be augmented. By focusing some of the surplus population on the development of a religious society and the construction of religious monuments to please their gods, such as numerous religious spires in Mesopotamia and the Pyramids in Egypt (where the rulers were considered to be the gods), these early societies believed that they could ensure their survival through the worship of their gods. As societies grew, they became larger threats to their neighbors, and with the increasing importance of land, societies were more likely to break out in fighting and wars. The early history of Mesopotamia much more violent then other parts of the world during this time period, as the land of the Fertile Crescent was sought and won numerous times by invading armies. While the rise of agriculture led to complex societies, it also encouraged the development of war that has accompanied these societies though history.
Political leaders within
these societies also emerged in order to organize the populace and achieve
greater efficiency. The redistribution
of wealth was an important mechanism that promoted the stratification of
society and the development of political leaders. With greater organization necessary to guide
larger and more complex societies, political leaders soon emerged, often in
conjunction with military and religious leaders who shared similar goals of
organization. Until the development of
democracy in
While there are many reasons for the
beginnings of stratified societies, the development of agriculture shaped how
complex societies arise and are ruled.
In ancient
Ponting, Clive. A Green History of the World. New York: Penguin, 1993.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/resource/mesopota.htm
http://www.bron.demon.nl/images/north/html/cl-sanpedro-terraces.html
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