A food
surplus in any ancient region is what lays the foundation for any burgeoning government, trade,
and military. To understand the process, we'll just step through an example.
If a civilization is spending all of its time trying to provide enough food to survive,
they can't focus on anything other than survival. If, however, there is a surplus, they can put
their efforts into other things besides cultivating or gathering crops. This excess gives them
the opportunity to offer some food to other civilizations in exchange for other items of value,
especially if that other place is experiencing a shortage. This is the beginning of
trade.
Additionally, since this food now acts as an object to be traded, it
is essentially money, and you can pay people in food for other services. Therefore, people in
the civilization take on other jobs, such as becoming laborers and builders. As the population
settles down and takes on different jobs, the government naturally forms to make sure
that...
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