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The ancient Egyptians had it so easy. It's probably as close to the garden of eden as you can get. Every year, the Nile would flood, bringing in rich alluvial

The ancient Egyptians had it so easy. It's probably as close to the garden of eden as you can get. Every year, the Nile would flood, bringing in rich alluvial deposits. All the farmers would have to do is to sow seeds on there plots and then let the pigs trample it under the soil. No ploughing necessary. While the crops grew, basically untended, many of the farmers were paid (no it wasn't slaves) to build the many public monuments, pyramids, temples facades obelisks etc. There are even records of workers going on strikes if they didn't like their work conditions. The narrow Nile valley was also really easy to defend, which preserved Egypt from invaders for most of its dynastic history.

iguy 7y ago
Maybe. Or maybe the existence of huge monuments is a sign that someone was somehow extracting an awful lot of work from other people. Who presumably didn't do it just for their own amusement. Maybe the builders got paid. But if they did, the tax money they got paid with sure didn't reproduce itself spontaneously in the king's basement. More likely the tax collector had some nice men with pointy implements to encourage everyone to file on time.
- folli 7y ago
  You don't always need physical pointy implements to achieve this, as a lot of religious buildings in different points in time show. Sometimes the threat of eternal damnation is enough. Remember that the pharaos in ancient Egypt did have a religious significance.
Aengeuad 7y ago
It seems like many earlier civilisations came about purely because the starting conditions were ideal, although Egypt is likely the best and longest lasting example of this. Even into late antiquity Rome was heavily reliant on North Africa for wheat production, and it wasn't until the medieval period that techniques were discovered allowing for better wheat production in the more colder and northern climates of Europe. Contrast this with steppe tribes, whose main advantage seems to have been good leaders and not having cities they were required to fall back to and defend.

iguy 7y ago

Maybe. Or maybe the existence of huge monuments is a sign that someone was somehow extracting an awful lot of work from other people. Who presumably didn't do it just for their own amusement. Maybe the builders got paid. But if they did, the tax money they got paid with sure didn't reproduce itself spontaneously in the king's basement. More likely the tax collector had some nice men with pointy implements to encourage everyone to file on time.

folli 7y ago
You don't always need physical pointy implements to achieve this, as a lot of religious buildings in different points in time show. Sometimes the threat of eternal damnation is enough. Remember that the pharaos in ancient Egypt did have a religious significance.

Aengeuad 7y ago

It seems like many earlier civilisations came about purely because the starting conditions were ideal, although Egypt is likely the best and longest lasting example of this. Even into late antiquity Rome was heavily reliant on North Africa for wheat production, and it wasn't until the medieval period that techniques were discovered allowing for better wheat production in the more colder and northern climates of Europe. Contrast this with steppe tribes, whose main advantage seems to have been good leaders and not having cities they were required to fall back to and defend.