The "state" didn't exist for the laws in the article, being a much later concept and some of the oldest systems of law we have good records for are religious la

The "state" didn't exist for the laws in the article, being a much later concept and some of the oldest systems of law we have good records for are religious laws like those of the old testament. The victim in that case isn't even in society, but rather a diety outside it. In case that seems like a stretched usage of the word "law", there are instances in the prophetic books where God brings lawsuits against the israelites. A simple definition used by anthropologists is a system of codes enforced by external parties.