| Unit Information | Game Strategies | History |
About 200,000 years ago, humans evolved from other primate species to become the most important force for change on the planet. The one feature that distinguished humans from other primate species was the propensity of humans to walk on two legs, rather than four. Change was slow, but change was on the move: over time, humans gained a knack for collective learning — preserving information, sharing it with one another, and passing it to the next generation helped to create entirely new forms of complexity.
Like other primates, humans travelled in small groups, foraging for edible foods and hunting animals but they also survived the Ice Ages. Tools for survival included the controlled use of fire and better clothing technology. They also met others, told stories, and exchanged knowledge through the development of symbolic language and art, such as drawings on cave walls.
At the end of the last Ice Age, many humans decided to stay put instead of migrating any further. Communities grew denser and they had to draw more resources from a smaller area. Using their learned knowledge from the environment, humans began to experiment with agriculture, which became a revolution. Farming produced a surplus of food, allowing others to take up new work. Societies became diverse, populations exploded, and collective learning thrived, leading to more innovations which then fuelled an increase in mankind's ability to exploit the environment better. Fueled by surplus crops, people living in agrarian communities could specialize in jobs other than farming. New roles and complex, interdependent societies emerged. Elites, farmers, and the menial classes became intertwined and the toeholds of the first cities took shape. States began to function as a coordinating mechanism among these sophisticated relationships. And the state could impose its will by force.