“The Earliest Cities” (2002)

This article by Arizona State University professor of archaeology Michael E. Smith – a specialist in the urban/pre-urban civilizations of Central Mexico – begins with the observation that for the greatest part of human history, there were no cities, but there were large human settlements in the very areas where, around 3000 BCE, there developed complex urban civilizations. Smith also observes that these earliest cities and their pre-urban settlements were not all alike but significantly different. The magnificent palaces and temple complexes grew out of sprawling settlements of three types: major state capitals of central control, smaller local administrative centers, and special-purpose cities dedicated to particular crafts and cults. This pattern, clearly observable in ancient Mexico, can be compared to ancient urban developments around the world. Smith engages in comparative urban development by looking in depth at the examples of Uruk in Mesopotamia, Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley, Angkor Wat in ancient Cambodia, and Memphis in the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The social and cultural life of cities can best be read by the process of archaeological excavation – looking at local pottery shards and domestic housing foundations – and shows a considerable variation between ancient cities worldwide, all of which must be viewed within their wider social and cultural context.