Complex Society

Before a complex society, there was the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age. The amount of people in a Paleolithic society was between 15-40, while Neolithic villages composed of around 200 people. The first complex society developed in the southern Mesopotamian land of Sumer (3200 to 2371 BCE), with over 1000 people. A complex society or know as a “city-state”, is a single city with its surrounding countryside. Other Mesopotamian Societies were the Akkadian Empire, Old Babylonian Empire, etc. City-states often had tens of thousands of people.

In a complex society there are more people so that would call for occupational diversity compared to Paleolithic and Neolithic societies. More jobs were available in a complex society because in a Paleolithic and Neolithic society people either hunted, gathered, or dealt with agriculture. In a complex society there was a stable government and society which called for educated people for the job.

In a complex society, social classes developed. Within the society there was something similar to the wealthy, middle class, and poor. The wealthy were always associated with government. Complex societies also had labor specialization, which is when individuals preformed specific tasks rather than a variety of jobs. Another change was the invention of writing. Sumerians invented cuneiform which consisted of different signs. They originally used this writing technique to keep records that were too difficult to remember. This was a huge invention because being able to communicate through written language made things much easier.

A complex society differs from a Paleolithic and Neolithic society in many ways. Paleolithic people were hunters and gatherers, while Neolithic people developed agriculture. Complex societies increased in the amount of people while using labor specialization. Complex societies would trade goods that they make for things such as food and items from people living in the countryside. Overall, a complex...