A History of Human Settlement
Zoeanna Upadhyay
Humans have been living together for thousands of years. Today, hardly any of us live in complete isolation. Though modern society may look very different from what it did centuries ago, certain aspects remain the same. People still need access to resources like water. They still need rules, customs and laws to help them live amicably. They still depend on each other to survive. The grid system used by the Romans(and other cultures) is still used to plan cities today.
In order to live together, human beings needed to come up with certain laws, customs and behaviors. The concept of 'rules' probably evolved as the foundation of mutually agreeable social and economic interactions. The ability to enforce rules and punish those violating them is what allowed humans to survive together. They helped decide what should be done when resources were limited and how conflict should be resolved in a way that was acceptable to everyone. This led to the development of a structural and functional society that eventually became a 'settlement'.
While basic ideas of hierarchy and rules are present in other species, no other species on earth has ever been able to collaborate on a scale as large and flexible as humans. Even the smallest human settlements are far more complex than any other species on the planet. What's so special about humans? Or, to be more specific how was such large scale collaboration achieved? At what stage of evolution were thousands of humans able to build together?
According to historian Yuval Noah Harari, the ability to tell each other stories was the key to succeeding. Humans started building temples, palaces, Fortresses and necropolises because they had access to scientific knowledge; but also because they had collective beliefs. They were able to communicate ideas that existed only in their minds. Two strangers could now build a church together because they both believed in a common God.
Human settlements are also more complex because of their permanence. Since humans didn't have to move around anymore looking for food, they built structures to fulfill not just their physical needs, but also emotional, transactional and spiritual. Settlements were different from the initial ideas of dwellings. They were more elaborate and highly urbanized. They had populations of over fourteen million people. They had a certain form and structure. They were built to last.
Interestingly, civilizations all over the world followed a similar grid system of organization. It is possible that different cultures influenced each other and hence the similarities. Another possible reason is that the grid was a very practical, efficient and flexible solution that could easily be adapted to different contexts.
The similarities across cultures can be seen in the axes and organizing principles. Several cities had a forum in the center, for example. Roman cities as well as cities in China had a Necropolis outside the city. However, we see differences in how the settlements adapted to different climates, topographies and natural elements. Another significant difference is cultural beliefs. In western Cities, the grid had a single axis and the center was an open space. In the east, the grids had multiple axes and the center was a built form. This could suggest different variations evolves according to prevalent ideologies and philosophies of that particular time and place.
References:
1: Marcello F, 2020, 'Settlement 1: Introduction and definitions, Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 15th of March 2020
2: Marcello F, 2020, 'Settlement 3: the prevalence of the grid (the Romans)', Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 15th of March 2020
3: Marcello F, 2020, 'Settlement 4 and 5: the prevalence of the grid (the Asian World)', Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 15th of March 2020
4: Wenren J, 2012, Ancient Chinese encyclopedia of technology : translation and annotation of the Kaogong ji, Oxfordshire, England ; New York, New York : Routledge
5: Harari, Yuval N. author. (2015). Sapiens : a brief history of humankind. New York :Harper,
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