[Harmless Teddy Bear]

What do you think of the idea that the organization of building and maintaining the canals was what led to what was essentially the first organized military units? As opposed to the war band concept that proceeded them.

[SunkenCiv]

That, and the need to defend their food supply from outsiders, and probably to keep order when there were disagreements about who had which land. The flood plain was the breadbasket of Sumerian cities, but the property lines had to be surveyed before each planting season. This led to their development of surveying (which led to geometry) as well as record keeping (which led to writing) and maybe astronomy (to track when to plant).