Excavations at an ancient Iraqi site called Shakhi Kora have revealed new clues about the origins of the world's earliest governing institutions, according to research led by the University of Glasgow.The research published in the journal Antiquity today (Wednesday 4 December 2024) suggests these early governing institutions emerged partly from their ability to provide large-scale meals, potentially as payment for labour. However, the later abandonment of these centralised structures, without signs of violent overthrow or environmental stress, points to a deliberate rejection of centralised forms of organisation that likely involved increasing top-down control...Shakhi Kora is a Late Chalcolithic site in...