Watch us evolve... It won't take that long...

We can see in every generation our roots. Just as we can see embryonic stages reticent of our special ancestors. Children and teens show us the way.

We were pack hunters not herd animals. There were alphas. Children played. Adolescents competed with one another. The strong mated as they chose, the weak had limited options. But, we were different. Our strength could be varied. We began devising different ways to hunt. The individual that could throw a rock the furthest may not have been the individual that could throw with the most accuracy. However, simple competitions could resolve rank.

And then we shifted. The pack became the tribe. A tribe generally has 2 leaders. Although a chief may make the ultimate decision, most seek the advice of a wise woman or shaman. Roles start being assigned. Those roles still have a hierarchy. The tribe generally prefers the best hunter to the best gatherer. However, as hunting moves from innate ability or talent to skill, it becomes an occupation. Individuals arise that take on tasks for the whole tribe. Weapon quality varies by the maker and the tribe benefits from well equipped hunters.

And so professions arose. Humans stopped moving. Farming and raising of livestock allow us to settle. The tribe becomes a village. A village may have one leader, but generally it does not. Elders are respected for their knowledge and so are cared for. Trades form. Metalworking, masonry, carpentry; these can only be sustained while food is plentiful. Commerce must begin. It becomes nearly impossible to designate an alpha. The blacksmith's forge allows the plow. The plow allows the harvest. The harvest allows the blacksmith to eat. Just as evolution always had, we filled niches. Now, those niches were among ourselves. A new ecosystem built on top of the existing one composed entirely of 1 species.

However, no resource is unlimited and the need to hunt has been replaced with the need to protect. It is easier to take than to grow and so another niche arises. Super predators arose: pillagers. The need for alphas returned. However, pillaging is not sustainable. The enemy will only be at the gates every once in a while. The professional soldier is not necessary at first. The blacksmith makes weapons, a basket weaver turns fletcher, a carpenter becomes a bowyer. The fighters are often praised and success is often rewarded just as it had been in the pack, but a town guard is not promoted to high ruler. The pillagers are not always defeated. From time to time the take control and demand tribute. However, a dictator can not be sustained by a village, that requires a town or city.

For better or worse, we continued to specialize.