Chapter 1 : The Rise of Civilizations The first prehuman hominids may have lived about 4.4 million years ago. Some species of hominids evolved larger brains, including Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Modern humans, Homo sapiens, appeared around 200,000 years ago. Early humans lived in groups and cooperated in obtaining food. They developed language, tools and weapons, and techniques for staying warm. When conflicts between groups developed over land and water, hominids developed techniques for defense and attack. Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, early peoples shifted from hunting and food gathering to farming. Agriculture allowed people to give up their nomadic ways and settle in communities, usually in a river valley. With a steady food supply, people could devote their time to other economic activities. Early agricultural villages grew into the first cities, which were highly organized societies, or civilizations. Early civilizations shared certain basic features, such as specialized labor, cooperative methods for producing surplus food, organized government, a system of values and religious beliefs, and written records.