Final answer:
The history of agriculture has been essential to the development of cities and economies, establishing the surplus of food necessary for urbanization, job specialization, and the rise of trade and complex economies. The surplus supported non-farming populations and led to the creation of social structures and technological advances that became the hallmarks of early cities and civilization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The history of agriculture has had a profound impact on the development of cities and economies. Early human settlements show the transition from nomadic lifestyle to permanent dwellings due to the domestication of livestock and production of grain crops. This surplus of food led to the first major urbanization, similar to the rural-to-urban shift observed during the Industrial Revolution.
Agriculture allowed a portion of society to pursue other professions such as construction, pottery, and trade, fostering the development of writing out of economic necessity. The efficiency in food production brought forth new jobs, technologies, and eventually complex economies based on trade of goods and services. Specialization took root in these burgeoning urban centers, and with the surplus of agricultural products, cities were able to flourish and grow in population.
Advanced technology and social organization were key in supporting these non-farming populations, leading to the rise of cities such as Uruk in Mesopotamia, which featured a class of craftspeople, monumental architecture, and the invention of cuneiform writing for keeping track of trade and inventories. Thus, agriculture catalyzed the rise of organized, densely populated, and economically diverse cities, laying the groundwork for modern civilization.