Final answer:
The development of agriculture facilitated the creation of specialized roles, surplus food, and the development of states; while non-agricultural state formations are rarer. Stateless societies have existed successfully but face challenges with growing populations and resource concentration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The connection between food production (agriculture) and the development of state formation is foundational to the understanding of human civilization. The development of agriculture allowed a portion of society to specialize in producing food, which in turn enabled others to take on different roles such as building, crafting, and trading. This specialization and the resulting surplus of food led to a more structured division of labor, the development of settled communities, and eventually the establishment of states and writing systems. Non-agricultural groups have developed state systems, though they are less common.
Examples include some pastoralist societies that managed to form state structures without traditional agriculture, though their numbers are fewer. This is primarily because agriculture provides the reliable food surplus necessary for the complex division of labor that underlies state formation. Stateless societies, such as hunter-gatherers and pastoralists, have historically been successful without developing states due to their adaptable food sources and mobile lifestyles. However, as the world population grows and resources become more concentrated, reliance on agriculture and the need for stable food production becomes more crucial.