When humans emerged into the present age, weary and frostbitten, doubtless many of them did so without any comprehension of what had befallen them. Without much afterthought, the majority of men opted instead to focus on the challenges that lie before them. Some argue that early humans had no notion of planetary climate, or stadial cycles, or any of the astronomical phenomenon responsible for the previous aeon in all its horror. No one knows for sure what the earliest humans remembered or how much they understood about the climatological disaster they had endured for millenia.

As the ice age drew to an end, the new environment allowed an increase in human population. As the once barren tundra became inhabited by small groups of humans and the first human "settlements" appeared, culture rapidly advanced. The cultural revolution that occurred over the next several millenia makes it easy to overlook what had preceeded it. We're left to wonder what sort of cultures defined the presumably "primitive" communities during the ice age. Archaic human societies inhabited the planet for 2.5 million years. We know that Homo Sapiens were intimately involved in the communities of our most recent genetic relatives. Certainly the early civilizations at the onset of the Holocene inherited something from their predecessors.

When agriculture and husbandry became feasable alternatives to hunting and gathering, humans began organizing their communities and distinguishing themselves culturally from their neighbors. It's clear from the fossil record that humans had established a caste system or social hierarchy at a very early stage in cultural development - evidence strongly suggests that our early social model predates Homo Sapiens and that we merely adopted it.

Before government was organized into branches and parties, before elected representatives, before the concept of a Republic had been dreamt up in Greece, people were governed by kings. Kings have had many names and many functions through the ages. The truth of the role of early kings is quite different from our modern day caricature, or the kings representing the monarchies of Europe. The first kings were priests, shamans, and sometimes called "gods". Kings acted as judges over the community - dictating law and determining justice when called upon by the people. They were an important repository of information about the past and were considered the wisest among the people. They were thought to be capable of divination and interpretting signs in nature. As shamans, they also practiced medicine and healing.

As a community grew in size, kings elected others to aid in governance. Most sizable tribes had a ruling family or a "royal court". The ruling class was comprised of the financial, intellectual, and spiritual "elite" within a society. Despite the critical importance of other members of the ruling caste, the king alone weilded total authority. Far from kings of the modern monarchy or those found in medieval Europe, the very early kings were revered and respected by all in a community. The kings in early societies weren't pampered, sheltered, or remote figures tucked away in castles. Early kings were hands on - taking an active role in growing, protecting, and governing primitive society.

While the title may vary by region, their essential function was the same. Kings, chiefs, shamans, and priests had remarkable overlap in their roles. Rulership in early communities was hereditary. The position was for life. On the death of a king, one of their immediate relatives would adopt the position. In some regions, a new king may be sent from abroad or from an "academy" of sorts (Druids). Kings were often accompanied by what was later termed a "minstrel". The "family tree" of the ruling caste was of great importance and enormous effort was spent memorizing and passing on the hereditary line.

The priest-kings and their royal entourage appeared long before the invention of writing.