The Old Kingdom of Egypt began circa 2,700 BCE and lasted until 2,200 BCE. The Old Kingdom is the period of Egyptian history that most people think of when asked about Ancient Egypt. Egyptian society was ruled by Pharaohs who had absolute power over their subjects. The famous pyramids of Giza were built during this time period. The Old Kingdom ruled for five hundred years before a series of crop failures led to a catastrophic decline.

The Neolithic Revolution is the name given to the development of agriculture, which first took place approximately ten thousand years ago. It led to the establishment of permanent settlements and the subsequent growth of cities and everything that comes with cities - politics, organized warfare, luxury, social stratification etc.

Rice paddy farming is a form of intensive agriculture that developed in southeast Asia during the classical era and spread to China and India. Rice paddy farming provided the food to support a rapidly growing east and south Asian population.

The Grand Canal was built in China during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The purpose of the Grand Canal was to connect the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

During the Edo period, technological developments that allowed for higher rice yields allowed for population growth. Additionally, the lack of warfare as a result of Tokugawa control of the whole country prevented large-scale death as a result of war.

The Irish Potato Famine had significant repercussions in the 19th century. It drove millions of Irish immigrants to America in search of prosperity, and created the deep-seated bitterness to England (for not providing support) that would cause violent tension for the next century.

The Green Revolution refers to a series of agricultural innovations from the late 1940s to the 1960s which dramatically increased the amount of food that could be produced by humanity. It is estimated that due to the innovations of the Green Revolution an additional one to two billion humans can be supported by the global food supply. 

The Green Revolution is the name given to a series of agricultural innovations in the middle of the twentieth century the greatly increased the productivity of farms, particularly in the developing world. The Green Revolution had its greatest impact in the 1960s. It is estimated that an additional one to two billion humans alive today are sustained because of the Green Revolution.

It is true that since the Green Revolution, global food supply has increased dramatically, but it is also true that the global population has exploded. There were 2.5 billion people alive in 1950 when the Green Revolution was just getting started. There are now more than 7 billion people. The global supply of food has increased, but not enough to combat the massive population growth. As a result, hundreds of millions of people still live in abject poverty and have inadequate access to food and water.

Yu the Great founded the Xia Dynasty approximately four thousand years ago. He is a partially mythological figure, it is not known exactly when he lived. His organization of Chinese rural communities, to prevent the flooding of the Yellow River, are primarily responsible for the foundation of the Chinese state. Yu was an innovator and organizer - he implemented a system of irrigation and a system to prevent flooding, and then tirelessly worked to ensure the system was uniformly carried out by local Chinese communities. In so doing he created a communal purpose and identity.