You might find this paper and interview interesting: https://www.econtalk.org/omer-moav-on-the-emergence-of-the-state/

Paper: https://bse.eu/research/working-papers/cereals-appropriability-and-hierarchy

It talks about how the development of cereal grains can have an impact on state formation. I don't fully buy into it b/c it seems a little too deterministic, but it's definitely an interesting idea.