Division of labor"

To build cities, predict the Nile floods and build the pyramids,three sequential Egyptian civilizations required a sophisticated separation of tasks to employ gang labor. Limestone had to be quarried upriver, transported down the Nile and moved overland to the Gizeh site. Artisans and craftspeople have their origins in urban settings that have been traced to 8,000 years ago in Anatolia, Jericho and the Indus Valley.

Specialization
Egyptian scribe
Egyptian beer maker

Adam Smith (1776) made his discussion of specialization with respect to the pin factory famous and discussed the savings inherent in breaking down the making of pins into a series of smaller steps that even unskilled persons could perform, over and over again.