There have been people in habiting Germany since before the Roman Empire.

It has been
estimated that people have been there since 600,000 year ago. The oldest complete weapon was
found in Schoningen in a coal mine. The discoveries of the earliest fossils have been found in
parts of Germany as well, these fossils are part of what are now known as the Neanderthal
species of man. There is even further evidence of modern humans being in Germany before this
time by the finding of art pieces used from animals that were around before the ice age such as
the mammoth tooth.
The oldest known settlement in Germany is a city called Trier. Trier was founded by the
Celts who were part the Iron Age in Medieval Europe that spoke Celtic languages and had
cultural similarities. It was founded during the 4th century BC and known then as Treuorum. Trier
was later taken over by The Roman Empire in the 1st century BC and was then renamed to
Trevorum or Augusta Trevorum which is Latin for The city of Augustus among the Treveri.
The population of Trier got to about 80,000 people making it the 4th largest city in the state. The
nearby cities were Saarbrcken, Koblenz, Mainz, and Ludwigshafen.
As mentioned before the population got up to 80,000 inhabitants, however it did not get
there easily. The city of Trier had several epidemics, wars, and famines that caused a set-back in
their population growth. Through these events, thousands of lives were lost. Once the
industrialization era hit during the 19th century, it boost the population and its development shot
up. By the early to mid-1900 the population grew up to the 80,000 mark. However, when the
Second World War hit, it was detrimental to the population. Trier depended on surrounding cities
at that time to be able to reach the same number of inhabitants as it had before the war.
The German ethnicity originated from Germanic tribes which came from the Holy
Roman Empire which came about during the middle ages. About 300 German states came about
during the fall of the Holy Roman Empire after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 which ended the
thirty years war. The earliest known urban centers were from the Romans on the Roman
settlements. Because the Romans had the most interaction in the German areas, their influence
along with the Germanic tribes influence and what predominately shape the environment. Also
when it came to urbanization the workforce quickly advanced from agricultural to industrial
which influenced their political and economic standing when it came to international trade and
production.
Before Germany had the tools to become industrialized, it relied heavily on farming to
get the resources the people needed. As it was mentioned in the Guns, Germs, and Steel videos,
using farm animals helped early settlers to advance their farming and agricultural needs since it
made certain tasks easier and more efficient to do. The animals provided a way to add more of
what was need for the people.
Sources:
History of Germany. (2001). Retrieved February 2, 2016, from
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac62
Outline of Germany's History. (2005). Retrieved February 2, 2016, from
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Germany-history.htm