The correct answer is C) People formed governments to wage war against neighboring villages.
The statement that best describes the main reason behind the establishment of governments in early river valley civilizations was "People formed governments to wage war against neighboring villages."
Early civilizations settled in the Middle East region, between the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. We are talking about Sumeria and Mesopotamia. Many city-states were founded such as Uruk, Eridu, Ur, Lagash, Isin, Adab, Killah, Larsa, Kish, and Nippur. They grew up to be strong city-states that wage war to each other in order to establish control and dominion.