Although some laws of physics are fairly simple,
laws of more complex interactions are usually more complex and laws of development of civilization are very complex.
None of them involve throwing virgins (or sluts)into volcanoes, though some primitive scientists
have believed it.
Microwave ovens, for example, were developed by applying knowledge of microwaves to knowledge of what we might want to do with it.

A law of Development of Civilization is stated at
http://web.archive.org/web/20000115234126/www.ifsas.org/quotesci.htm
attributed to M.W.Pearson