The history of slavery covers many ifferent forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history. Slavery, generally defined, refers to the "systematic exploitation of labor without consent, and/or to the possession of human beings as property". There is no clear timeline for the formation of slavery in any formalized sense. Slavery can be traced to the earliest records, such as the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1760 BC), which refers to it as an established institution.