Going tall is THE BEST way to start in the ancient era. doing this yields you unmatched benefits that you would never find anywhere else. Popping it grants you free aqueducts. one other branch gets you free monuments. The free buildings go in your first 4 cities. These free buildings collectively save you at least 20 gold per turn, a vital advantage on emperor and above. More money in your profits equals more cash for building a large army to take over your neighbor early. Also, happiness and money is made for population in your capital. More money made and more happiness is all the better. Then comes wonders. We need stonehenge to get a pantheon and a religion for tithe or church property. Maybe the great library. Or the oracle. What ever wonder you need, tradition is good for beelining a wonder when you need it fast. These wonders do you magic, just like RG3 and andrew luck do magic for their teams in unlikely circumstances. Popping tradition is good for building up early to become strong and build your economy. Popping honor is not worth it at first because unless you are a first are first kill person, you wont make much money off of killing troops. Tall is the way to go. Hope it helps.