1. Exploration. The not-quite-'only' good thing about Explorationist Civs is that they get a Scout early on. If you're not an exploratory civ, have a warrior ramble around and send a horseman out later when you get Horseback Riding to reap similar effects from the goody huts.
2. Niggly Treasury. Restrict your tax/science rate to the point where you're making the smallest profit possible- if you see your tax revenue jump by several coins at low levels, you might be able to increase your science rate.
3. Go for Republic/Monarchy right away. Recommended tech tree: 1) Ceremonial Burial (if you don't have it as a prerequisite), 2) Masonry (for the Pyramids, worth it to support empire growth), then head straight for Republic. I don't know why, but my exploring units always seem to find advances like Warrior Code and Horseback Riding first, which makes up for my inattention to the military. If you don't have to have a military advantage in the start/early mid-game, this works very well- Republic helps with corruption the best until you get Democracy, and I've found that other civs tend to follow a 'generic research all 1st level techs' strategy that allows you to trade for them.
