Sally Strange on Nostr: Even if you never read "The Dawn of Everything" by Davids Graeber and Wengrow, at ...
Even if you never read "The Dawn of Everything" by Davids Graeber and Wengrow, at least take this to heart:
What you learned about human prehistory was most likely a lie. There was no linear progression from hunter/gatherer to farmer to city dweller to modern human. Our ancient ancestors were just as creative as we are. They didn't wait until 5,000 years ago to figure out agriculture. They invented it and discarded it when it didn't suit them, over and over again. They built cities and abandoned them quickly or centuries later, over and over again. They invented and discarded socialism and despotism, many times over. And there's no correlation between mode of production vs. political freedom. The idea of a linear progression was invented by 18th century Europeans who were feeling defensive about the inequality in their societies as compared to those of indigenous Americans.
What you learned about human prehistory was most likely a lie. There was no linear progression from hunter/gatherer to farmer to city dweller to modern human. Our ancient ancestors were just as creative as we are. They didn't wait until 5,000 years ago to figure out agriculture. They invented it and discarded it when it didn't suit them, over and over again. They built cities and abandoned them quickly or centuries later, over and over again. They invented and discarded socialism and despotism, many times over. And there's no correlation between mode of production vs. political freedom. The idea of a linear progression was invented by 18th century Europeans who were feeling defensive about the inequality in their societies as compared to those of indigenous Americans.