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The Resource The dawn of everything : a new history of humanity, David Graeber and David Wengrow

The dawn of everything : a new history of humanity, David Graeber and David Wengrow

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Author
Contributor
Summary
For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what's really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action. --
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
704 pages
Isbn
9780241402429
Instance
Label
The dawn of everything : a new history of humanity
Title
The dawn of everything
Title remainder
a new history of humanity
Statement of responsibility
David Graeber and David Wengrow
Creator
Contributor
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what's really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action. --
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http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Graeber, David
Index
no index present
Literary form
non fiction
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Wengrow, D.
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Civilization
  • Civilization
Label
The dawn of everything : a new history of humanity, David Graeber and David Wengrow
Instantiates
Publication
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1237349194
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
704 pages
Isbn
9780241402429
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
System control number
(OCoLC)1237349194
Label
The dawn of everything : a new history of humanity, David Graeber and David Wengrow
Publication
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1237349194
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
704 pages
Isbn
9780241402429
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
System control number
(OCoLC)1237349194

Subject

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