The dawn of everything: A new history?. Issue 3 (2nd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fagan, Brian; Durrani, Nadia
• Is Part Of: Reviews in anthropology. Volume 50:Issue 3/4(2021)
• Page Start: 80
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2021-10-02
• Subjects: Human prehistory -- cultural evolution -- origins of modern human culture and food production -- anarchical approaches -- multidisciplinary anthropology; Anthropology -- Book reviews -- Periodicals; 301
• DOI: 10.1080/00938157.2022.2026612
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0093-8157

Abstract

Abstract: This 526-page discourse is a reasoned argument for rejecting the notion of steady progress in the human past that challenges our assumptions about the origins of many aspects of modern human behavior, including farming, property, cities, democracy, and slavery. The authors take an anarchic position. They conclude that since we have organized ourselves in many ways in the past, so there are other ways of organizing ourselves beyond the current dominant model of hierarchical states. The authors draw from/reinterpret archaeological data to emphasize (politically anarchic) examples of freedom, play, and social equality. This bold, controversial book will provoke intense discussion.