graeber-wengrow-the-dawn.md

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Contents

1. Farewell to Humanity's Childhood
2. Wicked Liberty
3. Unfreezing the Ice Age
4. Free People, the Origin of Cultures, and the Advent of Private Property
5. Many Seasons Ago
6. Gardens of Adonis
7. The Ecology of Freedom
8. Imaginary Cities
9. Hiding in Plain Sight
10. Why the State Has No Origin
11. Full Circle
12. Conclusion

Farewell to Humanity's Childhood

1. Hobbes's Leviathan founded modern political theory: civil war and brute situation of a state of nature could be avoided only by a strong, undivided government.
2. A modern-day Hobbesian would argue we lived most of our evolutionary history in tiny bands, who could get along mainly because they shared a common interest ("parental investment"). But even these were in no sense founded on equality. Hierarchy and domination, and cynical self-interest, have always been the basis of human society.
3. The prevalent ‘big picture’ of history—shared by modern-day followers of Hobbes and Rousseau alike—has almost nothing to do with the facts. A conceptual shift is required to understand the new information.
4. According to Fukuyama and Diamond (and Rosseau), agriculture put an end to human equality which was achieved when we lived in nomadic bands and had no concept of private property.
5. Contrary to Hobbesian concept of selfishness and brutal savagery, there is archaeological evidence for pre-government people being selfless and caring.
6. Pinker claims that the world is getting better—and it has never been as good before. The western civilization has brought happiness and security. The authors opine that Pinker may not be correct on this—there have been many instances where people chose to be in an earlier state of affairs.
7. Existence of long-distance exchange of goods is not a sufficient indicative of market economy. It could be a trophy quest or other interesting reasons. People generally come up with mundane boring explanations of history. This book attempts to give our ancestors their deserved humanity.

Wicked Liberty

8. The Age of Enlightenment in Europe was not without foreign influence—for instance, the idea of governments ruling over a people of common language and culture, run by bureaucrats trained in liberal arts who passed competitive exams were entirely new in Europe but had been prevalent for centuries in China.
9. Native Americans pointed out the lack of individual freedom and equality in European institutions. Debates followed on whether or not freedom and equality are good.
10. Enlightenment thinkers were influenced by Native Americans. Many Europeans came to embrace the ideals of freedom and equality after encounters with the Natives.
11. Thinkers such as Hobbes and Locke concluded that, for better or worse, the state of nature is that of freedom and equality.
12. The Jesuits from Europe, whose goal was to convince the Americans of the superiority of Catholic faith, often acknowledged how rational and clear-sighted the Americans were (some even commented that the Natives were cleverer than them)—they would point out flaws and holes in Christian faith and reasoning.
13. The American savages had far more freedom and equality (which is the expression of freedom) than the Europeans—and their equality is nothing like the "equality below law" for they had no arbitrary authority.
14. Primitive communism was more apparent in Native American societies than in European ones—likely to help/share bread with other families, etc. Money did not turn into power and the concept of private property is almost non-existent.
15. The indigenous American critique of European society (social hierarchy and order, blind submission to faith and arbitrary authority, lack of individual liberty) had a direct impact on European thought and enlightenment. Debates followed; some advocated the idea and some responded by founding a theory of social evolution (that societies evolve from hunters to pastoralists to farmers to modern society)
16. Rousseau argued that social inequality is a product of private property. Political radicals of American Revolution and French Revolution adopted his ideas. Rousseau played a central role in the founding of left-wing politics.

Unfreezing the Ice Age

17. Early humans were much more physically diverse than today. They must have also been so socially diverse that it would be impossible to talk about "original human society". Any attempt would then be an instance of myth making.
18. Archaeological findings indicate that Ice Age societies had grand monuments, princely burials, centres of trade and craft production. They aren't as simple, innocent and egalitarian as we thought them to be.
19. There could have been seasonal variations in social life. Hunter-gathering in summer and chief-like social structure in winter (the chief—not a lawgiver, but a pacifist and benefactor—ensuring everyone is nourished and no one falls into destitute).
20. If the early humans constantly moved between band-life and chiefdom-life, then one cannot talk about a social evolution from bands to tribes to chiefdoms to state.

Free People, the Origin of Cultures, and the Advent of Private Property

21. Truly egalitarian means to eliminate all possibilities of accumulation of any surplus—for instance, food brought home is finished the same day, and anything extra is shared, but never stored.
22. Hunter-gatherers had to work for a lesser number of hours to meet daily needs and had more time for leisure or travel. They were aware of farming but saw no reason to abandon foraging in favor of that.
23. Sahlin's writing almost echoes the biblical narrative—adoption of farming (a conscious choice) came with an enormous cost, for they fell into chaos plagued with war, disease, poverty and slavery, and the punishment for original sin is the infinity of our new desires.
24. Poverty Point (now a UNESCO world heritage site) was a hunter-gatherer metropolis with the size of a Mesopotamian city-state—indicates labour organization, geometric and mathematical techniques, and possibly sharing of other forms of knowledge.
25. Poverty Point (categorized under the "Archaic" period—supposedly a long time period before anything particularly important was happening), structures along the shores of Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and the Jomon period indicate rich social structure before the advent of farming.
26. The agricultural argument—goes back to John Locke who argued that when a person mixes their labour with nature, the labour enters the object conferring individual ownership—was used to justify extermination of indigenous peoples and makes no sense. Farming is not the only way to care and improve the productivity of land. Foragers had maintained land for millennia by performing controlled burning, weeding and allowing flora and fauna to recover.
27. Some forager societies had hierarchy (even one person with absolute power) and were acquainted with the notion of the sacred. The notions of the sacred and private property are intertwined—both operating on exclusion. If private property had an origin, it's as old as the sacred, which is likely as old as humanity itself.

Many Seasons Ago

28. Along the North American Pacific coast were two culture areas—Canadians and Californians—and archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest they were connected by movement of people and trade. Surprisingly their cultures were quite different. While Canadians had a hierarchical social structure, human sacrifices, raiding and inherited slavery, the Californians had barely any of these.
29. Wars and slavery are intertwined. Canadian aristocrats found it difficult to reduce their free subjects to the workforce, hence they raided and turned the war captives to slaves.
30. Cultures were structures of refusal—people defined themselves in contrast to others, and in the process, set themselves as a distinct group. Californians, though they were in contact with Canadians, consciously rejected their ways in favor of own values.
31. Hierarchy and inequality tend to emerge together. Domination first appears on the most basic, intimate level. Self-consciously egalitarian politics emerge to prevent such relations from extending beyond those small worlds into the public sphere.

Gardens of Adonis

32. An argument in evolutionary anthropology suggests that matriarchy might have been the original condition of humankind—because the physiological paternity wasn't understood and people assumed women are single-handedly responsible for bringing babies. True matriarchy (say, arbitrary power in the hands of women) is exceedingly rare. Other forms—say, women role models on an economic basis—may be considered.
33. Domestication is what happens when a crop loses its ability to grow by itself in the wild—this is brought by genetic mutations through human activities. Recent research concludes that this can happen within a few decades. On the contrary, archaeological evidence suggests the so-called "Agricultural Revolution" took 3000 years to complete in the Fertile Crescent.
34. Common sense suggests cereal-farming came first, other uses of straw followed later. Archaeological evidence shows it's the other way round. People settled in permanent villages in the Fertile Crescent long before cultivation. People harvested wild grass for straw—used for various purposes like burning, making roofs, basket-making, clothing, thatch, etc.—and the grass lost its ability for seed dispersal.
35. Flood-retreat farming—allowing the nature to rear crops, for instance, a river flooding its banks bringing alluvial soil—was an important feature of early Neolithic economies. Such ecological systems fostered incremental growth of settlements and populations for three millennia. This happened independently in various places in the Fertile Crescent with no epicenter.

The Ecology of Freedom

36. Adoption of agriculture in the remote past did not entail the inception of private property, territoriality, state politics, or irreversible departure from forager egalitarianism. Agriculture did not spread quickly as some historians want us to believe. The process was messy and not unidirectional and with mixed results.
37. The end of the Ice Age provided a warmer climate necessary for farming. The process was very slow and un-revolutionary. Many foragers found the idea unappealing. In-and-out-of-farming (primarily foraging but occasionally taking up cultivation) was successful for millennia.
38. The new Neolithic farmers were underdogs and initially only farmed on the land unappealing or inaccessible to the foragers. Cultivation had to be worked out using trial and error. Sometimes the foragers would raid on the new farmers.

Imaginary Cities

39. Ecological factors often played a role in the rise of cities. Deltaic environments (wetland, flora and fauna, migratory birds) attracted human populations. This and other factors led to specialized forms of farming. In this way, extensive agriculture may have been an outcome, not a cause, of urbanization.
40. Ukranian mega-sites (older than Mesopotamian cities) were inhabited by foragers, hunter-gatherers and in-and-out-farmers (who occasionally employed small-scale farming and also fed on wild foods). These cities seem to have been egalitarian—decisions arrived at by assemblies of representatives of families.
41. Early Mesopotamian cities seem to have been self-governed with no authoritarian rule. Women, sons, daughters and manual labourers played their part in decision-making. Temples provided refuge and support to the urban needy.
42. The Uruk expansion involved no weapons but rather it influenced the nearby settlements with their culture and ways of life. In nearby cities, private structures were built, in place of temples, to house weapons and armoury—the heroic societies—marking the rise of warrior aristocracies and palaces. In this way, aristocracy, perhaps monarchy itself, first emerged in opposition to egalitarian Mesopotamian cities.
43. Mohenjo-daro seemed to be egalitarian with equal distribution of wealth and writing, with no clear evidence of authoritarian rule. The civic life seemed to be at the Great Bath—a public place for purification of bodies. Indus civilization had their script but it vanished with their cities and was not deciphered.
44. There is no necessary correspondence between the concepts of social hierarchy and the practical mechanics of governance. A caste system may co-exist with egalitarian governance (the Bali example—the seka system, inspired by Hinduism but everyone takes part in politics).
45. A very common theory is that kingdoms form, following agriculture in river valleys, to maintain complex irrigation systems. Bali once again provides a counter-example. Their irrigation is managed entirely by consensus of farmers on egalitarian decision-making.
46. The Hobbesian idea is refuted by a particular case in China. When kingship failed in a city, anarchism followed. During the anarchy, the city expanded its size and flourished for two centuries.

Hiding in Plain Sight

47. When the Mexica arrived, they founded their Aztec city Tenochtitlan, modelling it on Teotihuacan, an abandoned city. Most myths surrounding Teotihuacan were made by the Mexica. But Teotihuacan, as archaeological evidence suggests, was devoid of royalty and authoritarian rule (when they existed, they almost inevitably left traces).
48. The pyramids of Teotihuacan were built without working animals and metal tools. There were rituals for human sacrifices. But surprisingly, history took a turn and Teotihuacan became largely egalitarian. Instead of building palaces, the citizens embarked on a project of urban renewal, supplying high-quality apartments for nearly all the city's population, regardless of wealth or status. The authority was possibly divided among local assemblies—there are complexes dispersed throughout the city.
49. Although there are no signs of royalty in Teotihuacan, there is art in Tikal (another city) depicting rulers in Teotihuacano tradition and clothing. Was it that some bandit, trader, traveler from Teotihuacan landed there and was treated with royalty (as similar incodents occurred throughout history)? Did Teotihuacan eventually fall, because some such ruler returned and having learnt new ways, revolted?
50. Traxcala, as archaeology and other written sources confirm, was an indigenous republic—governed by a council of elected officials answerable to the citizenry—which existed long before Europeans set foot on American soil. Later, Traxcala decided to lend hand to the Spanish in conquering their old rival the Aztec empire.

Why the State Has No Origin

51. A common definition defines a state as an institution that has monopoly on the use of violence within a territory. The authors suggest three principles—control of violence, control of information and individual charisma (heroic society)—as bases of social power. In modern states, these translate to sovereignty, bureaucracy (administration) and competitive politics.
52. It's a misconception to assume that once a society becomes complex, it necessitates a top-down social structure (government). Sometimes the existence of a complex society is taken as proof for existence of the state. Early cities refute this outlook.
53. An empire run entirely by military force is susceptible to another stronger force of the same nature—when the Spanish conquered Inca, most things fell in place while rebellions continued ceaselessly at places where there were no kingships.
54. Sovereignty alone cannot be a state. A king's power even if it is absolute only extends as far as they can reach. Contrary to common theory, complex society (need for irrigation?) does not necessarily entail bureaucracy. There is archaeological evidence for bureaucracy in very early small societies.
55. One reason why Ancient Egypt is regarded as one of the earliest states is because they had both sovereignty and bureaucracy (but practically no heroic, competitive politics). When a Dynasty failed, they turned/returned to heroic societies (a time historians refer to as "intermediate" or "dark ages"—nothing significant changed except the loss of sovereignty).
56. People tend to visualize civilization as building of cities which in turn led to formation of states. This is not the case historically or etymologically. Minoan Crete offers an archaeological puzzle. There is no clear evidence of monarchy and it appears to have been a theocracy of priestesses.

Full Circle

57. Evolutionists have moved on from the traditional social evolution theory from bands to tribes to chiefdoms to states. Are current social structures inevitable? It's difficult to predict future events, but once they happen they seem inevitable.
58. Native Americans have an old clan system based on animals—treated as ancestors. It's possible to travel across the width of the continent and find someone of the same clan and find help. This is surprising because they have diverse language families.
59. Historical events are impossible to predict and happen only once. Pre-Columbian America offers a perfect example why monarchy may not have been inevitable. Cahokia had every chance to become a grain-state. But the top-down structure failed and the settlers moved away to become local republics. This disapproves the idea that once state formation is done, there is no getting out. Cahokia sidestepped the evolutionary trap—that agriculture leads to empires.
60. Three fundamental freedoms: (1) to move, (2) to disobey, (3) to establish social structures by rational idea. The third may follow from the first two. The story of Cahokia might have inspired the indigenous critique of European society which later led to (inspired) the Enlightenment. There is no reason to assume this rejection of prevailing social structures did not happen in the far past.

Conclusion

61. Big histories place big importance on technological advancements (Stone-Bronze-Iron, or Agricultural-Industrial). It's easy to overestimate the role of technology in shaping human history. That Teotihuacan used stone tools and Mohenjo-daro used metal tools makes little difference in their social structure, city size, etc. It's a misconception to assume a major technological advancements brought big changes in human history. Indeed, technological advancements come incrementally. Prehistoric inventions still benefit us today (making bread via yeasts?) and Greeks came up with the principle of the steam engine but used it for opening doors.
62. The origin of monarchy might have been rituals (the first kings were dead kings?) or charity (chiefs giving refuge and care to strangers, widows, orphans, etc.) There were long periods (centuries) between wars after the advent of agriculture. Wars and patriarchy are related. Patriarchy and monarchy have similar model.