The author argues that much of history and archaeology is influenced by modern states. They argue that societies that leave ruins to be found dominate our historical views compared to societies that built with perishable materials.
6 Matching Annotations
- Oct 2025
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drive.google.com drive.google.com
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The author argues against the traditional view of the progression of society. They say that it is thought that once people learn about agriculture they would never continue to be nomads. The author says people view it this way because they think that each step is a leap in mankind's well being which can be proven to not be the case.
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The author says that the first stratified, walled states pop up more than four millenia after the first crop domestications. They explain that this lag in time is a problem for the theory that states/empires arose immediately after the domestication of crops.
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Nor can we just assume that if we want to understand the prospects for our modern world, the only ‘big’ stories worth telling are those of empire.
Wengrow is saying that we need more push-back on the idea that Empires are the best, or only, thing to study when trying to understand human progress. We need to recognize other forms of society as well.
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One way to control the quality of historical conjecture is by using rigorous sources that are up to date. In the social sciences, basing important claims on a source from 1978 is going back a while (I was six years old when the Atlas in question was published). Surely such significant matters have been the subject of continuing research?
Wengrow stresses the importance of using up to date resources when discussing historical topics. This is because our knowledge is ever-growing and the only way to improve historical conjecture is to use up to date information.
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Tribes are to empires (and their scholarly champions) much as children were to adults of Gibbon’s generation – occasionally charming or amusing creatures, but mostly a disruptive force, whose destiny is to be disciplined, put to useful work, and governed, at least until they are ready to govern themselves in a similar fashion.
This sounds like Tribes were often viewed as broken or less mature versions of civilization compared to Empires. It is a problem similar to what Boas brought up in that we shouldn't view certain cultures as incomplete versions of other cultures.
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