Jonathan Harker reviewed The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber
A transformative read
5 stars
This book is an absolute revelation. The 18th century enlightenment ideas about fundamental liberties were likely as much derived from Jesuit encounters with critiques from indigenous philosophers in North America than from anything else. Huge cities, only recently found in jungles with aerial LiDAR surveys, existed in Central America and the Amazon basin, with no evidence of palaces, kings, aristocracy, or violence. Everything we thought we knew about hunter-gatherer societies, the "invention" of agriculture, and the establishment of cities is basically completely backwards. The relish with which the authors deploy their wrecking ball is often delightful.
This book is an absolute revelation. The 18th century enlightenment ideas about fundamental liberties were likely as much derived from Jesuit encounters with critiques from indigenous philosophers in North America than from anything else. Huge cities, only recently found in jungles with aerial LiDAR surveys, existed in Central America and the Amazon basin, with no evidence of palaces, kings, aristocracy, or violence. Everything we thought we knew about hunter-gatherer societies, the "invention" of agriculture, and the establishment of cities is basically completely backwards. The relish with which the authors deploy their wrecking ball is often delightful.
