The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

What is the advantage of preserving the fluidity of social organization or technologies for survival? That is, why would early human societies live under a hierarchical form of government for part of the year, then live in a more egalitarian or democratic manner for another time of the year? Why would early humans farm only partially or contingently, while still maintaining traditions of foraging and hunting?

The authors speak of the lack of a neutral vocabulary to describe the wide variety of human social organization across history. How are words such as “city,” “state,” or “civilization” problematic? What do they assume or imply? How do terms such as “equality” or “inequality” complicate discussions of human societies?

What is schismogenesis? How does it influence the development of distinct human cultures? Compare and contrast two examples of societies that exhibit this phenomenon.

How does agriculture influence the development of human societies? How does it contribute to the rise of urban settlements? How does it impact ideas regarding private property? Compare and contrast the conventional scholarship to the authors’ account.

What are the “gardens of Adonis”? How do the authors use this metaphor to elaborate on the practice of “play farming,” in which some early human societies engaged? Why would the practice of “play farming” take precedence over the establishment of “serious agriculture”?

The traditional story about the rise of cities is that, as urban populations grew, so too did political and bureaucratic forms of control—not to mention social inequality. How do the authors question this conventional narrative? Give at least two examples that counter the prevailing assumptions about cities.

Why do the authors insist that there are no “origins” for the city, the state, or even the social (and global) inequality that plagues the world today? It cannot be denied that cities, states, and inequality all exist, so what, instead, are the authors suggesting about how these entities or concepts came to be?

What role does the Christian narrative about the Garden of Eden and the fall of man play in historical accounts of human history? Why and how do the authors critique that narrative? What is at stake in their account of a “new history of humanity”?