Against the grain was written by a political scientist, but shows that sometimes you need an outsider’s view to re-think conventional ideas about history and human evolution. Which part of Africa will you be reading about?
Yeah I think that’s pretty interesting too. I think the Americas break a lot of the “rules” of determinism that historians apply to the old world. The copper smelting tribes of the Great Lakes developed metallurgy but not complex statecraft while the Aztecs developed a complex stratified society but were still using obsidian blades. Just goes to show that people develop their own unique ways of building cultures that are not dependent on formulas
I think Neolithic societies across the globe are fascinating. The pre Bronze Age people of Europe had such an interesting footprint and it’s too bad we’ll never know so many things about them. Likewise, even though from a different era, the world of the Aztecs and Maya probably share a lot of elements with those European/Eurasian cultures, being practically a Neolithic society in many ways. I just think the eras of people using stone tools are always pretty intriguing
Interestingly the Iroquoians used copper tools at the height of Neolithic period. Though the copper wasn't smelted but I find it quite fascinating that they used copper, while the rest of Americas used stone tools for a significantly longer period.
Currently reading Against the Grain, after finishing several books on medieval Europe. Preparing for a dive into African history. It’s all good!
Against the grain was written by a political scientist, but shows that sometimes you need an outsider’s view to re-think conventional ideas about history and human evolution. Which part of Africa will you be reading about?
I’ve got a list to explore: Ghana, Mali, Zimbabwe, what is now the DRC…
Yeah I think that’s pretty interesting too. I think the Americas break a lot of the “rules” of determinism that historians apply to the old world. The copper smelting tribes of the Great Lakes developed metallurgy but not complex statecraft while the Aztecs developed a complex stratified society but were still using obsidian blades. Just goes to show that people develop their own unique ways of building cultures that are not dependent on formulas
I just reread your comment, I didn’t realize they didn’t smelt copper, that’s interesting
I think Neolithic societies across the globe are fascinating. The pre Bronze Age people of Europe had such an interesting footprint and it’s too bad we’ll never know so many things about them. Likewise, even though from a different era, the world of the Aztecs and Maya probably share a lot of elements with those European/Eurasian cultures, being practically a Neolithic society in many ways. I just think the eras of people using stone tools are always pretty intriguing
Interestingly the Iroquoians used copper tools at the height of Neolithic period. Though the copper wasn't smelted but I find it quite fascinating that they used copper, while the rest of Americas used stone tools for a significantly longer period.