This new popular read is of interest in this area: ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History’ by Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury, London, 2020). He stands up to Pinker.
On Fri 4 Sep 2020 at 4:21 p.m., Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > In his detailed exposition of warfare > > in nonstate societies, Pinker (2011, pp. 40–56) conflates all > > prestate societies under a general heading and glosses over a > > very well documented and durable tenet of anthropology, namely > > that, with a few exceptions, warfare, as commonly understood, is > > rare or uncommon in many hunting and gathering societies. > > Evidence for it and its dire effects becomes prevalent only with > > the dramatic changes brought about by the Neolithic Revolution. > > The domestication of plants and animals, the transition from > > nomadic to sedentary living, and the subsequent growth of > > population and of fixed property brought profound changes to > > human societies, including rising rates of intergroup conflict > > and its deadly consequences. Classic accounts of the Mesolithic > > and Neolithic and warfare are provided by Haas (1993) for the > > Anasazi of the American Southwest, Roksandic (2004) for the > > European Mesolithic, and Flannery & Marcus (2012, pp. > > 367–76) for the valley of Oaxaca. Other authorities who have > > addressed this issue include Harris and William Divale (Divale > > &Harris 1976), Cohen (1977), Kelly (2000), Ferguson (1997, > > 2006), Ferguson & Whitehead (1992), Rowthorn & Seabright > > (2010), and Fry (2006, 2013). Keeley (1997) himself has > > contributed to this topic through his own research, documenting > > the intensification of intergroup violence in the LBK (Linear b > > and keramik) cultures as Neolithic farmers succeeded Mesolithic > > hunters at the Mesolithic-to-Neolithic transition across > > Northern Europe. > > > > > > https://libcom.org/history/hunter-gatherers-human-evolution-new-light-old-debates-richard-b-lee > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#1161): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/1161 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/76632018/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES<br />#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.<br />#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.<br />#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
