Book review of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Sadly, this book was also Graeber’s last work. The famous anarchist philosopher, a major figure in the Occupy movement as well as an influential scholar, passed away at the end of 2020. This last work was a fitting foundation for his cause. him, a work that rivals fantasy epics in terms of power and imagination. Indeed, Graeber and Wengrow seem to be aware of this comparison, noting with a glance the point where early human history, with Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, like a world full of “hobbits, giants, and goblins.” And while the book is filled with explanatory material from early civilizations – Wengrow is an expert on ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archeology – it is also a self-conscious exercise in asthma treatment. my asthma. The authors write: “Social theory is largely a belief game. “We basically reduce everything to cartoons so we can spot patterns that might not be visible.” In other words, this is not a book that tries to be scientifically correct, whatever that means. It was a debate.