Anti-Social Studies Episode 101: The Ancient Era, or “Ain’t No River Valley Wide Enough”
Apr 17, 2018
A lively tour of the Neolithic Revolution and how independent agriculture led to settled life. A look at what scholars call the traits of civilization and why rivers encouraged urban growth. Discussion of rising social hierarchies, gender roles, and competing political ideas like divine kingship and the mandate of heaven. Exploration of flood patterns, early literature, law codes, urban planning, and geographic determinism.
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Food Surplus Enables Complexity
- Stable food supply is the single necessary condition for civilizations to arise.
- Emily Glankler emphasizes that without surplus food, societies cannot support specialized labor or complex projects.
Specialization Drives Social Stratification
- Specialization and institutions followed food surpluses, producing distinct social classes and organized governance.
- Emily Glankler notes these shifts created artisans, traders, and formal institutions like law and religion.
Value Nonwritten Histories
- Question assumptions that written records are the only valid history and value oral traditions and alternative record systems.
- Emily Glankler urges readers to reconsider biases that dismiss societies like the Inca for lacking written scripts.
