3 ms·

Guns, Germs and Steel is considered hogwash by pretty much all archaeologists. It's basically environmental determinism in the extreme. Don't let his Pulitzer p

Guns, Germs and Steel is considered hogwash by pretty much all archaeologists. It's basically environmental determinism in the extreme. Don't let his Pulitzer prize fool you, Jared Diamond certainly is not an anthropologist, he is an ornithologist, and his application of ecological models to cultural phenomena really oversteps the boundaries of acceptable anthropological scholarship. See this article for a solid critique: http://www.columbia.edu/~saw2156/HunterBlatherer.pdf http://www.columbia.edu/~saw2156/HunterBlatherer.pdf Instead, if you're interested in reading more about ice age art, particularly in the Swabian Jura region, you'll definitely enjoy this upcoming book written by the leading archaeologists who work on that material: [Ice Age Archaeology: The Record from the Ach and Lone Valleys of Southwest Germany](https://books.google.ca/books/about/Ice_Age_Archaeology.html?id=X0VhygEACAAJ https://books.google.ca/books/about/Ice_Age_Archaeology.html...) In 2018 I had the unique opportunity to visit Hohle Fels, which is where some of the oldest portable art was recovered, as well as the oldest musical instrument, a bone flute. The tour was led by Nicholas Conrad, the director of this project, and Ewa Dutkiewicz, who excavated and subsequently devoted a large chunk of her career towards studying the bone flute. Their enthusiasm during the tour was really captivating :) I also highly recommend adding the forthcoming book The Dawn of Everything: a New History of Humanity to your reading list. It is co-authored by David Graeber, a fantastic anthropologist who sadly died this year. Check out [this article](https://www.eurozine.com/change-course-human-history/ https://www.eurozine.com/change-course-human-history/) by the authors published in 2018 for a prelude regarding the main objectives of this book

contingencies 6y ago
Well, archaeology and anthropology have never been in agreement. Further, the data and accepted method is always changing. I believe living in proximity to multiple traditional societies grants perspective quite apart from the ivory tower of universities. I personally believe Diamond raises some good points for a general audience. FYI I grew up two doors down from an internationally celebrated anthropologist, have PhD anthropologist friends, and my father studied anthropology, so I am not unaccustomed to the winds of academic change in this space. Also a fan of David Graeber but didn't recommend his books due to the degree of repetition I found in them (I basically grew up in Zomia). In short it seems we read similarly but our opinions differ.

contingencies 6y ago

Well, archaeology and anthropology have never been in agreement. Further, the data and accepted method is always changing. I believe living in proximity to multiple traditional societies grants perspective quite apart from the ivory tower of universities. I personally believe Diamond raises some good points for a general audience. FYI I grew up two doors down from an internationally celebrated anthropologist, have PhD anthropologist friends, and my father studied anthropology, so I am not unaccustomed to the winds of academic change in this space. Also a fan of David Graeber but didn't recommend his books due to the degree of repetition I found in them (I basically grew up in Zomia). In short it seems we read similarly but our opinions differ.