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> As they put it, “Humans may not have begun their history in a state of primordial innocence, but they do appear to have begun it with a self-conscious aversio
by igouy 5y ago
> As they put it, “Humans may not have begun their history in a state of primordial innocence, but they do appear to have begun it with a self-conscious aversion to being told what to do. If this is so, we can at least refine our initial question: the real puzzle is not when chiefs, or even kings and queens, first appeared, but rather when it was no longer possible to simply laugh them out of court.”
When weapons that anyone could make from everyday materials became wildly insufficient against bronze weapons made by magic and hoarded by kings.
"A Short History of Humanity: A New History of Old Europe"
https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Short_History_of_Humanity/-p0jEAAAQBAJ https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Short_History_of_Huma...
- fourtrees 5y agoI like this answer, and Krause's on my reading list now. I have to speculate that the development of the organizational/institutional capabilities to produce bronze on a large scale (especially the need for reliable long-distance trade networks needed to acquire tin (or pre-made bronze) en masse), and not just the effectiveness of the material as an arm (and the feedback between these two factors), was a very important change. 'Suddenly', you have a whole part of society whose livelihoods are dependent on the bronze industry and who would seemingly be willing to fight to keep their potentate(s) in power if it meant keeping their trade afloat (were the original nobles just the members of the local bronze 'guild'?). And of course an even larger segment of the population willing to go along with it for their own safety.
- tremon 5y agoAlternately: when we developed warehousing. Grain houses, meat salting, anything that allowed long-term storage allowed hoarding. Manual labour then shifted from subsistence-related activities to protecting the stash, and that means you need a power structure to decide who gets access to what part of the riches.
- igouy 5y ago> … protecting the stash… "… wildly insufficient against bronze weapons…"