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David Graeber and Wengrow cover this extensively in the fascinating book "The Dawn of Everything" where they discuss evidence for huge trade/exchange networks e
by kiliantics 5y ago
David Graeber and Wengrow cover this extensively in the fascinating book "The Dawn of Everything" where they discuss evidence for huge trade/exchange networks existing across North and Central America. There was an ancient city in Poverty Point, Louisiana, constructed using what can only be fairly sophisticated mathematical knowledge, the same which is known to have been used in other sites in Central America. And collections of materials and objects have been found that must have been brought over distances of thousands of kilometres. All this while there being no evidence for anything that looks like modern "civilisation" or hierarchical social structure.
- christkv 5y agoYou saw this in Bronze Age Europe as well with trade happening between the people in Europe and the Middle East.
- kiliantics 5y agoYes, though the distinction they want to get at is that the example at Poverty Point didn't have what we would usually refer to as a settled agrarian society with the usual social relations we know from the European examples. Though they do mention one similar "city" in Turkey called Göbekli Tepe which also seemed to form without the usual traits of civilisation.