3 ms·

Well if you think that civilization equals cities and farming, then go grab "the dawn of everything", the last book of David Graeber :) I was quite amazed to r

Well if you think that civilization equals cities and farming, then go grab "the dawn of everything", the last book of David Graeber :) I was quite amazed to realize that the Golden Horde was way more sophisticated and powerful than most other empires of its time, and still it did not had cities, nor farming, and left really few traces. And that was around 1300, not in prehistoric times. Also, if you're interested in the relation between farming and civilization but want an adverse position, go read "against the grain". It's also quite mind-opening.

timschmidt 2y ago
I'm not really looking to debate or defend assertions. Just mark interesting points in human technological development in a way that's visible in the archeological or genetic record.
darby_nine 2y ago
> I was quite amazed to realize that the Golden Horde was way more sophisticated and powerful than most other empires of its time, and still it did not had cities, nor farming, and left really few traces. This is a pretty common theme for steppe horsemen, right? You can link this to the fall of probably dozens of empires.
jltsiren 2y ago
Steppe nomads always had permanent settlements and agriculture. Often not by the nomads themselves, but the agricultural settlements were an integral part of their society. The Golden Horde had many cities in Europe and Central Asia, but those cities were usually on the peripheries of the empire rather than centers of power. In some sense, this was similar to the Early Medieval Europe, where kings often had itinerant courts rather than permanent capitals. You could also compare steppe empires to naval empires that were common in the Mediterranean. Both had vast expanses of low-value territory that enabled rapid travel. But the real value was in the surrounding agricultural land and cities.

3 ms·

Well if you think that civilization equals cities and farming, then go grab "the dawn of everything", the last book of David Graeber :) I was quite amazed to r

by soufron 2y ago

timschmidt 2y ago
I'm not really looking to debate or defend assertions. Just mark interesting points in human technological development in a way that's visible in the archeological or genetic record.
darby_nine 2y ago
> I was quite amazed to realize that the Golden Horde was way more sophisticated and powerful than most other empires of its time, and still it did not had cities, nor farming, and left really few traces. This is a pretty common theme for steppe horsemen, right? You can link this to the fall of probably dozens of empires.
jltsiren 2y ago
Steppe nomads always had permanent settlements and agriculture. Often not by the nomads themselves, but the agricultural settlements were an integral part of their society. The Golden Horde had many cities in Europe and Central Asia, but those cities were usually on the peripheries of the empire rather than centers of power. In some sense, this was similar to the Early Medieval Europe, where kings often had itinerant courts rather than permanent capitals. You could also compare steppe empires to naval empires that were common in the Mediterranean. Both had vast expanses of low-value territory that enabled rapid travel. But the real value was in the surrounding agricultural land and cities.