David Wengrow

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR'Pacey and potentially revolutionary' Sunday Times'Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read' The Guardian'This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast' Nassim Nicholas TalebFor generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself.

In this fresh, authoritative and compelling survey of the archaeology of early Egypt, David Wengrow offers a new interpretation of the emergence of farming economies and the dynastic state, c.10,000 to 2,650 BC. Exploring key themes such as the nature of state power, kingship and the inception of writing, Wengrow illuminates prehistoric social development along the Nile through comparison with neighbouring regions. Detailed analysis of the archaeological record reveals the interplay between large-scale processes of economic and political change and intimate material practices through which social identities were transformed, focussing upon ritual treatments of the dead. Employing rich empirical data and engaging critically with anthropological theory and the history of archaeological thought, Wengrow's work challenges the current theoretical isolation of Egyptian prehistory and breaches the methodological boundaries that separate prehistory from Egyptology. It is essential reading for anybody with an interest in ancient Egyptian civilisation or early state formation.

La historia de la arqueología se ha convertido en los últimos años en una herramienta fundamental para comprender la práctica arqueológica. Por primera vez los historiadores de la arqueología se hacen eco de los debates teóricos y metodológicos que se producen en el seno de la historia de la ciencia presentismo, inter¬nalistas versus externalistas y defienden la impor¬tancia de esta disciplina para el progreso de la ciencia. El cambio de orientación se produjo a finales de los años ochenta y durante los años noventa, cuando algunos historiadores de la arqueología (Trigger, Richard, Christenson) asumieron la importancia de considerar el contexto social, económico, político y cultural a la hora de estudiar el desarrollo del conocimiento arqueoló¬gi¬co. La historia de la arqueología ya no es una mera crónica del progreso científico, sino una parte esencial de la teoría arqueológica. Buen conocedor de la historia de la ciencia y discípulo de Bruce G. Trigger, el autor muestra cómo la historia de la arqueología debe constituir un instrumento de reflexión fundamental a propósito de la práctica arqueológica. En su análisis crítico de la historiografía arqueológica, Oscar Moro considera que esta no ha escapado totalmente del tipo de historia tradicional que denuncia, es decir, aquella que simplifica el pasado para legitimar el presente, sirviendo a los intereses dominantes de la sociedad y a determinados discursos ideológicos.