Against the grain : a deep history of the earliest states
(Book)

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Published
New Haven : Yale University Press, [2017].
Status
Central Library - Nonfiction - 2nd Floor
909 Sc
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Published
New Haven : Yale University Press, [2017].
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xvii, 312 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-300) and index.
Description
An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available for the beginnings of the earliest civilizations that contradict the standard narrative. Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains, and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agrarian states, says James C. Scott, were born of accumulations of domestications: first fire, then plants, livestock, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family-all of which can be viewed as a way of gaining control over reproduction. Scott explores why we avoided sedentism and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile subsistence, the unforeseeable disease epidemics arising from crowding plants, animals, and grain, and why all early states are based on millets and cereal grains and unfree labor. He also discusses the "barbarians" who long evaded state control, as a way of understanding continuing tension between states and nonsubject peoples.

Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Scott, J. C. (2017). Against the grain: a deep history of the earliest states . Yale University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Scott, James C.. 2017. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States. Yale University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Scott, James C.. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States Yale University Press, 2017.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Scott, James C.. Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States Yale University Press, 2017.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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