Do you want an end to war and inequality? Listen to your starving ancestors for clues to a solution.
Do you want an end to war and inequality? Listen to your starving ancestors for clues to a solution.
Comparative politics, Cultural & social, Wars & conflicts (other)
Do you want an end to war and inequality?
Civilizations the world over have produced spectacular innovations; monumental architecture, complex mathematics, magnificent art, and the invention of writing, to name a few. Civilizations have also produced several unsavory "innovations", which to the modern mind seem an inevitable part of living in civilized society.
Large-scale architecture was invented to store hoarded food and other goods, produced by the enslaved masses but enjoyed by the powerful elite. Writing was invented to keep track of hoarded commodities. Institutionalized warfare was invented to steal slaves, who could produce more for the monumental storage containers. A striking parallel with today's governments' violent obsessions over endless growth. This prevailing mindset can and must be undone or else we risk the annihilation of humanity.
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This book, by a previously-published archaeologist, helps us to understand the historical causes of warfare. The author walks us back in time to about 4000 BC, following the desertification of Northern Africa. She writes brilliantly, deeply, and with humor that engages the reader. What is it about humankind that brought on the spirit of killing and taking control of existing communities and nations long long ago? What still plagues us? We need to visit history to understand the instinct for killing and war. This book will move the minds and hearts of our youth as well as those who are interested in asking “Why”. ~ Janet L. , Goodreads
Jeri Studebaker's book Still Starving should fill the spot on your bookcase between Daniel Quinn and Peter Farb. A fascinating and plausible insight into the origins of the deepest dysfunctions in the recent history of humankind. ~ Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Thom Hartmann Program
Still Starving After All These Years covers in depth the anthropological and archeological evidence for the transformation from tribal-collectivist societies to state-class-divided societies around the year 4000 BC when climate change turned the previously fertile lands of the Middle East into deserts. Jeri Studebaker references the many works she has read describing this process and the development of our present prosperous but deeply divided society. It is well worth the time to wander through this historical maze. Please tell your friends about this book. ~ E. Haberkern, Center for Socialist History, csh.gn.apc.org
Hi Jeri, Your book, Still Starving After All These Years, was an excellent read. I learned so much, mainly that humans are not genetically wired for violence. Your theories are so succinctly and clearly woven that it is not difficult to follow the path to your conclusions. I enjoyed the stories of early cultures and have a deeper respect for anthropologists doing their work. I like your folksy expressions and how you throw them in at just the right time. I have just ordered 4 more copies of your book to give to those people that I had given Stephen Pinker’s book, Age of Enlightenment. I bought his work hook, line and sinker. Thanks for setting me straight. ~ Connie Neuhouser, retired high school biology teacher, Email
