The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

The authors argue that such a narrative does not align well with real data and instead supports enduring myths of historical scholarship. Perhaps human history unfolded far more variously—and not along a single “ladder of progress.”

Drawing on discoveries from recent decades in archaeology, anthropology, and related fields, as well as on the ideas of Indigenous thinkers, Graeber and Wengrow offer a chance to look at social history from the outside—beyond the Western canon. They acknowledge the scale of the undertaking: it will take years for a new perspective to be understood and accepted by the academic community, but even now it is important to shift familiar concepts and the frameworks of discussion. “The Dawn of Everything” began as a free, almost playful correspondence and conversation between two scholars about the history of humankind, and grew into an engaging intellectual journey.