Questions About Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States

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Answered Questions (3)

I am a little bit startled, having just started the book today, that his main thesis so far seems to be that grains (corn, rice, wheat mainly) are the basis for all early states when there is one glaring exception PERU where potatoes were the main staple crop. Perhaps he will address this in later chapters?

Cdrueallen His answer is that root crops are too easy to hide from tax collectors to form the basis of a state. States require easily taxed crops: all harvested …moreHis answer is that root crops are too easy to hide from tax collectors to form the basis of a state. States require easily taxed crops: all harvested at one time, stored above ground, easy to measure.(less)

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Not yet out and so I haven't read except for excerpts available online. The basic idea seems fine: people were settled before significant agricultural development. This adds a layer of subtlety long needed. But I worry, again just based on blurbs, that he will miss the real drivers of society after the agricultural revolution: numbers and density of people. Does he attempt something more esotric?

Cdrueallen I believe his answer is that states interacted in a feedback loop with agricultural communities to drive density. He theorizes that many walls around …moreI believe his answer is that states interacted in a feedback loop with agricultural communities to drive density. He theorizes that many walls around early states were designed as much or more to keep the citizens in as they were to keep the barbarians out, and that maintaining their population density was a constant task and obsession of the early states.(less)

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Haven't read yet, but how does he address the conventional view -- which he seemed to endorse in his earlier work -- that neolithic open field villages long predated the rise of the state?

Peter Tucker He does not contradict his earlier work. He confirms evidence that some sort of agriculture was practiced thousands of years before settled developmen…moreHe does not contradict his earlier work. He confirms evidence that some sort of agriculture was practiced thousands of years before settled developments. The interesting research and conjecture is around why settlement occurred. What were the thresholds, etc. And emphatically states the development was NOT one way or one time or irreversible. (less)

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Unanswered Questions (1)

Sounds as if the book covers some of the same ground as the early chapters of Guns, Germs, and Steel?

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