The author is Patrick Wyman, and the subtitle is How Humans Try, Fail, Succeed, and Build Our World. An excellent book, which is a survey (mostly) of the pre-Sumerian period, what we know about them, and how we have learned a lot lately. It is easy to read, but the author correctly emphasizes the complexity of the topic, for example we often find agricultural and non-agricultural societies that are in conflict and are in close contact, in which case the lines cannot be drawn easily. Quote:
This was not the case for the bronze ax that Ötzi carried, a rare and valuable item in an era when metalworking was still a new technology. The head rests on a handle made of yew wood and is held in place by a mixture of birch tar and hide strips. It was not his only weapon, either: He also carried a short flint dagger with an ash handle, an unfinished bow, (also made of yew) seventy-two inches long, a bow string of animal muscle, two arrows finished with stone heads, and twelve unfinished shafts in a quiver of deer skin.
Overall, one feels that there is a lot going on, but we still don’t know much about it. The author is aware of this, but avoids unwanted speculation. Recommended, it will make the best non-fiction list of the year.
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