Fifth Beginning

What Six Million Years of Human History Can Tell Us about Our Future

Inbunden, Engelska, 2016

AvRobert L. Kelly,Dr. Robert L. Kelly,Robert L Kelly

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"I have seen yesterday. I know tomorrow." This inscription in Tutankhamun's tomb summarizes The Fifth Beginning. Here, archeologist Robert Kelly explains how the study of our cultural past can predict the future of humanity. In an eminently readable style, Kelly identifies four key pivot points in the six-million-year history of human development: the emergence of technology, culture, agriculture, and the state. In each example, the author examines the long-term processes that resulted in a definitive no-turning-back change for the organization of society. Kelly then looks ahead, giving us evidence for what he calls a fifth beginning, one that began about AD 1500. Some might call it "globalization," but the author places it in its larger context: a 5,000-year arms race, capitalism's global reach, and the cultural effects of a worldwide communication network. Kelly predicts the emergent phenomena of this fifth beginning will include the end of war as a viable way to resolve disputes, the end of capitalism as we know it, the widespread appearance of world citizenship, and forms of cooperation that end nation-states' near-sacred status. It's the end of life, as we have known it.However, this book and the author are cautiously optimistic: it dwells not on the coming chaos, but on humanity's great potential.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2016-11-15
Mått152 x 229 x 18 mm
Vikt363 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor168
FörlagUniversity of California Press
ISBN9780520293120

Tillhör följande kategorier

Allmän historia och världshistoria inom Historia och arkeologi
Arkeologi inom Historia och arkeologi
Antropologi inom Samhälle och politik
Historia inom Historia och arkeologi

Robert L. Kelly is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming. He is a past president of the Society for American Archaeology, current editor of American Antiquity, author of The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers, and coauthor of two popular textbooks, Archaeology and Archaeology: Down to Earth. He has conducted archaeological research throughout the western United States for more than forty years.

"This closely argued and beautifully written book is a brilliant statement as to why archaeology, and an archaeological perspective, are of central importance in today's world... It's a cliche these days to remark that a book belongs on everyone's bookshelves, but in this case it's the truth. Everyone interested in the past and the future will find this a wonderful starting point for their thinking. Above all, it talks about archaeology in fluent and jargon-free language that will appeal to a very broad audience indeed. This isn't a book about the romance of archaeology or spectacular discoveries. It's, quite simply, the best essay on archaeology I've ever read. I hope it becomes a classic." -- Brian Fagan Current World Archaeology