David Wengrow
@davidwengrow.bsky.social
Professor of Comparative Archaeology at UCL | co-author, New York Times bestseller #TheDawnOfEverything | working on a sequel #TheThirdFreedom | media enquiries: [email protected]
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David Wengrow
@davidwengrow.bsky.social
· Nov 16
It strikes me that the other place increasingly resembles a digital version of what Canetti called The Pack ..:
small hordes of men roaming in a state of excitement, ‘whose fiercest wish is “to be more” but ‘surrounded by emptiness, and there are literally no additional people who could join it.’
small hordes of men roaming in a state of excitement, ‘whose fiercest wish is “to be more” but ‘surrounded by emptiness, and there are literally no additional people who could join it.’
Reposted by David Wengrow
Prof David Wengrow @ucl.ac.uk Institute of #Archaeology has been awarded the prestigious J. I. Staley Prize for #Anthropological Excellence this year by @sarsf.bsky.social School of Advanced Research
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November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Prof David Wengrow @ucl.ac.uk Institute of #Archaeology has been awarded the prestigious J. I. Staley Prize for #Anthropological Excellence this year by @sarsf.bsky.social School of Advanced Research
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Reposted by David Wengrow
Today we announce that The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity has been awarded the 2025 J. I. Staley Prize. Congratulations David Wengrow and the late David Graeber @uclarchaeology.bsky.social @davidwengrow.bsky.social
sarweb.org/news-2025-st...
sarweb.org/news-2025-st...
The Dawn of Everything Receives 2025 J. I. Staley Prize for Anthropological Excellence - School for Advanced Research
The School for Advanced Research announces The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow as the 2025 J. I. Staley Prize recipient, recognizing its groundbreaking...
sarweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Today we announce that The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity has been awarded the 2025 J. I. Staley Prize. Congratulations David Wengrow and the late David Graeber @uclarchaeology.bsky.social @davidwengrow.bsky.social
sarweb.org/news-2025-st...
sarweb.org/news-2025-st...
Reposted by David Wengrow
At today’s plenary of the American Anthropological Association #TheDawnOfEverything was awarded the Staley Prize for ‘outstanding scholarship’ by the School for Advanced Research🙏
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
J.I. Staley Prize - School for Advanced Research
sarweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
At today’s plenary of the American Anthropological Association #TheDawnOfEverything was awarded the Staley Prize for ‘outstanding scholarship’ by the School for Advanced Research🙏
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
At today’s plenary of the American Anthropological Association #TheDawnOfEverything was awarded the Staley Prize for ‘outstanding scholarship’ by the School for Advanced Research🙏
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
J.I. Staley Prize - School for Advanced Research
sarweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
At today’s plenary of the American Anthropological Association #TheDawnOfEverything was awarded the Staley Prize for ‘outstanding scholarship’ by the School for Advanced Research🙏
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
It would have meant so much to David Graeber, as it does to me
sarweb.org/awards/j-i-s...
Reposted by David Wengrow
November 15, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Reposted by David Wengrow
archeology
the science of finding
we're all so human
#senryu
I am finally reading The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber (of blessed memory) and David Wengrow, and loving it so much.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
the science of finding
we're all so human
#senryu
I am finally reading The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber (of blessed memory) and David Wengrow, and loving it so much.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
A New History of Humanity
bookshop.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:27 PM
archeology
the science of finding
we're all so human
#senryu
I am finally reading The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber (of blessed memory) and David Wengrow, and loving it so much.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
the science of finding
we're all so human
#senryu
I am finally reading The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber (of blessed memory) and David Wengrow, and loving it so much.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by David Wengrow
Archaeologist David Wengrow joins The Amargi Mosaic to discuss how discoveries in Kurdistan reveal human alternatives to state power, in conversation with Elif Sarican.
Watch the full interview: youtu.be/Gojvi9miyec
Watch the full interview: youtu.be/Gojvi9miyec
Prof. David Wengrow | The Amargi Mosaic
In this episode of The Amargi Mosaic, host Elif Sarican speaks with Professor David Wengrow about how archaeology in Kurdistan has shaped understanding of alternatives to state power. They explore…
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Archaeologist David Wengrow joins The Amargi Mosaic to discuss how discoveries in Kurdistan reveal human alternatives to state power, in conversation with Elif Sarican.
Watch the full interview: youtu.be/Gojvi9miyec
Watch the full interview: youtu.be/Gojvi9miyec
I just finished drafting a new introduction to Gordon Childe’s book, and there’s something very cool about being able to say that ..
October 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I just finished drafting a new introduction to Gordon Childe’s book, and there’s something very cool about being able to say that ..
Reposted by David Wengrow
David Wengrow to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values for 2026 @utah.edu entitled 'The Elementary Forms of Human Freedom.'
More here:
📱 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...
Image: @davidwengrow.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)
#LocalAndGlobal
More here:
📱 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...
Image: @davidwengrow.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)
#LocalAndGlobal
David Wengrow to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values for 2026
David Wengrow (UCL Institute of Archaeology) has been invited to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values at the University of Utah in March 2026.
www.ucl.ac.uk
October 6, 2025 at 6:47 PM
David Wengrow to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values for 2026 @utah.edu entitled 'The Elementary Forms of Human Freedom.'
More here:
📱 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...
Image: @davidwengrow.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)
#LocalAndGlobal
More here:
📱 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...
Image: @davidwengrow.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)
#LocalAndGlobal
Very much looking forward to this
Book Discussion: ‘Indian Archaeology After Independence’ by Himanshu Prabha Ray + Ajay Yadav, also featuring @willdalrymple.bsky.social and Shailendra Bhandare. Nehru Centre London.
www.nehrucentre.org.uk/events/book-...
Book Discussion: ‘Indian Archaeology After Independence’ by Himanshu Prabha Ray + Ajay Yadav, also featuring @willdalrymple.bsky.social and Shailendra Bhandare. Nehru Centre London.
www.nehrucentre.org.uk/events/book-...
Book Discussion: Indian Archaeology After Independence - Amalananda - Nehru Centre London
The Nehru Centre,London, will host a Book Discussion on “Indian Archaeology after Independence: Amalananda Ghosh and His Legacy” by Himanshu Prabha Ray and Ajay Yadav (Routledge, 2025). The discussion...
www.nehrucentre.org.uk
October 5, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Very much looking forward to this
Book Discussion: ‘Indian Archaeology After Independence’ by Himanshu Prabha Ray + Ajay Yadav, also featuring @willdalrymple.bsky.social and Shailendra Bhandare. Nehru Centre London.
www.nehrucentre.org.uk/events/book-...
Book Discussion: ‘Indian Archaeology After Independence’ by Himanshu Prabha Ray + Ajay Yadav, also featuring @willdalrymple.bsky.social and Shailendra Bhandare. Nehru Centre London.
www.nehrucentre.org.uk/events/book-...
I am deeply honoured by this invitation to deliver The Tanner Lectures on Human Values next Spring. My topic: ‘The elementary forms of human freedom.’
tannerlectures.org/lectures/the...
tannerlectures.org/lectures/the...
September 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I am deeply honoured by this invitation to deliver The Tanner Lectures on Human Values next Spring. My topic: ‘The elementary forms of human freedom.’
tannerlectures.org/lectures/the...
tannerlectures.org/lectures/the...
Apropos, my letter in this month’s LRB concerning their recent piece.
September 3, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Apropos, my letter in this month’s LRB concerning their recent piece.
September 3, 2025 at 8:38 AM
On the 5th anniversary of his death, David Graeber’s unwilling exile from US academia has a particular salience. This account of what happened in 2005, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, is worth reading in the perspective of 2025.
www.chronicle.com/article/a-ra...
www.chronicle.com/article/a-ra...
A Radical Anthropologist Finds Himself in Academic ‘Exile’
David Graeber, a scholar of the radical left, can’t find a job. Maybe American anthropology departments aren’t as liberal as you think.
www.chronicle.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:20 AM
On the 5th anniversary of his death, David Graeber’s unwilling exile from US academia has a particular salience. This account of what happened in 2005, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, is worth reading in the perspective of 2025.
www.chronicle.com/article/a-ra...
www.chronicle.com/article/a-ra...
In the 1950s scholars wrote about the “vitalist” aspects of ancient Egyptian & Mesopotamian cosmology: the non-human world was animate, personified. Then, in the 70s, they traced the origins of extractive, imperial regimes to these same civilisations. What’s fascinating imo is that both can be true.
August 18, 2025 at 2:46 PM
In the 1950s scholars wrote about the “vitalist” aspects of ancient Egyptian & Mesopotamian cosmology: the non-human world was animate, personified. Then, in the 70s, they traced the origins of extractive, imperial regimes to these same civilisations. What’s fascinating imo is that both can be true.
Hats off to fellow archaeologists who stayed on the other platform to combat misinformation - it’s actually a remarkably unselfish and thankless thing to do .. so thanks.
August 18, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Hats off to fellow archaeologists who stayed on the other platform to combat misinformation - it’s actually a remarkably unselfish and thankless thing to do .. so thanks.
Reposted by David Wengrow
"The true and fascinating story of Easter Island and its amazing statues" KEN FOLLETT
"Anyone looking for an intelligent, balanced and accessible account of Rapa Nui should read his book"
PROF CHRIS GOSDEN
Out September 11 – Pre-order now
amazon.co.uk/Island-Edge-...
"Anyone looking for an intelligent, balanced and accessible account of Rapa Nui should read his book"
PROF CHRIS GOSDEN
Out September 11 – Pre-order now
amazon.co.uk/Island-Edge-...
August 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
"The true and fascinating story of Easter Island and its amazing statues" KEN FOLLETT
"Anyone looking for an intelligent, balanced and accessible account of Rapa Nui should read his book"
PROF CHRIS GOSDEN
Out September 11 – Pre-order now
amazon.co.uk/Island-Edge-...
"Anyone looking for an intelligent, balanced and accessible account of Rapa Nui should read his book"
PROF CHRIS GOSDEN
Out September 11 – Pre-order now
amazon.co.uk/Island-Edge-...
Reposted by David Wengrow
icymi
“neither love nor friendship can exist without freedom, and that none of these terms has any real meaning without truth..”
this piece delves deep & covers a lot of ground and is defs worth a read & discussion
“neither love nor friendship can exist without freedom, and that none of these terms has any real meaning without truth..”
this piece delves deep & covers a lot of ground and is defs worth a read & discussion
To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
August 9, 2025 at 4:39 AM
icymi
“neither love nor friendship can exist without freedom, and that none of these terms has any real meaning without truth..”
this piece delves deep & covers a lot of ground and is defs worth a read & discussion
“neither love nor friendship can exist without freedom, and that none of these terms has any real meaning without truth..”
this piece delves deep & covers a lot of ground and is defs worth a read & discussion
My thoughts today with family and friends of Prof. Michael Rowlands. Mike shaped the fields of archaeology, anthropology, cultural heritage and material culture studies - his critical, comparative approach leaves a profound mark on the study of Europe, Africa, and China
www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology...
www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology...
In memory of Professor Michael Rowlands
UCL Anthropology is sad to announce the death of Professor Michael Rowlands on 19 July 2025.
www.ucl.ac.uk
August 7, 2025 at 10:37 AM
My thoughts today with family and friends of Prof. Michael Rowlands. Mike shaped the fields of archaeology, anthropology, cultural heritage and material culture studies - his critical, comparative approach leaves a profound mark on the study of Europe, Africa, and China
www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology...
www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology...
Reposted by David Wengrow
Next on my reading list. As in: today. Now.
To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
July 30, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Next on my reading list. As in: today. Now.
Reposted by David Wengrow
‘To understand the appeal of the far right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.’ @davidwengrow.bsky.social on excellent form here. www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:50 PM
‘To understand the appeal of the far right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.’ @davidwengrow.bsky.social on excellent form here. www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Reposted by David Wengrow
Good article. Also a great cautionary tale about what happens when you build stories that leave half the population (women) out of the picture.
To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Good article. Also a great cautionary tale about what happens when you build stories that leave half the population (women) out of the picture.
Reposted by David Wengrow
On far-right attempts to repurpose the past - an important (and timely!) piece by @davidwengrow.bsky.social
To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
July 10, 2025 at 1:55 PM
On far-right attempts to repurpose the past - an important (and timely!) piece by @davidwengrow.bsky.social
Reposted by David Wengrow
'What if, for once, we could bring ourselves to look this history of the nation in the eye? Could we discover something about the beginnings of the path we now find ourselves on again, or even how to get off it and learn to speak a different language of human politics, before it’s too late?"
To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the origins of the fascist myth of primordial male kinship.
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
New essay, out today @eurozine.bsky.social
www.eurozine.com/seeds-of-ano...
Seeds of another world
The nexus of radical inequality, social atomization and male victimhood has been exploited before. But why now, on such a scale? To understand the appeal of the far-right today we need to examine the...
www.eurozine.com
July 10, 2025 at 1:55 PM
'What if, for once, we could bring ourselves to look this history of the nation in the eye? Could we discover something about the beginnings of the path we now find ourselves on again, or even how to get off it and learn to speak a different language of human politics, before it’s too late?"