Part I: On the Creature Called Man, Chapter III: The Antiquity of Civilisation Summary and Analysis

It is commonly supposed by anthropologists that the history of human society, much like the history of organisms, is a slow, gradual evolution from lower forms to higher ones. Thus, it is supposed, the first humans were nomads. They gradually settled down and became farmers and societies began to develop. These societies, without exception, were ruled by an autocratic chief who oppressed his people, but they submitted out of fear (perhaps he was the strongest man in the village and muscled his way into power). After this stage, more advanced forms of civilization began to evolve, at least in some places—for some societies, evidently, remained tribalistic despotisms.

Of course, like many anthropological theories the evidence...