Guess Who’s Back? Graeber and Wengrow’s Resurrection of Matristic Minoans in 'The Dawn of Everything'
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Authors
O'Brien, Stephen
Issue Date
2023-02-11
Type
Video
Language
en_US
Keywords
Graeber, David. Dawn of everything , Minoans , Bronze age--Aegean Sea Region , Frazer, James George, 1854-1941. Golden bough , Conference papers and proceedings , Literary criticism
Alternative Title
Abstract
In 2021 David Graeber and David Wengrow released their book The Dawn of Everything: A new history of humanity to acclaim in the popular media and bestseller status in several countries. Anthropologists and Archaeologists have made critiques of a number of the book’s claims. To date, however, little critical attention has been devoted to Graeber and Wengrow’s presentation of the societies of the Aegean Bronze Age. Contrasting Crete with the “heroic societies” of the Greek mainland, the authors evoke a Minoan world of unfortified centers, art focused on the natural world, and women depicted in positions of authority. Harking back to the work of Frazer, Evans, and Gimbutas, Graeber and Wengrow posit a Cretan theocracy ruled by a college of priestesses. This paper will examine the evidence presented to back these interpretations and will ask whether the attempted resurrection of a matristic Minoan Crete is justified.
Description
1 video file. ms150-40-016_obrien-stephen_graeber-wengrow_2023-02-11.mp4 .mp4 475.99 MB 499,113,808
Citation
O'Brien, Stephen. "Guess Who’s Back? Graeber and Wengrow’s Resurrection of Matristic Minoans in 'The Dawn of Everything'." Paper presented at the Shaking the Tree, Breaking the Bough: Frazer’s Golden Bough at 100, Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2023. In New Age Movements, Occultism, and Spiritualism Research Library. Archives and Special Collections. Valdosta State University. Valdosta, GA. https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7061
Publisher
New Age Movements, Occultism, and Spiritualism Research Library
License
Permission to post this digital asset provided by Stephen O'Brien to the Valdosta State University Archives & Special Collections to be part of the New Age Movements, Occultism, and Spiritualism Research Library.