Graeber and Wengrow's Resurrection of Matristic Minoans

MS/150/40/016 [Video file]

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

Author: O'Brien, Stephen (Archaeologist)
Summary: 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 for Branding Sheet: 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.
Subjects: Graeber, David. Dawn of everything; Minoans; Bronze age--Aegean Sea Region; Frazer, James George, 1854-1941. Golden bough;
Genre: Conference papers and proceedings; Literary criticism;
Additional Authors: Shaking the Tree, Breaking the Bough: Frazer's Golden Bough at 100 (Conference); Tully, Caroline Jane; Budin, Stephanie Lynn; University of Melbourne;
YouTubeURL: https://youtu.be/DnP0OBBKDlg
UUID: B82AB84D-E6E4-0EAA-4C31-721C2D0DDFF9
File: `ms150-40-016_obrien-stephen_graeber-wengrow_2023-02-11.mp4` Bytes: 499113808 MD5: 0E7DABD6C5A0A1CA9CC7CDF7F714B7D3