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History

Before Writing, and Just After

Farming, the first cities, and why anybody started keeping records

Grain · Irrigation · Cuneiform · 3 chapters · 12 min read

Farming, the first cities, and why anybody started keeping records.

Free to read: every chapter below is open

The First Ten Thousand Years

  1. 01The Worst Decision We Ever MadeOn the worst decision our species ever made, and why it won anyway.
  2. 02What Makes a City a CityOn what a city is, as distinct from a large number of people in one place.
  3. 03Invented by AccountantsOn writing as an accident of accountancy, and the trick that set it free.