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: MFlashman@janklow.com
Pinned
David Wengrow
@davidwengrow.bsky.social
· Nov 21
J.I. Staley Prize - School for Advanced Research
sarweb.org
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
Great discussion with archaeologist David Wengrow @davidwengrow.bsky.social on the origins of archaeology & how the European encounter with differently organized societies (Africa, Australasia, the Americas) presented a huge challenge to their own rigid hierarchies.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJ8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJ8...
David Wengrow: The History of Human Civilization | Doomscroll
YouTube video by Joshua Citarella
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Great discussion with archaeologist David Wengrow @davidwengrow.bsky.social on the origins of archaeology & how the European encounter with differently organized societies (Africa, Australasia, the Americas) presented a huge challenge to their own rigid hierarchies.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJ8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJ8...
Reposted by David Wengrow
Egalitarian Cities 3,000 Years Before Greek Democracy
A talk delves into #Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the #Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support our team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
A talk delves into #Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the #Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support our team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
February 4, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Egalitarian Cities 3,000 Years Before Greek Democracy
A talk delves into #Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the #Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support our team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
A talk delves into #Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the #Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support our team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Reposted by David Wengrow
⚡ Ukraine’s 6,000-Year-Old Cities
A talk delves into Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings.
Listen: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support UkraineWorld`s team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
A talk delves into Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings.
Listen: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support UkraineWorld`s team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
February 2, 2026 at 3:19 PM
⚡ Ukraine’s 6,000-Year-Old Cities
A talk delves into Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings.
Listen: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support UkraineWorld`s team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
A talk delves into Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings.
Listen: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Support UkraineWorld`s team: patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
My sincere thanks to Volodymyr Yermolenko for this opportunity to speak with him on ‘Thinking in Dark Times.’ @uclarchaeology.bsky.social
ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Cities without Kings: Humanity's Prehistory on Ukrainian Soil — with David Wengrow
A talk delves into Ukraine's deep past, when massive “megasites” flourished on the Ukrainian steppe, challenging the idea that “civilization” requires kings.
ukraineworld.org
February 3, 2026 at 6:42 PM
My sincere thanks to Volodymyr Yermolenko for this opportunity to speak with him on ‘Thinking in Dark Times.’ @uclarchaeology.bsky.social
ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/...
Reposted by David Wengrow
‘“Nostalgia is not a strategy,” Mark Carney said. This must all sound extremely odd to the Indigenous people of Canada, America, Australia or Greenland, for whom that old order meant only catastrophe.’
@davidwengrow.bsky.social on the mythos of ‘rules-based order’:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
@davidwengrow.bsky.social on the mythos of ‘rules-based order’:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
January 25, 2026 at 5:50 PM
‘“Nostalgia is not a strategy,” Mark Carney said. This must all sound extremely odd to the Indigenous people of Canada, America, Australia or Greenland, for whom that old order meant only catastrophe.’
@davidwengrow.bsky.social on the mythos of ‘rules-based order’:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
@davidwengrow.bsky.social on the mythos of ‘rules-based order’:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
Reposted by David Wengrow
‘Perhaps it’s time for all of us to face up to what the victims of empire and colonisation have known all along: for generations, humanity’s hopes for a better future have been built on a gross distortion of history.’
David Wengrow on ‘rules-based’ order, from the blog
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
David Wengrow on ‘rules-based’ order, from the blog
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
David Wengrow | Against the Grotian Tradition
The World Economic Forum in Davos is ending with talk of a rupture in world affairs, a collapse of international law, a...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 4:05 PM
‘Perhaps it’s time for all of us to face up to what the victims of empire and colonisation have known all along: for generations, humanity’s hopes for a better future have been built on a gross distortion of history.’
David Wengrow on ‘rules-based’ order, from the blog
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
David Wengrow on ‘rules-based’ order, from the blog
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
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
Read More
📲 bit.ly/4riBQBy
@davidwengrow.bsky.social
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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