James Scott
Professor emeritus of political science and anthropology at Yale University, known for research on peasant societies, anarchism and the origins of the state, and author of Against the Grain.
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In "Against the Grain," James Scott proposes that the expansion of early agriculture is comparable to the European conquest of Native Americans, with disease playing a key role.
James Scott is professor emeritus of political science and anthropology at Yale University.
James Scott's "Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States" was published in 2017.
Scott's core argument is that early states depended on grain agriculture because grain is easy to tax and store, while non-state ways of life such as hunting and gathering and pastoralism coexisted with early states for a long time and were not rapidly replaced.
Scott argues that early agricultural settlements were closely tied to infectious disease—dense populations, cohabitation with animals, and feces contaminating water sources made villages hotbeds of pathogens.
Scott even argues that the health of residents of early states may have been worse than that of surrounding foragers.
All Facts (6)
In "Against the Grain," James Scott proposes that the expansion of early agriculture is comparable to the European conquest of Native Americans, with disease playing a key role.
50%UnverifiedJames Scott is professor emeritus of political science and anthropology at Yale University.
50%UnverifiedJames Scott's "Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States" was published in 2017.
50%UnverifiedScott's core argument is that early states depended on grain agriculture because grain is easy to tax and store, while non-state ways of life such as hunting and gathering and pastoralism coexisted with early states for a long time and were not rapidly replaced.
50%UnverifiedScott argues that early agricultural settlements were closely tied to infectious disease—dense populations, cohabitation with animals, and feces contaminating water sources made villages hotbeds of pathogens.
50%UnverifiedScott even argues that the health of residents of early states may have been worse than that of surrounding foragers.
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