In Defense of Everything! Constructive Engagements with Graeber and Wengrow’s Provocative Contribution

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "In Defense of Everything! Constructive Engagements with Graeber and Wengrow’s Provocative Contribution" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

“The Dawn of Everything” by David Graeber and David Wengrow has been one of the most widely read and impactful archaeological books published in recent years. The book has been enthusiastically received by the general public but has received both praise and criticism within the academic community. Many critiques of the book have focused on specific disagreements with respect to the ethnographic or archaeological record, rather than discussing the book’s main arguments and theoretical contributions. In this session we seek to engage with the book’s overarching ideas and move forward its core claims for the diversity of human social organization and lived experiences. We bring together scholars from around the world who have found the book’s claims both provocative and useful. We hope that participants will not only discuss the book’s arguments but also expand these concepts to other archaeological cases. Our goal is to build constructive criticism and foster an engaging discussion that moves these concepts and contributions forward toward a better understanding of our shared past and wider understandings of the possibilities for future forms of social relations.