A few months ago, I read an absolutely fascinating book on early human societies, “The Dawn of Everything.” Co-authored by David Graeber and David Wengrow, this book offers a critique of popular views on western civilization and the traditional narratives of mankind’s linear development from primitivism to civilization. It is a long book, but I found it to be fairly easy reading, especially if you are someone who has an interest in anthropology and archaeology. Since finishing it, I have found myself thinking more and more about the origins of society as we now know it. How similar are we to our prehistoric ancestors? Did they think about the same things we do? Maybe they were not worried about car payments or student loans, but it’s not totally out of the question to imagine that they may have wondered and worried over what to eat for their next meal or where they would find themselves in five years’ time.
Once you start pondering the origins of modern man, it is not hard to find scholarship that discusses our ties to ancient society in any given topic – law included. The Law Library has a great collection of books and articles to sate curious minds. Over the past few weeks, I have fallen down a rabbit hole of riveting literature regarding the origins of Western law and civilization. Among the highlights is an article written by University of Illinois professor of law, Robin Bradley Kar