Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #seshat
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@BretDevereaux In his response to @Noahpinion Bret takes a swipe in passing at my work. It is not clear to what he refers ("effort to find support for this hypothesis in the ancient world"), as my my main effort for empirically testing this hypotheses has centered on the US from 1789 to ... 
@BretDevereaux @Noahpinion ... the present. With a huge emphasis on the contemporary America (from the 1970s on). Perhaps America in the late 20 century is an ancient country? The main source is Ages of Discord
peterturchin.com/ages-of-discor…
peterturchin.com/ages-of-discor…
@BretDevereaux @Noahpinion I also stuck my neck out and made a scientific prediction in 2010, which unfortunately was borne out by reality
journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
SE Asian historians/archaeologists: Does this map from Higham and Thosarat (1998) "Prehistoric Thailand" reflect the current understanding of the spread of agriculture into SE Asia?
Not a single response! Either Twitter is not the right place to ask these kinds of questions, or I am not doing it right 😧
I was NOT doing it right! Many thanks to all who responded, especially
@seaarch @keir_strickland @siwaratrikalpa @benmarwick @cylerconrad @alisonincambo
#Seshat
@seaarch @keir_strickland @siwaratrikalpa @benmarwick @cylerconrad @alisonincambo
#Seshat
At #Seshat, one of the things we study is the way religious figures and institutions have acted to strengthen the moral foundations of society, e.g. by providing ethical guidance to rulers. Today's example comes from 9th-century CE Karnataka, India. (1/7) seshatdatabank.info/data/deccan.ht…
Jinasena, a Jain Acharya (head monastic) at the court of Amoghavarsha Rashtrakuta, India, wrote the ADIPURANA, a poem about rulership informed by Jain ethics. (2/7) #Seshat (Pictured: sculpture of Acharya KundaKunda, Karnataka)
Non-violence or Ahimsa (pictured) is Jainism's core value. Because at the time it was unthinkable for a king not to wage war for riches/land/self-defence, early scriptures forbade Jains from having anything to do with kings, including accepting alms from them. (3/7) #Seshat
Early bureaucracies used informal methods for recruiting officials. Positions were filled with eunuchs, passed from father to son, or were bought and sold. When did societies start implementing examination systems for selecting bureaucrats? Here's a survey of #Seshat data (1/9)
The roots of the Chinese imperial examination system go to the Qin Dynasty (225-207 BCE), and a crude system with a yearly exam was in place in the Han period (202 BCE-219CE). #Seshat seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/…* (2/9)
The Han system served as a model for the Sui (581-617 CE) and Tang (618-907 CE) dynasties. However, before the Northern Song (960-1128 CE), entry to the bureaucracy was mainly based on kinship and recommendations, not exam results. #Seshat seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/… (3/9)
The emergence of written records can lead to the development of complex social and economic structures. Written records also create more physical evidence for historians and archaeologists. Our databank shows when written records first evolved across the world. #Seshat
(1/9)
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Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations wrote using hieroglyphs. In Oaxaca, the Zapotec writing system dates back to 600 BCE. Archaeologists have found about 350 inscribed stones dating to Monte Alban I and II (500 BCE-199 CE) seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/…. #Seshat (2/9)
In the Ghanaian Coast, the Akin language had a strong oral tradition. Akin was first written down by Danish, German, and British missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries (Ager 2013). seshatdatabank.info/data/polities/… #Seshat (3/9)
Clothing and accessories of a Yakut shaman. Lithograph book plate. Printed in Germany, 1897. #Seshat
Fedor Poligus, shaman of the Evenks, with a collection of shamanic objects, including images of helper spirits. Eastern Siberia, Russia. 1907-1908 #Seshat
The first Russian map of Siberia. Drawn by Semyon Ulianovich Remezov, 1701.
From the collection of the Russian State Library, Moscow. #Seshat
From the collection of the Russian State Library, Moscow. #Seshat
A Bronze Age figurine of a bird of prey. Faience, gold, plaster (modern). BMAC (Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex). Late 3rd -mid 2nd millenium BC. Found: the royal necropolis at Gonur Depe, Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan State Museum, Ashgabat © Herlinde Koelbl.
Serene Oxus Lady also known as Ligabue Venus. Green steatite, cream calcite. BMAC (Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex). Late 3rd -mid 2nd millenium BC. @ligabuefoundation #Seshat
The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC)= Oxus civilization, is a Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia, dated to ca 2300–1700 BC, located in N Afghanistan, E Turkmenistan, S Uzbekistan and W Tajikistan. The Amu Darya (Oxus River) runs through the region. #Seshat
