Comments on: The Yanomamö Conundrum https://www.isegoria.net/2013/08/the-yanomamo-conundrum/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:19:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Baduin https://www.isegoria.net/2013/08/the-yanomamo-conundrum/comment-page-1/#comment-918073 Baduin Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:19:51 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=32215#comment-918073 This explains quite well why early great states, such as the Egyptian Old State, didn’t need any military technology.

When a king could govern hundreds of villages and keep them in peace, he didn’t need anything special to conquer or destroy individual squabbling tribes similar to Yanomamo. Masses of conscripted men with bows and clubs were quite enough.

Such tribes are the natural state of humanity. The great states are very much unnatural.

However, in the modern times the question what keeps those states together was avoided by nearly all researchers. Voegelin is one of the few who wrote on this topic.

]]> By: LMN https://www.isegoria.net/2013/08/the-yanomamo-conundrum/comment-page-1/#comment-918025 LMN Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:00:19 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=32215#comment-918025 Granted, Scipio. But even he might feel quite free to throw adjectives around, much like late 19th century writers threw words like savage around quite cavalierly.
As to his successors…

]]> By: Scipio Americanus https://www.isegoria.net/2013/08/the-yanomamo-conundrum/comment-page-1/#comment-918002 Scipio Americanus Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:28:45 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=32215#comment-918002 LMN, from what I’ve read Dr. Chagnon might be one of the few modern scholars of his field who would describe those things with an equivalent level of understanding.

]]> By: LMN https://www.isegoria.net/2013/08/the-yanomamo-conundrum/comment-page-1/#comment-917926 LMN Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:51:19 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=32215#comment-917926 Please tell me why do I think the author would not be so understanding and matter of fact describing, say the Reconquista or the quarrels of greek city states?

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