Profile Books Figuring Out The Past: The 3,495 Vital Statistics that Explain World History

This is a book of lists mostly from the Seshat Global History Databank (1); data is provided from other sources for the more recent periods. The book covers the period from 3,000 BCE to 2,000 CE. The lists are highly structured (2), as would be expected from database extracts. This is certainly not a book to be read sequentially from cover to cover, but a book to be dipped into. It is reminiscent of the social, political and economic tables found in many atlases, reflected by the infographic images displayed on the book’s cover. It is also reminiscent of information to be found in The Economist. This is a move away from specialisation in historiography and a move towards the digital humanities (3).THE BOOK: The authors, Peter Turchin and Dan Hoyer, are both associated with the Seshat Global History Databank. Although the book’s cover makes uses of colourful infographics, there are no illustrations inside the book except for world maps with data points showing regional adoptions. Selecting the “read sample” option or just clicking on the book image on the Amazon page displays the Contents, Introduction and the first seven Society Profiles in the book (Egypt: Old Kingdom, Iraq: Akkadians, China: Erlitou culture, Turkey: Hittite empire, Egypt: New Kingdom, Mexico: Monte Albán, early classic period, Greece: Alexander the Great’s Empire)._________________________________________________________________________(1) Peter Turchin is the founder of the Sehat Global History Databank, a large catalogue of historical statistics. Further details can be found on-line. Seshat was the Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge and writing. See seshatdatabank.info.(2)<Book structure>… <Introduction>… <Society Profile>+… <Historical Period>+…….. < Society Profile Entry>+……….. <Modern country name: Polity name>………….. <Introductory paragraph>………….. <Section name>+…………….. <item name><item description>+…….. <Rankings>………….. <Ranking Entry>+…….. <Regional Adoption>………….. <Regional Adoption Entry>+…….. <Maps>………….. <Regional Adoption Map>+EXAMPLE SOCIETY PROFILEMedieval: 500 to 1500 CEFrance: Carolingian kingdomIn 752 CE, the Carolingians deposed the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, and seized outright control of Frankish territory. Carolingian kings maintained the decentralised Merovingian state apparatus, largely delegating power to militarised landowners. The empire expanded under Charlemagne, who claimed the Roman imperial title in 800 CE. The three sons of the second Carolingian king, Louis the Pius, vied for control of the empire on his death. The conflict was settled in 870 CE with the Treaty of Meerssen, which set a boundary that endures to the present day as the border between France and Germany. Western Frankish lands remained politically fragmented until 987 CE, when power passed to the Capetian dynasty.GeneralDuration 752-987 CELanguages Latin (Indo European); Old French (Indo European); Frankish (Indo European)Preceded by Merovingian kingdomSucceeded by Capetian kingdomTerritoryTotal area (km2) 1.1m in 752 CE; 2.2 in 850; 800,000 in 900; 675,000 in 950PeoplePopulation 7-9m in 800 CE; 4-5m in 900Largest city 20,000 (Paris)Standing army 10,000 professional core army; all free men could be called up in an emergency.Social scaleSettlement hierarchy 1. Large cities; 2. Towns; 3. Villages.Administrative hierarchy 1. King; 2. Royal household; 3. Counts and bishops; 4. Local administrators (e.g. scabini, viscounts).InstitutionsLegal code Absent. King’s word was law, inscribed in legal texts known as capitularies.Bureaucracy Bureaucracy. Small number of court bureaucrats (members of the royal household), including chancellor, seneschal, butler, chamberlain and constable.Religious validation of rule King crowned by pope, though on principle of hereditary; seen as supported by and representative of God on earth.Property rights Mixed. King owned all land, but his vassals had rights of usufruct over their allocated portions of land.Price controls Officially authorised royal markets and fairs increased state revenue; participating merchants were subject to price controls.Banking regulations Absent. No banking due to state legislation against usury.EconomyTaxation Poorly developed: systematic taxation emerged much later.Coinage 240 silver pence equalled one pound of silver.Credit Absent. Rulers issued secular legislation banning anything considered to be “usury”.Agricultural practicesMain crops Wheat, barley and oatsIrrigation PresentFertilising PresentCropping system Three-field rotation and nitrogen-fixing cropsMetallurgyBase metals Bronze, iron and steelMilitary equipmentHand-held weapons Most soldiers carried an iron-headed lance; kings and nobles carried swords.Armour Helmets, shields and coats of mailProjectiles Simple bows. composite bows and crossbowsIncendiaries Burning pitch and grease used in siegesLong walls AbsentWell-beingLife expectancy 35 years from birthAverage adult stature 171 cm (male); 157 cm (female)Irrigation & drinking water Absent. Small-scale irrigation only, some of it managed by the church; drinking water from rivers, wells and cisterns.Health care Absent. Only provided by the church, and only towards the end of the period.Alimentary support Charlemagne founded many hospices, which provided food and shelter for pilgrims and the needy; the church was also a source of support.Famine relief Mixed. Usually provided by the church; special decrees issued to provide support in particularly dire emergencies.(In)equalitiesSocial mobility Hereditary eliteOccupational mobility Largely absent. Highly hierarchical society; occupational mobility mostly reserved for ethnic minorities and foreigners enjoying royal protection.Gender equality Though not generally considered equal to men, women were permitted a number of roles within the church, and aristocratic women often managed estates or convents.Slavery Estate records suggest that 10% of workers were enslaved.Human sacrifice Absent. Forbidden by Christianity.ReligionMajority religious practice Roman Catholicism(3) “In the crisis of short-termism, our world needs somewhere to turn to for information about the relationship between past and future  The History Manifesto  by Jo Guldi.” (Quoted in the Introduction, page xi) The History Manifesto

Liked the inclusion of some of the more obscure civilisations but the 'vital statistics' rather formulaeic which provides consistency but at the cost of interest.Maun use - appreciation of a number of civilisations usually unknown or overlooked.

Good book.

Pathetic excuse for a book. Nothing is 'figured out', only waves of uninteresting data with no analyis or context are given. Almost would call this a scam.

This book is mostly a compendium of data, presented by country or by region, arranged under four chronological periods. On page 84 you are hobnobbing with the Carolingians in France, and then, on page 88 you are in Heian Japan. This makes for mildly entertaining random browsing, but is not really useful. Pages 216-251 present comparative tables and maps. These are somewhat more enlightening, but not by much. Nothing in this volume explains anything of world history as the subtitle claims.