longue duree

Throughout much of history, long term social, economic, and cultural change can be argued to have played a more significant role than individual people or events. Over a million years of prehistory are represented by the long lasting tradition of Acheulean stone tools (ABOVE), while the presence of an elite in ancient Egypt could be seen to

Making a difference?

The wealth produced by Egyptian peasants was spent on warfare, monuments, and luxury. Egyptian artisans were despised as manual labourers. So Egyptian civilisation looked essentially the same in 30 BC as it had done in 3000 BC.