A New Understanding of Human History and the Roots of Inequality | David Wengrow | TED

What if the commonly accepted narratives about the foundation of civilization are all wrong? Drawing on groundbreaking research, archaeologist David Wengrow challenges traditional thinking about the social evolution of humanity — from the invention of agriculture to the formation of cities and class systems — and explains how rethinking history can radically change our perspective on inequality and modern life. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: Follow TED! Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: TikTok: @tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at #TED #TEDTalks