Introduction: Know Thy Specks 1
Part I Origin Stories
1. What We Talk About When We Talk About Prehistory 17
Of Capacities and Tendencies 20
A People's History of Prehistory 23
Noble Savages, Savage Noblemen, and Straw Cave Men 27
2. Civilization and Its Dissonance 35
The Empirical Strikes Back 35
Through an Unremembered Gate 39
"The Best People in the World" 53
The Art of Not Being Civilized 58
Malthusian Miscalculations and Hobbesian Horror Shows 65
The Functions of Fear 70
On Primitive Power 77
Part II Apocalypse Always (The NPP in the Present)
3. The Myth of the Savage Savage (Declaring War on Peace) 91
Primate Evidence 92
Anthropological and Archaeological Evidence 95
4. The Irrational Optimist 101
Mo Better Blues 103
On the Health of Nations 105
Food for Thought 110
Longevity Lies and the Price of Paradise 112
Part III Reflections in an Ancient Mirror (Being Human)
5. The Naturalistic Fallacy Fallacy 127
6. Born to Be Wild 131
7. Raising Hell 143
8. Turbulent Teens 149
9. Anxious Adults 161
Good Work, If You Can Get It 161
The Price of Money 168
How to Lose by Winning 172
Rich Asshole Syndrome (RAS) 176
Drunk on Dollars 184
Part IV A Prehistoric Path into the Future
10. All's Well That Ends Well 193
11. In the Absence of the Sacred 205
The Many Voices of God 210
Turn On, Tune In, Get Better 217
On Holy Ghosts 232
Past Progressive 236
Conclusion: A Necessary Utopia 241
The Upside of Armageddon 242
The End of All Our Exploring 246
Acknowledgments 253
Notes and Further Reading 255
Index 273