Pondering an ‘Egalitarian Eden’

The ingenious Sumerians properly get credit for most of the inventions at the root of Western civilization, from the wheel to law and international trade. An archeological dig begun at a Ukrainian farm earlier this summer, however, is providing compelling evidence that the Sumerians garnered more than a few tips about civilization from a remarkable, little-known Neolithic tribe called the Trypillians. The excavation has unearthed a sophisticated Trypillian city dating back to 4000 BC, a time when most other peoples were living in tiny villages. Composed of about 3,000 buildings arranged in concentric circles and housing as many as 15,000 people, the city became part of the Sumerian empire around 3000 BC.

The excavation has produced some provocative claims. Historians and archeologists have long presumed that rigid and often oppressive caste systems such as those in Sumerian cities like Ur are the inevitable, if unfortunate, products of civilization. Trypillian civilization, however, shows several signs of a more egalitarian culture.

For instance, the excavation indicates that the Trypillians divided their city into segments where extended families got together to make decisions--possible evidence, says archeologist David Anthony, of a “kind of consensus-based decision-making . . . completely unexpected in a settlement of this size.”

Other archeologists, noting that none of the Trypillian artifacts excavated so far depict hierarchies or fearful or fearsome images, suggest that Trypillian society could have been an egalitarian Eden, a historical fluke wherein life might not have been nasty, brutish and short.

With only 30 of the 3,000 buildings excavated, however, these theories remain speculation. There is a strong temptation to think that the remains of ancient cities may possess clues for solving modern urban problems, like the flight of city dwellers to distant edge cities. The truth is that urban flight dates at least back to ancient Rome, where the nobility, complaining of the dirt and the rabble in the city, chose to live in rural villas.

As the excavation in the Ukraine continues to unearth new wonders, Trypillian civilization will no doubt have much to teach us. But it’s unlikely that the excavation, however historic, is going to find a paradise.