I study the “10,000‑Year Problem”: how humans evolved for roughly 200,000 years toward cooperation, connection, and stable small‑scale social systems, then transitioned into extractive, hierarchical civilizations starting around 10,000 years ago. Understanding the mechanisms that made that shift possible — surplus, institutions, legitimation, and the feedback loops they created — is essential if we’re to change course.
My work synthesizes evolutionary anthropology, cultural niche construction, archaeology, psychology, and political ecology to trace how storage, hoarding, and new institutional roles amplified selection for dominant and coercive leadership, producing social systems that prioritize extraction over flourishing. I write long‑form essays, host a podcast, and run a newsletter that bring evidence, theory, and practical ideas into public conversation.
Background
- PhD, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology — independent researcher and former college professor.
- Author of essays on deep history, human nature, and institutional design.
- Host — forthcoming podcast on deep history and social repair.
What you’ll find here
- Theory‑driven essays connecting prehistory to modern institutional crises.
- Interviews and conversations with scholars and practitioners.
- Short practical ideas for rebuilding cooperative institutions at community and policy scales.
Get involved Start with the manifesto: “Yet Somehow, We Got Egypt” — Read it now.
Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly essays and conversations: Substack. For speaking, collaborations, ormedia inquiries: chris@chrisburcher.com