The current discussion around tax would benefit from a look back in time don't you think? @meadwaj.bsky.social @paulmason.bsky.social @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Tax the rich to help the poor? That’s certain NOT how states originally emerged. People were forced to grow grain because it was eminently taxable. Those taxes were then used to construct extreme hierarchies with the rich at the top. Writing was used to record taxes and build their institutions.

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Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter

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🚨Want to work with us? We’re hiring a Lecturer! Check out the details 👇🏽 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

I hope this isn’t true. There are times when it’s more important to put country before party. This is one of them. Burnham’s longstanding commitment to a fairer voting system could transform our democracy & counter the dire threat of a Reform UK government elected on a minority of the vote

Greens suggest they will properly contest byelection in blow to Burnham

Statement follows speculation party would not field candidate in Makerfield or barely fight seat

theguardian.com

#ICYMI: Drs @kitopie.bsky.social & @scottclaessens.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) introduced us to their new project which aims to resolve current debates about the origins and drivers of inequality in human societies Read more about this @leverhulme.ac.uk project 👉 brnw.ch/21x24tn

✍️ Drs @kitopie.bsky.social & @scottclaessens.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) tell us about their new project which aims to resolve current debates about the origins and drivers of inequality in human societies. Read more about this fascinating @leverhulme.ac.uk project 👉 brnw.ch/21x24tn

VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry

Exclusive: finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets

theguardian.com

Congratulations to Dr Becerra-Valdivia and her colleagues on this new publication! 🐢 🌊

Want to have a look at our department (and some flint knapping)? Have look below👇📽️ Video created by the wonderful Naia Lewendon-Wicks & Bianca Li, 3rd-year Film & TV BA students at @uobartsmatter.bsky.social.

Congratulations to Prof Mhairi Gibson and Dr Hannelore Van Bavel for their new publication! This work is a broad review on how anthropologists are contributing to understanding on FGMC. Read through link 👉 doi.org/10.1111/aman...

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... The 1953 Coup in Iran was led by MI6 with CIA support @dansabbagh.bsky.social #Coup53

Why Trump’s options are limited when it comes to using force against Iran

As US president tells protesters ‘help is on the way’, any military action would be unlikely to succeed

theguardian.com

Interview (from 17.00) for the Briefing with Monocle_Radio on State formation: grain, tax and writing - from research (with @quentinatkinson.bsky.social) @nathumbehav.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41.... monocle.com/radio/shows/...

The Gulf states look towards a joint defensive strategy at the 46th GCC summit - Monocle

As Gulf leaders convene for the 46th GCC summit during a tense time for the region, we discuss what role...

monocle.com

The marvellous @kitopie.bsky.social explaining how both monogamy and 'promiscuous' mating can help females avoid infanticide, "both early humans and chimpanzees are trying to solve the same problem"!

Bristol Anthro & Archaeo@bristolantharch.bsky.social · 8mo ago

How monogamous are humans compared to other animals? Check out this BBC interview with @kitopie.bsky.social to learn more!

How monogamous are humans compared to other animals? Check out this BBC interview with @kitopie.bsky.social to learn more!

Recent research by @kitopie.bsky.social also discussed in The Archaeology Channel 👇🏽👏🏽 www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/... @uobartsmatter.bsky.social

Nice to have heard Kit on the radio yesterday discussing his recent publication on @nathumbehav.nature.com! Congrats on all the engagement 🙌 🎉 @uobartsmatter.bsky.social

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Interview (from 17.00) for the Briefing with Monocle_Radio on State formation: grain, tax and writing - from research (with @quentinatkinson.bsky.social) @nathumbehav.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41.... monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Interview (from 17.00) for the Briefing with Monocle_Radio on State formation: grain, tax and writing - from research (with @quentinatkinson.bsky.social) @nathumbehav.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41.... monocle.com/radio/shows/...

The Gulf states look towards a joint defensive strategy at the 46th GCC summit - Monocle

As Gulf leaders convene for the 46th GCC summit during a tense time for the region, we discuss what role...

monocle.com

Fascinating stuff.

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.

'It may feel worlds apart, but the challenges and choices facing states today have been playing out since the dawn of the earliest states, thousands of years ago.' Dr @kitopie.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) writes in a new piece for The Conversation theconversation.com/the-real-rea...

The real reason states first emerged thousands of years ago – new research

New findings add weight to the theory that states didn’t just spring up from any kind of farming – it had to be grain.

theconversation.com

Here’s @theconversation.com piece accompanying the recent paper by Kit and colleague. Check it out👇🏽

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

bsky.app/profile/kito...

Initial work on this project funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk.

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.

The current discussion around tax would benefit from a look back in time don't you think? @meadwaj.bsky.social @paulmason.bsky.social @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Tax the rich to help the poor? That’s certain NOT how states originally emerged. People were forced to grow grain because it was eminently taxable. Those taxes were then used to construct extreme hierarchies with the rich at the top. Writing was used to record taxes and build their institutions.

Tax the rich to help the poor? That’s certain NOT how states originally emerged. People were forced to grow grain because it was eminently taxable. Those taxes were then used to construct extreme hierarchies with the rich at the top. Writing was used to record taxes and build their institutions.

Our research shows strong evidence to support James Scott's view of the origin of the state @lukekemp.bsky.social, as you discuss in your great book Goliath's Curse.

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.

Grain, tax and the birth of states. Great piece by @chrisnsimms.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2505... in @newscientist.com on our research rdcu.be/eRGzT (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com. Understanding the origins of tax @newsagents.bsky.social for the budget.

Easily taxed grains were crucial to the birth of the first states

The cultivation of wheat, barley and maize, which are easily stored and taxed, seems to have led to the emergence of large societies, rather than agriculture generally

newscientist.com

Congratulations to our own, @kitopie.bsky.social, and his colleague on this new @nathumbehav.nature.com paper on the role of cereal grains in the creation of early states! 🙌👏 Clink on the post below to access and enjoy 👇

Kit Opie@kitopie.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.

The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.

State formation across cultures and the role of grain, intensive agriculture, taxation and writing - Nature Human Behaviour

Opie and Atkinson conduct a global phylogenetic analysis of 868 cultures and find evidence indicating that cereal grain cultivation, not agricultural surplus, drove state formation. Their findings als...

nature.com

My colleague Quentin Atkinson wrote this piece - How Not To Run a University. It is an insanely good read about how managerialism is destroying universities. Make time for it. Talk about it. Share it. quentinatkinson.substack.com/s/how-not-to...

How not to run a university | Quentin’s Substack | Quentin Atkinson | Substack

A case study of one university’s managerial misadventures, why it is happening and what we can do about it. Click to read Quentin’s Substack, by Quentin Atkinson, a Substack publication. Launched a mo...

quentinatkinson.substack.com

🗨️ "According to these findings, opportunity in England is determined by inherited circumstances more so than compared to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland." What does the OECD's new measure of inequality say about the state of opportunity in the UK? ⤵️ www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...

New evidence on international inequality of opportunity - how does the UK rank? - The Sutton Trust

A new OECD measure offers insights into the state of opportunity in the UK.

suttontrust.com

✍️"It’s striking and somewhat depressing that so many of those providing commentary on the issues affecting British people’s lives – columnists, talking heads and podcasters – are from a private school background." @carlcullinane.bsky.social in @theguardian.com 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This news just in: we hoped the middle- and upper-class capture of the media would lessen. It’s got worse | Carl Cullinane

Since our last survey, we find more columnists, podcasters and executives are from privileged backgrounds. That’s too narrow a segment of society, says Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy ...

theguardian.com