An Introduction to Seshat: Global History Databank

Authors

• Peter Turchin, University of Connecticut
• Harvey Whitehouse, University of Oxford
• Pieter François, University of Oxford
• Daniel Hoyer, Evolution Institute
• Abel Alves, Ball State University
• John Baines, University of Oxford
• David Baker, Macquarie University
• Marta Bartkowiak, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
• Jennifer Bates, Brown University
• James Bennett, University of Washington
• Julye Bidmead, Chapman UniversityFollow
• Peter Bol, Harvard University
• Alessandro Ceccarelli, University of Cambridge
• Kostis Christakis, British School at Athens
• David Christian, Macquarie University
• Alan Covey, University of Texas
• Franco De Angelis, University of British Columbia
• Timothy K. Earle, Northwestern University
• Neil R. Edwards, Open University
• Gary Feinman, Field Museum
• Stephanie Grohmann, University of Edinburgh
• Philip B. Holden, Open University
• Árni Júlíusson, University of Iceland
• Andrey Korotayev, National Research University Higher School of Economics
• Axel Kristinsson, Independent Scholar
• Jennifer Larson, Kent State University
• Oren Litwin, George Mason University
• Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania
• Joseph G. Manning, Yale University
• Patrick Manning, University of Pittsburgh
• Arkadiusz Marciniak, Adam Mickiewcz University, Poznan
• Gregory McMahon, University of New Hampshire
• John Miksic, National University of Singapore
• Juan Carlos Moreno Garcia, French National Centre for Scientific Research
• Ian Morris, Stanford University
• Ruth Mostern, University of Pittsburgh
• Daniel Mullins, Birkbeck University of London
• Oluwole Oyebamiji, Lancaster University
• Peter Peregrine, Lawrence University
• Cameron Petrie, University of Cambridge
• Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Austrian Academy of Sciences
• Peter Rudiak-Gould, Independent Scholar
• Paula Sabloff, Santa Fe Institute
• Patrick Savage, Keio University
• Charles Spencer, American Museum of Natural History
• Miriam Stark, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Barend ter Haar, University of Hamburg
• Stefan Thurner, Complexity Science Hub, Vienna
• Vesna Wallace, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Nina Witoszek, University of Oslo
• Liye Xie, University of Toronto

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-6-2020

Abstract

This article introduces the Seshat: Global History Databank, its potential, and its methodology. Seshat is a databank containing vast amounts of quantitative data buttressed by qualitative nuance for a large sample of historical and archaeological polities. The sample is global in scope and covers the period from the Neolithic Revolution to the Industrial Revolution. Seshat allows scholars to capture dynamic processes and to test theories about the co-evolution (or not) of social scale and complexity, agriculture, warfare, religion, and any number of such Big Questions. Seshat is rapidly becoming a massive resource for innovative cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary research. Seshat is part of a growing trend to use comparative historical data on a large scale and contributes as such to a growing consilience between the humanities and social sciences. Seshat is underpinned by a robust and transparent workflow to ensure the ever growing dataset is of high quality.

Comments

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Cognitive Historiography, volume 5, issue 1-2, in 2020 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.39395 .

Recommended Citation

Turchin, Peter, Harvey Whitehouse, Pieter François, Daniel Hoyer, Abel Alves, John Baines, David Baker, Marta Bartkowiak, Jennifer Bates, James Bennett, Julye Bidmead, Peter Bol, Alessandro Ceccarelli, Kostis Christakis, David Christian, Alan Covey, Franco De Angelis, Timothy K. Earle, Neil R. Edwards, Gary Feinman, Stephanie Grohmann, Philip B. Holden, Árni Júlíusson, Andrey Korotayev, Axel Kristinsson, Jennifer Larson, Oren Litwin, Victor Mair, Joseph G. Manning, Patrick Manning, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Gregory McMahon, John Miksic, Juan Carlos Moreno Garcia, Ian Morris, Ruth Mostern, Daniel Mullins, Oluwole Oyebamiji, Peter Peregrine, Cameron Petrie, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Peter Rudiak-Gould, Paula Sabloff, Patrick Savage, Charles Spencer, Miriam Stark, Barend ter Haar, Stefan Thurner, Vesna Wallace, Nina Witoszek, and Liye Xie. 2020. “An Introduction to Seshat: Global History Databank”. Journal of Cognitive Historiography 5 (1-2):115-23. https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.39395

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

Equinox Publishing