Barbarism

From ProleWiki, the proletarian encyclopedia

Barbarism, according to Engels, is a transitional period between primitive communism and class society characterized by the domestication of animals and development of agriculture. It can be divided into three stages:

  • The lower stage begins with the development of pottery.
  • The middle stage involves domestication of plants and animals and use of bricks and stone for construction.
  • The upper stage begins with the smelting of iron ore and involves the use of plows, wagons, chariots, and walled cities.[1]

References

  1. Friedrich Engels (1884). The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State: 'Stages of Prehistoric Culture'. [MIA]