One really interesting point that I came across while reading the first Chapter of Uruk is that, the meaning of the word revolution is very much misinterpreted today when it comes to explaining the evolution of prehistoric society. Revolution is now thought as a rapid, sudden, and tumultuous event that changes everything overnight. In that sense, the so-called urban revolution that took place during the Uruk period is more like a transition because the mode of production was never so rapid.
Indeed, despite the fact that the process of urban transition lasted several centuries, people still imagine the whole process as an outbreak triggered by a series events, which then led to the revolution that changed the world. But as Liverani points out in the book, the development of the society required the generation of economy, accumulation and redistribution of agricultural production, and formation of the complexity of different layers in the society. Such a long process is described more properly as continuity. Same idea can be applied to the industrial revolution which later on took place in Europe. Europe did not just evolve into an industrial world over a few days; indeed, it took a long period of time for the entire continent to adjust to the new environment and the fast-pacing atmosphere that started surrounding them gradually.
I found this point really interesting because I personally always took it for granted to think that, at one point in prehistoric period, this “revolution” happened and human civilization began right after it. Now pondering upon this idea again, I see that the usage of the word revolution itself is actually misleading, since its implication suggests that the change was rapid and even unexpected. In fact, the urban development was more of a series of overlapping and relating processes that acted together as a whole to serve as the engine of development and, through a long period of time, shaped the world to it is today.
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