Sublime

The era of ancient genomics, though, suddenly provides us with the opportunity to explore these questions of hierarchy and kinship in a very detailed way that has simply not been possible before: tomb by tomb, hill by hill, valley by valley.

the Thousand Ancient Genomes project

Archaeologists can excavate a sunken ship in Denmark and determine that it was built in Ireland. Analysis of ancient DNA can make reliable sex determinations of the dead, tease out their family relationships, and even reveal the colour of their eyes and hair; it also makes possible the wider tracking of migrations and larger demographic change.

Local centers of power will reassert themselves as the state devolves into fragmented, overlapping sovereignties.

New technologies will allow the holders of wealth to bypass the national monopolies that have issued and regulated money in the modern period.