Bands Tribes Ethnically homogeneous Ethnically homogeneous Egalitarian Egalitarian (some gender disparity) No central authority No central authority Acephalous Village headman Reciprocal exchange (generalized) Reciprocal exchange (balanced) Kin-based organization Kin-based organization Bilateral Unilineal Social unit = family or band Lineages, clans, age grades Families, groups of 10-30 Groups of 100s-1000s Use rights Use rights Foraging Horticulture & Pastoralism Nomadic Semipermanent villages Overlapping gender roles Greater gender division of labor Warfare rare Inter-village/tribal conflicts No larger integration among groups Pan-tribal mechanisms
Horticultural Tribal Societies Pastoral Tribal Societies
Chiefdoms Permanently allied communities Recognized leader(s) Larger populations More complex, formal, centralized Hereditary ranks Ascribed status Chiefly (nobles/elites) & non-chiefly (commoner) lineages Differences in prestige, privilege, sometimes power Elite lineage (rank) endogamy Redistributive economies
Chiefs Chiefs have more authority, & sometimes power and wealth Regulate production & redistribution Distribute land Settle disputes, punish Recruit workers and soldiers Ascribed status Rank is ascribed Power, prestige, wealth partly achieved E.g. Trobriands – yam cultivation, Kula Ring, feasts Supernatural powers Chiefship is an ‘office’ that must be filled Imposed by colonial powers
Women in Chiefdoms Women chiefs in West Africa Women’s political roles Ashanti of Ghana Edo of Nigeria Yoruba Iyalode of Nigeria Women’s political roles Economic contribution Kinship system Iroquois vs. Cheyenne Colonial & missionary intervention
Big-Man (& Woman) Systems Between tribe & chiefdom Kawelka, Kaoka Horticulture Redistribution – feasts Following in several villages Regulatory responsibilities Achieved status Hard work & charisma Big-women E.g., Vanatinai Changes with colonization Big Man Chief Uses influence Wields power Individually achieved Inherited Temporarily held Lifetime tenure
States Most formal, complex Stratified (3 or more strata) Membership based on residence & citizenship Centralized Coercive power Unequal distribution of resources Social stratification: Castes and Classes Elite control Bureaucratic Hierarchical power and responsibilities Permanent institutions Legislative, Administrative, Judicial Forms City-state Empire Traditional Theocratic Nation-state
Rise of the State First intensive agricultural societies 5,500 years ago Mesopotamia (Iraq), China, India, Egypt, Central & So America Full-time political and administrative roles Other political structures incorporated in states
General Theories of Why States Developed Demographic: Population density need for central control Economic: Increased food surpluses support ruling class Political: Manage increased competition for land and food
Theories of Why States Developed in Certain Areas Voluntaristic Benefits Stability, safety, rights protection, settling disputes V. Gordon Childe Result of intensive agriculture & technology Increased specialization Required integration, protection Karl Witfogel Hydraulic theory Arid & semiarid areas needed large-scale irrigation Small farmers gave up autonomy to get water Problem: states came before large-scale irrigation
Theories of Why States Developed in Certain Areas Coercive Robert Carneiro Geographical circumscription Peruvian coastal valleys Nowhere to expand Warfare conquest centralization Inca empire Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley Multi-causal theories
Powers of the State Authority Powers Census systems Taxation Exclusive right to use force Ideology Powers Define citizenship, rights, responsibilities Monopoly on use of force Recruit labor Maintain standing armies & police Census systems Taxation Labor Percentage of crop Cash
Powers of the State Manipulate information Internet and democracy Censorship Restricted access Propaganda Control media Internet and democracy Campaign contributions Politicians revealed Blogs Demonstrations Police actions Wikileaks “Hacktivists” Internet Censorship Pink – Pervasive Light Pink – Substantial Light Yellow – Selective Yellow – Changing situation Green – Little or No, but other forms
E. Service M. Fried C. Polanyi Subsistence Ethnographic Social Polit Org Society Type Exchange Strategy Example Status Bands egalitarian reciprocity foraging Ju/’hoansi, Inuit Achieved Tribes egalitarian reciprocity horticult/pastoral Yanomamö, Nuer Achieved (Big-man) (egalitarian) (redistribution) horticulture Kawelka, Kaoka Achieved Chiefdoms ranked redistribution agriculture Hawaiian, Trobriands Ascribed States stratified market exch. intens ag/indust Inca, Egypt, U.S., India Both