1. Mirror for Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak Fifth Edition
Chapter 7
Political Systems
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2. Types of sociopolitical organization
Overview
Types of sociopolitical organization
Bands
Tribes
Chiefdoms
States
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3. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Anthropological study of political systems
Global and comparative perspective on political systems
Power – ability to exercise one’s will over others
Authority – socially approved use of power
Sociopolitical organization – regulation or management of relations among groups and their representatives
Political regulation – e.g., decision making, conflict resolution
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4. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Types and trends
Types of sociopolitical organization (Service): band, tribe, chiefdom, state
Bands, tribes, and chiefdoms are known archaeologically
Today, all such polities (political entities) exist within nation-states and are subject to state control
Bands – small kin-based groups found among foragers
Tribes:
Non-intensive food production (horticulture and pastoralism)
Villages
Kin groups based on common descent (clans and lineages)
Lack of formal government
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5. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Types and trends
Chiefdoms:
Intermediate between tribe and state
Kin-based like bands and tribes
Permanent political structure and differential access to resources (wealth, prestige, power)
States – formal government and socioeconomic stratification
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6. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Types and trends
Service’s typology is overly simple, but it does highlight some significant contrasts in sociopolitical organization (especially those between states and nonstates)
States – distinct governments
Bands and tribes – political organization not separate and distinct from the total social order
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7. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Types and trends
Correlations between economy and sociopolitical organization:
Foragers tended to have band organization
Horticulturalists and pastoralists tended to have tribal organization
Chiefdoms and nonindustrial states usually had agricultural economies (herding was important in some Middle Eastern chiefdoms)
In general, food production  larger, denser populations and more complex economies  new regulatory problems  greater social and political complexity
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8. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Foraging (hunter-gatherer) bands
Modern hunter-gatherers can illustrate links between a foraging economy and other aspects of society and culture
However, modern foragers are not Stone Age relics – have been linked to food producers, influenced by state systems
Traditional foraging societies had two kinds of social groups: nuclear family and band
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9. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Foraging bands
Bands:
Impermanent – formed seasonally
Particular families that formed a band varied from year to year
Marriage, kinship, trade, and visiting created social ties between members of different bands
Egalitarianism – status differences were achieved (not ascribed)
Leaders were “first among equals” – could give advice or make decisions, but could not enforce decisions
Lack of formal law (a legal code with trial and enforcement)
Methods of social control and dispute settlement (e.g., song battles among the Inuit)
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10. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
No totally autonomous tribes exist today
However, tribal principles continue to operate in some societies (e.g., Papua New Guinea and South America)
Usually a horticultural or pastoral economy
Social organization:
Villages
Descent groups – kin groups whose members trace descent from a common ancestor
Lack socioeconomic stratification and formal government
Some still conduct small-scale warfare (intervillage raiding)
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11. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Regulatory officials (e.g., village heads, "big men," descent-group leaders, village councils, leaders of pantribal associations) have only limited authority – cannot enforce decisions
Fairly egalitarian
Some tribes have marked gender stratification – unequal distribution of resources, power, prestige, and personal freedom between men and women
Status is based on age, gender, and personal traits
Egalitarianism tends to diminish as village size and population density increase
Horticulturalists tend to live in small villages with low population density, open access to resources
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12. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Village head (e.g., Yanomami)
Achieved position
Only limited authority – cannot issue orders or force people to do things
Must lead by example – can only persuade, harangue, influence
May mediate disputes, but no authority to enforce decisions or impose punishments
Must be generous
Cultivates more land than other villagers (so can be generous)
Represents the village in its dealings with outsiders – e.g., hosting feasts to which other villages are invited
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13. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
“Big man”
Common in societies of the South Pacific, particularly the Melanesian Islands and Papua New Guinea (e.g., Kapauku)
Similar to village head, but with supporters in several villages
Position achieved through the accumulation of wealth, generosity, eloquence, bravery, physical fitness, and supernatural powers
Decisions accepted as binding by supporters
Important regulator of regional events (e.g., feasts and markets)
Able temporarily to regulate regional political organization – by mobilizing people from several villages
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14. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Tribal leaders (e.g., village heads or big men):
Must be generous in order to become (and remain) tribal leaders
Must work hard to create a surplus to give away
Giving away surpluses converts wealth into prestige and gratitude
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15. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Pantribal sodalities
Sodalities – nonkin groups, often based on common age or gender, that link local groups in tribal societies
Pantribal sodalities:
Extend across whole tribe, spanning several villages
Sometimes arose in areas where two or more cultures came into regular contact
Especially likely to develop in the presence of intertribal warfare
Able to mobilize a large number of men from multiple villages for attacks or retaliation against other tribes
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16. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Age sets and age grades
Age sets – sodalities that include all of the men born during a certain time span
Common among tribes of the Great Plains, as well as in eastern and southeastern Africa
Members of an age set progress together through a series of age grades (e.g., initiated youth, warrior, adult, elder)
In societies with age grades but not age sets, people can progress through the age grades either individually or collectively
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17. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Tribal cultivators
Sodalities
Secret societies – sodalities, made up exclusively of men or women, that have secret initiation ceremonies
Sodalities based on age, gender, and ritual link members of different local groups – create a sense of ethnic identity
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18. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Nomadic politics
Various kinds of sociopolitical organization are found among pastoralists
As regulatory problems increase, political organization becomes less personal, more formal, and less kinship-oriented
Example: Basseri and Qashqai, pastoral nomadic tribes in Iran
Bassari:
Smaller population
Fewer problems in coordinating movements of group
Rights, privileges, duties, and authority of the Bassari leader (khan) were weaker than those of Qashqai khans
Authority of khan derived from personal traits rather than office
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19. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Nomadic politics
Qashqai:
Larger population
Complex, hierarchical authority structure and more powerful khans were needed to manage population
Authority of khan derived from office rather than personal traits
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20. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Chiefdoms
Transitional form of sociopolitical organization between tribes and states
Chiefdom and state are ideal types – in reality, there is a continuum from tribe to chiefdom to state
Some societies had many attributes of chiefdoms but retained tribal features, while others (“complex chiefdoms”) had attributes of archaic states
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21. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Chiefdoms
Developed in several parts of the world – e.g., circum-Caribbean, lowland Amazonia, southeastern United States, Polynesia, megalithic cultures of Europe
Social relations based primarily on kinship, marriage, descent, age, generation, and gender (like bands and tribes)
Permanent political regulation of territory (unlike bands and tribes)
Chief and assistants occupy political offices
Office – permanent position which must be refilled when it is vacated by death or retirement
Structure of a chiefdom endures across generations because offices are refilled systematically
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22. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Chiefdoms
Polynesian chiefdoms – chiefs regulated production, distribution, and consumption
Chiefly redistribution:
Products moved up the hierarchy to a central office, then were redistributed during feasts sponsored by the chief
Redistribution fulfilled chief’s obligation to share with kin
Made goods from different regions available to the entire society
Helped manage risk – stimulated production of a surplus and provided a central storehouse for goods that might become scarce during times of famine
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23. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Chiefdoms
Social status was based on seniority of descent
All members of society were believed to have descended from a group of common ancestors
Chief had to demonstrate seniority in descent
All individuals (even the lowest-ranking) were related to the chief
Everyone, including the chief, had to share with relatives
Continuum of social statuses, rather than distinct social classes
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24. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Status systems in chiefdoms and states
Based on differential access to resources – certain individuals have privileged access to power, prestige, and wealth
Chiefdoms:
Differential access based on kinship
In general, chiefs and their nearest relatives and assistants enjoyed privileged access to resources
States:
Clearer class divisions (at least nobles and commoners)
Kinship ties do not extend from nobles to commoners
Stratum endogamy – marriage within one’s own group
Results in stratification – a key characteristic of states
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25. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
Status systems in chiefdoms and states
Stratification – creation of separate social strata that differ in their access to wealth, prestige, and power
Weber defined three related dimensions of social stratification:
Economic status – based on wealth (a person’s material assets)
Political status – based on power (the ability to exercise one’s will over others)
Social status – based on prestige (esteem, respect, or approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary)
In states, the higher (elite) stratum has privileged access to wealth, power, and other valued resources, while the lower (underprivileged) stratum has limited access to resources
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26. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
States
Population control
Administrative divisions (e.g., provinces, districts, counties, subcounties, parishes) managed by lower-level officials
Reduced importance of kinship in sociopolitical organization
Geographic mobility and resettlement are fostered – severs ties between people, land, and kin
Different rights and obligations are assigned to different social groups – e.g., citizens vs. noncitizens; members of different social classes (elites, commoners, and slaves); soldiers vs. ordinary civilians
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27. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
States
Judiciary
Laws based on precedent and legislative proclamations – regulate relations between individuals and groups
Courts and judges to handle disputes and crimes
Intervention in family affairs (unlike nonstates)
Enforcement
Agents to enforce judicial decisions
Governments are concerned with preserving internal order, guarding against external threats, and defending hierarchy, property, and power of the law
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28. CHAPTER 7 Political Systems
States
Fiscal systems
Support rulers, nobles, officials, judges, military personnel, and other specialists in a state
Some resources collected by a state (e.g., via taxation) are redistributed to citizens; others (often more) are used to support the government and the elite
Common people in states usually must work harder than those in nonstates
Fiscal systems of archaic states helped to maintain and elaborate class distinctions
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