How Chiefs Come to Power

How Chiefs Come to Power PDF

Author: Timothy K. Earle

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780804728560

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This book is basically about power-how people came to acquire it and the implications that contrasting paths to power had for the development of societies. Earle argues that chiefdoms, being a regional polity with governance over a population of a few thousand to tens of thousands of people, and with some social stratification, possessed the same fundamental dynamics as those of states, and that the origin of states is to be understood in the emergence and development of chiefdoms. His arguments are developed by three case studies-Denmark during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (2300-1300) BC, the high Andes of Peru from the early chiefdoms through the Inka conquest (AD 500-1534), and Hawai'i from early settlement to its incorporation in the world economy (AD 800-1824). After summarizing the cultural history of the three societies over a thousand years, he considers the sources of chiefly power-the economy, military power and ideology-and how these sources were linked together.

A Primer on Chiefs and Chiefdoms

A Primer on Chiefs and Chiefdoms PDF

Author: Timothy Earle

Publisher: Eliot Werner Publications

Published: 2021-12-31

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1734281855

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Chiefs are political operatives who hold titles of leadership over groups larger than intimate kin-based communities. Although they rule with the consent of their group, they are all about building personal power and respect. Many scholars have viewed chiefs as problem solvers--defending groups against aggressors, resolving disputes, providing support under hardship, organizing labor for community projects, and redistributing goods among those in need. Chiefs do these things, but much of what chiefs do is accumulate benefits for themselves, staying in power and legitimizing control. Anthropological archaeology is well suited to pursue the study of chiefs, their leadership institutions (chiefdoms), and long-term historical processes. The author argues that studying chiefdoms is essential to understanding the role of elemental powers in social evolution. As an illustration, he studies chiefs and their power strategies in historically independent prehistoric and traditional societies and discusses how they continue to exist as powerful actors within modern states.

Ancient Panama

Ancient Panama PDF

Author: Mary W. Helms

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2014-03-19

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 0292766742

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Ancient Panama adds depth to our understanding of the political and religious elite ruling in Panama at the time of the European conquest. Mary W. Helms's research greatly expands knowledge of the distribution, extent, and structural nature of these pre-Columbian chiefdoms. In addition, Helms delves more deeply into select aspects of ancient Panamanian political systems, including the relationship between elite competition and chiefly status, the use of sumptuary goods in the expression of elite power, and the role of elites in regional and long-distance exchange networks. In a significant departure from traditional thinking, she proposes that the search for esoteric knowledge was more important than economic trade in developing long-distance contact among chiefdoms. The primary data for the study are derived from sixteenth-century Spanish records by Oviedo y Valdés, Andagoya, Balboa, and others. The author also turns to ethnographic data from contemporary native people of Panama, Colombia, tropical America, and Polynesia for analogy and comparison. The result is a highly innovative study which illuminates not only pre-Columbian Panamanian elites but also the nature of chiefdoms as a distinctive cultural type.

How Chiefs Became Kings

How Chiefs Became Kings PDF

Author: Patrick Vinton Kirch

Publisher: University of California Press

Published: 2019-05-07

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0520303393

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In How Chiefs Became Kings, Patrick Vinton Kirch addresses a central problem in anthropological archaeology: the emergence of “archaic states” whose distinctive feature was divine kingship. Kirch takes as his focus the Hawaiian archipelago, commonly regarded as the archetype of a complex chiefdom. Integrating anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, traditional history, and theory, and drawing on significant contributions from his own four decades of research, Kirch argues that Hawaiian polities had become states before the time of Captain Cook’s voyage (1778-1779). The status of most archaic states is inferred from the archaeological record. But Kirch shows that because Hawai`i’s kingdoms were established relatively recently, they could be observed and recorded by Cook and other European voyagers. Substantive and provocative, this book makes a major contribution to the literature of precontact Hawai`i and illuminates Hawai`i’s importance in the global theory and literature about divine kingship, archaic states, and sociopolitical evolution.

Be Chief

Be Chief PDF

Author: Rick Miller

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2023-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Growth is contagious and anyone in a company can make simple choices that will accelerate growth in any business. Mastering the powers of clarity, energy, and impact can propel any organization to new heights. If you want to initiate a culture of contagious growth in your company, read this book. Conventional wisdom has long defined "Chiefs" as rulers of people--those at the top of the organization chart who hold the most power. We've always viewed Chiefs as "special," selectively chosen to lead others. The perception in business and society is that only those at the top have the power to be Chief. Conventional wisdom got it wrong. And that needs to change. Now. The newly released Second Edition of Be Chief: It's a Choice, Not a Title obliterates the idea that only Chiefs with titles hold real power--a notion that's been holding us back from achieving our true potential. It's time to realize our true power. Be Chief shows us how. Be Chief isn't just for managers and executives--it's for anyone in any organization. Author Rick Miller has transformed organizations from startups to multinationals--helping front-line workers, managers, and executives at all levels achieve personal and professional growth and establish meaningful connections between what they do and who they are. The ability to tap the collective power of Chiefs at all levels holds the key to sustainable growth that today's companies demand and so many of us crave. According to survey after survey, a lack of engagement has enveloped today's workplace--at least seven in 10 workers are not giving 100% on the job. You may be one of them. It's time for a new way to think about where real power comes from, and to consider new tools to help leaders build organizations full of empowered Chiefs. Be Chief delivers the tips, tools, and case studies to do just that. Be Chief reveals the choices essential to achieving individual and organizational transformation and growth. Finally, 100% of author proceeds are donated to Easterseals, in support of their programs for veterans.

Surplus

Surplus PDF

Author: Christopher T. Morehart

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2015-10-15

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 160732380X

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The concept of surplus captures the politics of production and also conveys the active material means by which people develop the strategies to navigate everyday life. Surplus: The Politics of Production and the Strategies of Everyday Life examines how surpluses affected ancient economies, governments, and households in civilizations across Mesoamerica, the Southwest United States, the Andes, Northern Europe, West Africa, Mesopotamia, and eastern Asia. A hallmark of archaeological research on sociopolitical complexity, surplus is central to theories of political inequality and institutional finance. This book investigates surplus as a macro-scalar process on which states or other complex political formations depend and considers how past people—differentially positioned based on age, class, gender, ethnicity, role, and goal—produced, modified, and mobilized their social and physical worlds. Placing the concept of surplus at the forefront of archaeological discussions on production, consumption, power, strategy, and change, this volume reaches beyond conventional ways of thinking about top-down or bottom-up models and offers a comparative framework to examine surplus, generating new questions and methodologies to elucidate the social and political economies of the past. Contributors include Douglas J. Bolender, James A. Brown, Cathy L. Costin, Kristin De Lucia, Timothy Earle, John E. Kelly, Heather M. L. Miller, Christopher R. Moore, Christopher T. Morehart, Neil L. Norman, Ann B. Stahl, Victor D. Thompson, T. L. Thurston, and E. Christian Wells.

Chiefdoms

Chiefdoms PDF

Author: Robert L. Carneiro

Publisher: Eliot Werner Publications

Published: 2017-12-31

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 173337695X

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What many anthropologists regard as the major step in political development occurred when, for the first time in history, previously autonomous villages gave up their individual sovereignties and were brought together into a multi-village political unit--the chiefdom. Though long neglected as a major stage in history, recent years have seen the chiefdom come in for increased attention. As its importance has been more fully recognized, it has become the object of serious scholarly analysis and interpretation. In this volume specialists in political evolution draw on data from ethnography, archaeology, and history and apply fresh insights to enhance the study of the chiefdom. The papers present penetrating analyses of many aspects of the chiefdom, from how this form of political organization first arose to the role it played in giving rise to the next major stage in the development of human society--the state.

The Politics of Custom

The Politics of Custom PDF

Author: John L. Comaroff

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2018-03-08

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 022651093X

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Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Evolution of Human Societies

The Evolution of Human Societies PDF

Author: Allen W. Johnson

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 9780804740326

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Combining original theoretical ideas and interpretation with ethnographic evidence, Johnson and Earle seek to describe and account for the development of complex human societies. A wealth of case studies are referred to throughout and these are used to support arguments for the proposed causes, mechanisms and patterns of change and for the factors involved, such as technological change, population growth, warfare, the exchange of goods. This second edition sees a complete re-writing of the theoretical chapters, taking account of recent research, plus a new chapter on changes since the Industrial Revolution and the globalisation of society.

Companion Encyclopedia of Archaeology

Companion Encyclopedia of Archaeology PDF

Author: Graeme Barker

Publisher: Taylor & Francis US

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 9780415213301

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This comprehensive, fully illustrated Companion answers the need for an in-depth archaeology reference that provides authoritative coverage of this complex and interdisciplinary field. The work brings together the myriad strands and the great temporal and spatial breadth of the field into two thematically organized volumes. In twenty-six authoritative and clearly-written essays, this Companion explores the origins, aims, methods and problems of archaeology. Each essay is written by a scholar of international standing and illustrations complement the text.