Prestate Societies of the North Central European Plains: 600-900 CE (SpringerBriefs in Anthropology Book 1)

This volume offers a new perspective on social dynamics and culture change in the North Central European Plains (NCEP) from 600 to 900 CE. It discusses long-term causal processes leading to the formation of state at the fringes of the Merovingian and Frankish Kingdoms, the Carolingian and the Holy Roman Empire, the Scandinavian Kingdoms, the Czech Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Rus. The central problem addressed is how to account for and explain the transition from noncomplex to supra-tribal polities between 600 and 900 CE. The examined evidence shows that a very basic community-level management of common pool resources seems a successful strategy to manage short term risk and may lead to sustainable higher level political organization. In conclusion it present a models of social dynamics of the NCEP, 600-900 CE that suggests that the state formation process was an outcome of spontaneous processes and deterministic factors occurring within a period of approximately 400 years, of which the last two hundred years (800-900 CE) were the most critical. In a broader context, the point discussed is that decisions with short-term goals have long-term consequences. Prestate Societies of the North Central European Plains 3 Preface 6 Contents 7 1 Introduction 9 Anchor 2 9 Theoretical Assumptions and Working Definitions 10 Collective Action as Strategy for Communal Success 10 Cooperation and Complexity 12 Parameters of Social Complexity 13 References 14 2 Social Change in the North Central European Plains, 600–900s CE: Archeological Data 16 Anchor 2 16 Status Items 33 Schleswig–Holstein 34 Wendland 34 Mecklenburg 34 Brandenburg 35 Pomerania 35 Greater Poland 35 Settlement Patterns 36 Fortified Villages 36 Villages Turned Forts 36 Forts 37 Schleswig–Holstein 37 Wendland 38 Mecklenburg 39 Altmark 40 Brandenburg 40 Pomerania 41 Greater Poland 42 Tornow Forts 45 Two-Component Forts (Early Towns) 48 3 The Rise of Social Complexity in the NCEP, 600–900s CE: A Processual Analysis 49 Anchor 2 49 The Data 75 500–600s CE 75 600–700s CE 77 700–800s CE 78 800–900s CE 81 900–1000s CE 84 Discussion 86 References 88 4 Social Dynamics of the North Central European Plains, 600–900s CE: A Model 89 Anchor 2 89 Leaders and Social Ranking in the North Central European Plain, 600–900s CE 91 Multi-Agent Organization of the North Central European Plain, Late 700s–800s CE 92 Stages in the Rise of Political Complexity in the NCEP, 600–900 CE 93 References 94 5 Conclusions 96 Anchor 2 96 References 98 Index 99 This volume offers a new perspective on social dynamics and culture change in the North Central European Plains (NCEP) from 600 to 900 CE. Using archaeological evidence, this volume follows and analyzes the rise of social complexity in this region. It discusses long-term causal processes leading to the formation of state at the fringes of the Merovingian and Frankish Kingdoms, the Carolingian and the Holy Roman Empire, the Scandinavian Kingdoms, the Czech Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Rus. The central problem addressed is accounting for and explaining the transition from noncomplex to supra-tribal polities between 600 and 900 CE. The examined evidence shows that a very basic community-level management of common pool resources seems a successful strategy to manage short term risk and may lead to sustainable higher level political organization. In conclusion it present a models of social dynamics of the NCEP, 600-900 CE that suggests that the state formation process was an outcome of spontaneous processes and deterministic factors occurring within a period of approximately 400 years, of which the last two hundred years (800-900 CE) were the most critical. In a broader context, the point discussed is that societal decisions with short-term goals have long-term consequences Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-7 Social Change in the North Central European Plains, 600–900s CE: Archeological Data....Pages 9-41 The Rise of Social Complexity in the NCEP, 600–900s CE: A Processual Analysis....Pages 43-82 Social Dynamics of the North Central European Plains, 600–900s CE: A Model....Pages 83-89 Conclusions....Pages 91-93 Back Matter....Pages 95-96 Introduction -- Social Change In The North Central European Plains, 600-900s Ce: Archaeological Data -- The Rise Of Social Complexity In The Ncep, 600-900s Ce: A Processual Analysis -- Social Dynamics Of The North Central European Plains, 600-900s Ce: A Model. Ludomir L. Lozny. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.