The Early State: Its Alternatives and Analogues

Issues of formation and evolution of the early (archaic) state continue to remain among those problems which have not found generally accepted solutions yet. Contributors to The Early State, Its Alternatives and Analogues represent both traditional and non-traditional points of view on the evolution of statehood. However, the data presented in the volume seem to demonstrate in a fairly convincing manner a great diversity of pathways to statehood, as well as nonuniversality of transformation into states of complex and even supercomplex societies. Introduction ......Page 4 Contents ......Page 7 Part I: Theory ......Page 10 1. Alternatives of Social Evolution. Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Leonid E. Grinin, and Andrey V. Korotayev ......Page 12 2. Was the Chiefdom a Congelation of Ideas? Robert L. Carneiro ......Page 37 3. Beyond States and Empires: Chiefdoms and Informal Politics. Patrick Chabal, Gary Feinman, and Peter Skalnik ......Page 55 4. Alternative Models of Middle Range Society. ’Individualistic’ Asia vs. ‘Collectivistic’ America? Yuri E. Berezkin ......Page 70 5. Was the State Inevitable? Henri J. M. Claessen ......Page 81 6. The Early State and Its Analogues: A Comparative Analysis. Leonid E. Grinin ......Page 97 Part II: Early States ......Page 146 7. Early Dynastic Egypt: A Socio-Environmental/Anthropological Hypothesis of‘Unification’. Dmitri B. Proussakov ......Page 148 8. The Ruler as Possessor of Power in Sumer. Vladimir V. Emelianov ......Page 190 9. Ritual and Rationality: Religious Roots of the Bureaucratic State in Ancient China. Richard Baum ......Page 205 10. Conquest Warfare, Strategies of Resistance, and the Rise of the Zapotec Early State. Charles S. Spencer and Elsa M. Redmond ......Page 229 11. The Pristine Myth of the Pristine State in America. Richard P. Schaedel and David G. Robinson ......Page 271 12. The Transition to Statehood in Central Europe. Ludomir R. Lozny ......Page 287 13. Formation and Development of States in the Congo Basin. Eleonora S. L’vova ......Page 297 Part III: Sedentary Alternatives and Analogues ......Page 307 14. The Chiefdom: Precursor of the Tribe? (Some Trends of Political Evolution in North-East Yemeni Highlands). Andrey V. Korotayev ......Page 309 15. From Local Communities to Megacommunity: Biniland in the 1st Millennium B.C.- 19th Century A.D. Dmitri M. Bondarenko ......Page 334 16. Greece: The Stateless Polis (11th- 4th Centuries B.C.). Moshe Berent ......Page 373 17. Rome: Socio-political Evolution in the 8th- 2nd Centuries B.C. Dmitri V. Dozhdev ......Page 397 18. Early State and Democracy. Leonid E. Grinin ......Page 428 Part IV. Nomadic Alternatives and Analogues ......Page 473 19. Cultural Capital, Livestock Raiding, and the Military Advantage of Traditional Pastoralists. William Irons ......Page 475 20. Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in Historical Retrospective. Anatoly M. Khazanov ......Page 485 21. Nomadic Empires in Evolutionary Perspective. Nikolay N. Kradin ......Page 510 22. Mongolian Nomadic Society of the Empire Period. Tatyana D. Skrynnikova ......Page 534 Introduction Part I: Theory 1. Alternatives of Social Evolution Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Leonid E. Grinin, and Andrey V. Korotayev 2. Was the Chiefdom a Congelation of Ideas? Robert L. Carneiro 3. Beyond States and Empires: Chiefdoms and Informal Politics Patrick Chabal, Gary Feinman, and Peter Skalník 4. Alternative Models of Middle Range Society. ‘Individualistic’ Asia vs. ‘Collectivistic’ America? Yuri E. Berezkin 5. Was the State Inevitable? Henri J. M. Claessen 6. The Early State and Its Analogues: A Comparative Analysis Leonid E. Grinin Part II: Early States 7. Early Dynastic Egypt: A Socio-Environmental/Anthropological Hypothesis of ‘Unification’ Dmitri B. Proussakov 8. The Ruler as Possessor of Power in Sumer Vladimir V. Emelianov 9. Ritual and Rationality: Religious Roots of the Bureaucratic State in Ancient China Richard Baum 10. Conquest Warfare, Strategies of Resistance, and the Rise of the Zapotec Early State Charles S. Spencer and Elsa M. Redmond 11. The Pristine Myth of the Pristine State in America Richard P. Schaedel and David G. Robinson 12. The Transition to Statehood in Central Europe Ludomir R. Lozny 13. Formation and Development of States in the Congo Basin Eleonora S. L'vova Part III: Sedentary Alternatives and Analogues 14. The Chiefdom: Precursor of the Tribe? (Some Trends of Political Evolution in North-East Yemeni Highlands) Andrey V. Korotayev 15. From Local Communities to Megacommunity: Biniland in the 1st Millennium B.C. – 19th Century A.D. Dmitri M. Bondarenko 16. Greece: The Stateless Polis (11th– 4th Сenturies B.C.) Moshe Berent 17. Rome: Socio-political Evolution in the 8th– 2nd Centuries B.C. Dmitri V. Dozhdev 18. Early State and Democraсy Leonid E. Grinin Part IV. Nomadic Alternatives and Analogues 19. Cultural Capital, Livestock Raiding, and the Military Advantage of Traditional Pastoralists William Irons 20. Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in Historical Retrospective Anatoly M. Khazanov 21. Nomadic Empires in Evolutionary Perspective Nikolay N. Kradin 22. Mongolian Nomadic Society of the Empire Period Tatyana D. Skrynnikova Alternatives Of Social Evolution / Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Leonid E. Grinin And Andrey V. Korotayev -- Was The Chiefdom A Congelation Of Ideas? / Robert L. Carneiro -- Beyond States And Empires : Chiefdoms And Informal Politics / Patrick Chabal, Gary Feinman And Peter Skalník -- Alternative Models Of Middle Range Society :'individualistic' Asia Vs. 'collectivistic' America? / Yuri E. Berezkin -- Was The State Inevitable? / Henri J.m. Claessen -- The Early State And Its Analogues : A Comparative Analysis / Leonid E. Grinin -- Early Dynastic Egypt : A Socio-environmental/anthropological Hypothesis Of 'unification' / Dmitri B. Proussakov -- The Ruler As Possessor Of Power In Sumer / Vladimir V. Emelianov -- Ritual And Rationality : Religious Roots Of The Bureaucratic State In Ancient China / Richard Baum -- Conquest Warfare, Strategies Of Resistance, And The Rise Of The Zapotec Early State / Charles S. Spencer And Elsa M. Redmond -- The Pristine Myth Of The Pristine State In America / Richard P. Schaedel And David G. Robinson -- The Transition To Statehood In Central Europe / Ludomir R. Lozny -- Formation And Development Of States In The Congo Basin / Eleonora S. L'vova -- The Chiefdom : Precursor Of The Tribe? (some Trends Of Political Evolution In North-east Yemeni Highlands) / Andrey V. Korotayev -- From Local Communities To Megacommunity : Biniland In The 1st Millennium B.c.-19th Century A.d. / Dmitri M. Bondarenko -- Greece : The Stateless Polis (11th-4th Centuries B.c.) / Moshe Berent -- Rome : Socio-political Evolution In The 8th-2nd Centuries B.c. / Dmitri V. Dozhdev -- Early State And Democracy / Leonid E. Grinin -- Cultural Capital, Livestock Raiding, And The Military Advantage Of Traditional Pastoralists / William Irons -- Nomads Of The Eurasian Steppes In Historical Retrospective / Anatoly M. Khazanov -- Nomadic Empires In Evolutionary Perspective / Nikolay N. Kradin -- Mongolian Nomadic Society Of The Empire Period / Tatyana D. Skrynnikova. Edited By Leonid E. Grinin ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References. Issues of formation and evolution of the early (archaic) state continue to remain among those problems which have not found generally accepted solutions yet. New research shows more and more clearly that pathways to statehood and early state types were numerous. On the other hand, research has detected such directions of sociocultural evolution, which do not lead to state formation at all, whereas within certain evolutionary patterns transition to statehood takes place on levels of complexity far exceeding the ones indicated by conventional evolutionist schemes. Contributors to The Early State, Its Alternatives and Analogues represent both traditional and non-traditional points of view on evolution of statehood. However, the data presented in the volume seem to demonstrate in a fairly convincing manner a great diversity of pathways to statehood, as well as non-universality of transformation into states of complex and even supercomplex societies.