The study of chiefdoms has moved from a preoccupation with their formal characteristics to a concern with their dynamics as political institutions. The contributors to this volume are interested in how ruling elites retain power through control over production and exchange, and then legitimize that control through an elaborate ideology. The eleven case studies look at particular chiefdoms, originating in specific historical conditions. Despite obvious differences between the chiefdoms, certain common underlying processes are revealed. The collection recognizes how complex and interdependent the sources of power in society are, as well as the forces of instability that constantly threaten to tear the society apart. Chiefdoms offers a rich and varied interpretation of sociopolitical power.

These eleven case studies of different chiefdoms examine how ruling elites retain and legitimize their power.
Reviews
"The papers, which grew out of a 1988 Advanced Seminar at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, are all of a high quality and are all thought provoking. The theoretical diversity represented by the 10 authors, the empirical summaries of a worldwide sample of chiefly cases, and the volume's uncanny cohesiveness make this book an essential addition to the libraries of those social scientists concerned with chiefdoms or, more broadly, with the historical relationships between polity, economy, and culture....deserves high praise." American Antiquity
"...a very useful source. Its pages are studded with detailed accounts of what prehistoric chiefdoms left behind in the way of material remains." Ethnohistory
"Chiefdoms is a welcome addition to recent studies of cultural evolution." American Anthropologist



Book Information
ISBN 9780521448963
Author Timothy K. Earle
Format Paperback
Page Count 356
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 520g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 154mm * 22mm