Description
This volume challenges previous views of social organization focused on elites by offering innovative perspectives on 'power from below.' Using a variety of archaeological, anthropological, and historical data to question traditional narratives of complexity as inextricably linked to top-down power structures, it exemplifies how commoners have developed strategies to sustain non-hierarchical networks and contest the rise of inequalities. Through case studies from around the world - ranging from Europe to New Guinea, and from Mesoamerica to China - an international team of contributors explores the diverse and dynamic nature of power relations in premodern societies. The theoretical models discussed throughout the volume include a reassessment of key concepts such as heterarchy, collective action, and resistance. Thus, the book adds considerable nuance to our understanding of power in the past, and also opens new avenues of reflection that can help inform discussions about our collective present and future.
This volume challenges traditional narratives on power, moving away from elite-centered models and focusing instead on the archaeology of commoners.
About the Author
T. L. Thurston is Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Buffalo. His main interest lies in the interface between people, places, and governance in late prehistoric and historical Europe, often in comparison with other regions, cultures, and times. He finds that questions linking large-scale sociopolitical conditions with the life-course experiences of individuals and groups are best addressed with mixed research methods that unify quantitative and qualitative approaches. Manuel Fernandez-Goetz is Reader and Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on Iron Age and Roman societies in Europe, the archaeology of identities, and conflict archaeology. Among his main publications are the edited volumes Eurasia at the Dawn of History: Urbanization and Social Change (2016) and Conflict Archaeology: Materialities of Collective Violence from Prehistory to Late Antiquity (2018).
Book Information
ISBN 9781316515396
Author T. L. Thurston
Format Hardback
Page Count 350
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 840g
Dimensions(mm) 263mm * 185mm * 23mm
This volume challenges traditional narratives on power, moving away from elite-centered models and focusing instead on the archaeology of commoners.
About the Author
T. L. Thurston is Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Buffalo. His main interest lies in the interface between people, places, and governance in late prehistoric and historical Europe, often in comparison with other regions, cultures, and times. He finds that questions linking large-scale sociopolitical conditions with the life-course experiences of individuals and groups are best addressed with mixed research methods that unify quantitative and qualitative approaches. Manuel Fernandez-Goetz is Reader and Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on Iron Age and Roman societies in Europe, the archaeology of identities, and conflict archaeology. Among his main publications are the edited volumes Eurasia at the Dawn of History: Urbanization and Social Change (2016) and Conflict Archaeology: Materialities of Collective Violence from Prehistory to Late Antiquity (2018).
Book Information
ISBN 9781316515396
Author T. L. Thurston
Format Hardback
Page Count 350
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 840g
Dimensions(mm) 263mm * 185mm * 23mm
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