ARCL-1006EL Lecture 17: State Societies 17
16 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ARCL 1006!
April 4, 2018!
State Societies !
•What do anthropologists mean when they talk about social complexity !
•complexity: lots of different parts, inter-relationships!
•Social complexity is about groups that are typically large social groups !
•Not about hunter-gatherers, talking about larger groups that are social!
•Within that large group, you’ll have people with different roles !
•Inter-dependent!
•Not necessarily related by kin- the plastic food container is not necessarily made by one’s
parent- it can be made by a total stranger !
•There are rules and laws that regulate how people behave!
•Hierarchical relationships- wealth, status, power. (not true for all complex societies, but
most of them)!
•Dependent on agriculture- way of producing surplus. (Example of society that doesn’t
depend on agriculture: British Colombia- salmon dependent)!
•STATE SOCIETIES ARE ONE KIND OF SOCIAL COMPLEXITY !
•Characteristics of state societies!
•Synonym for civilization- comes from the word CIVIS which means city!
•Closely linked with the rise of cities !
•Cities (Tikal)!
•Diversity !
•Ethnicity !
•Religion !
•Social status !
•Different roles, different people !
•Diversity in functions of the city!
•Reflected within architecture- Housing (doctors have large houses, poverty
houses are smaller), places of worship, markets, government buildings,
industrial areas !
•Dependent on a food surplus !
•Usually happens through exploitation of domesticated resources !
•Intensification- large scale extraction of environment. (irrigation systems, etc)!
•“Farmers feed cities”!
$
•Craft specialization !
•Special roles- new technologies associated with state societies creates new, more
elaborate roles!
•Pottery!
•Metallurgy !
•Paper making !
•Glass making !
•Not crafting but:!
•Rise of military!
•Rise of bureaucrats !
•Priests/ religious specialties !
•Complex exchange systems !
•Trade existed before state societies however that was person to person, or through a
Leader (redistribution)- BUT state societies are on a much larger scale and more
people are involved, as well as a hierarchy !
•Taxation!
•Record what is being accumulated!
•Rise of currency !
•Social stratification !
•Divided into classes or castes !
•Not everybody has equal access to the resources they need to live- and some people
have an excess amount of resources !
•Glorification of leaders (Akhenaton, Egypt)!
•People in greater positions are held in high esteem !
•Religion helps with this- does not mean that leaders are treated like gods, but it can
be !
•Akhenaton changed the system, and made himself the supreme deity !
•Ability to mobilize/control labour !
•Leaders are able to make the people do their bidding !
•Can be seen as everyone working together for the greater good, the construction of
monuments !
•Monumental construction (Giza, Egypt)!
•This is because of a leader’s ability to coerce people do do things !
•Visible demonstrations of wealth and power and the greatness of leaders !
•Bureaucracy, stratified, not kin based!
•Available to allow the enforcement of the leader !
