The Emergence of Pristine States
Journal Title: Social Evolution & History - Year 2016, Vol 15, Issue 1
Abstract
In this article the emergence of the Pristine State will be considered. First, I will present an overview of the applied method. Then seven cases of – probable – Pristine States are described. This makes a comparative research possible. As the case studies have been described with the help of the Complex Interaction Model, the comparative part is also based upon this approach. From the comparisons it appeared that all cases developed in a situation of relative wealth. They were not a consequence of hunger or population pressure. Nor could the often mentioned role of war be established as crucial in the formation of these states. War, as far as it occurred, was rather a consequence than a condition of state formation.
Authors and Affiliations
Henri J. M. Claessen
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP265943
- DOI -
- Views 129
- Downloads 0
Sacred Kingship: Cases from Polynesia
This article aims at a description and analysis of sacred kingship in Polynesia. To this aim two cases – or rather island cultures – are compared. The first one is the island of Tahiti, where several complex polities we...
Keeping Together Long Distance Families: Technology as a Social Actor
The article examines how communication tools became social actors for family members separated due to economic migration and for parenting from abroad. Media and movies became aware of social problem in communication wit...
Afrasian Instability Zone and Its Historical Background
The evolution of the Afroeurasian world-system which in the ‘long 16th century’ was transformed into the global World System comprised both economic and political components, some of which are discussed in the present ar...
The Imperial Curve of Large Polities
Many researchers, from Edward Gibbon to Arnold Toynbee, were interested in how large polities would emerge and collapse. Traditionally, the history of empires was considered both in temporal and spatial dynamics. This ar...
Sacred Kingship: The African Case
In this article the sacred kingship in Africa will be analyzed. In order to do so eight cases will be described in some detail, and after that by comparison of the data presented conclusions with regard to this phenomeno...