Archaeology Chapter 14 Test Review

Front 1

(Sociopolitical Organization)
Bands-

Back 1

association of families; 25-60 people; close knit social ties; most Hunter-Gatherers up to the origins of agriculture lived in bands (99% of human history has been lived in bands!!!)

Front 2

(Sociopolitical Organization)
Tribes-

Back 2

clusters of bands linked by clans (based on ancestral ties providing common identity beyond the immediate family.

Front 3

(Sociopolitical Organization)Chiefdoms-

Back 3

Kin based, hierarhical societies with power in the hands of kin leaders (chiefs) who have unusual political and entrepreneurial skills.

Front 4

(Sociopolitical Organization)
States (civilizations)-

Back 4

large-scale societies with centralized political and social organization, class stratification and intensive agriculture.

Front 5

State :

Back 5

- a centralized political system with the power to coerce.
-repressive controls based on physical force
-The institutionalized way of organizing power within territorial limits
Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Indus, Shang China, Zapotec, Aztec, Maya, Inca, the US today.

Front 6

Civilization:

Back 6

-An urbanized, state-level society
-"Pre-industrial civilizations"
-Industrial Civilizations
-The state (form of govt.) is not the same thing as civilization.

Front 7

Traits of Civilization:

Back 7

Check the top left clip of the page 2 on the chapter 14 notes.

Front 8

Six primary or pristine civilizations:

Back 8

1. Mesopotamia (ca.4500 B.C.)
2. Egypt (ca.3500 B.C.)
3. Indus Valley (ca.2600 B.C.)
4. Shang China (ca. 2000 B.C.)
5. Peru (ca. 200 B.C. / 2600-1970 B.C.)
6. Mesoamerica (ca. A.D. 100 / 500 B.C. for Zapotec)

Front 9

(Primary Vs. Secondary States)
Primary:

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-a state level society which arose independently without outside influences.
- Mesopotamia, China, Peru, Mesoamerica

Front 10

(Primary vs. Secondary States)
Secondary:

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-A state level society which arose as a result of contact with another state level society or scioties.
-Egypt, Indus, Greece, Rome

Front 11

(Theories of State Formation)
The Urban Revolution:

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-(V. Gordon Childe 1936, 1956)
-Development of metallurgy & the rise of new social class, artisans
-New craft specialists were fed off surplus farming
-Artisans' products had to be distributed & raw material gathered for production.
-Irrigation & higher food yield allowed more non food producers to be supported.
-Taxation & tribute led to accumulation of capital
-A new stratified society emerged based on class stratification
-Technology & craft specialization were the driving forces (prime movers)
-(Marxist interpretation - change in infrastructure [i.e., technology] drives social change.)

Front 12

(Theories of State Formation)
Population Growth:

Back 12

-(Boserup 1965)
-Population growth required intensified agriculture and eventually led to more complex societies.

Front 13

(Theories of State Formation)
Technology & Trade:

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-Technological innovations (pottery, metallurgy, the wheel, the sail, etc.) lead to the emergence of specialists (craftsmen, etc.) and trade in foreign products (obsidian, copper, gold, other luxuries) was needed to acquire the raw materials of those trades.
-The two phenomena developed in tandem - the demand for craft products required foreign materials thus requireing improvements in transportation.

Front 14

(Theories of State Formation)
Warfare:

Back 14

-Carneiro's (1970) coercive theory of state formation.
-Societies are circumscribed by their environments or other societies (valleys surrounded by mountains, river valleys surrounded by deserts, a group surrounded by other groups, etc.)
-Population growth resulted in conflict for land.
-Defeated villages became incorportated in larger multi-valley polities (e.g., Peruvian Andes).
-Circumscribed areas are easier than other areas to unify politically.

Front 15

(Theories of State Formation)
(Ecology & Irrigation Theories)
A. Ecological Potential of River Flood Plains:

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-Rich, fertile soils of river valleys lead to high agricultural production; extra food supports non food producers (artisans, priests, traders, etc.)

Front 16

(Theories of State Formation)/
(Ecology & Irrigation Theories)
B. Ecological Diversity of Local Environments:

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- Murra 1972
-Vertical Zonation (Altitudinal Zonation) (Vertical Economy), access to water or marine resources, variation in soil fertility, etc., made some regions more likely to specialize in certain products.
-This stimulated trade as local centers came to exchange & trade products with other regions (Regional Symbiosis), thus acquiring goods it could not produce itself (protection from crop failure, etc.)
-Look at Bottom left clip on page 4 of chp. 14 notes for an example.

Front 17

(Theories of State Formation)/
(Ecology & Irrigation Theories)
C. Irrigation Agriculture:

Back 17

-Witfogel's (1957) "Hydraulic Civilization" Model
-Arid regions require irrigation.
-In order for irrigation to work successfully, there must be some centralized authority to regulate it.
-Irrigation leads to the rise of a state bureacratic apparatus (mediation, adjudication of disputes over riparian rights [water rights])

Front 18

(Theories of State Formation)
Cultural Systems & Civilization: The Systems Theory approach:

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-Simplistic, unicausal (single cause or prime mover) models are not adequate
-Rather, multifactorial models are needed to explain a complex process that clearly relied upon many different variables (multiple factors)
-Check Pg. 5 slides 2-4 for charts and examples.

Front 19

(Theories of State Formation)
Environmental Change:

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-Changing sea levels, precipitation patterns & temperatures all seem to have affected the rise of civilizations in various parts of the world at different times.
-The current geological time period, the Holocene, is a warm interglacial period between glacial periods (ice ages) during which agriculture is possible due to the beneficial climateof the last 10-12 thousand years or so.
-Other areas of the world seem to suggest that agricultural expansion * population growth occurred during periods of good temperaure & rainfall (e.g., Valle de la Plata, Colombia).

Front 20

(Theories of State Formation)
Social Theories: Power in Three Domains:

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-Economic Power- The ability to organize more specialized production & redistribute food & other goods & services.
-Ideological Power- The ability to create or manipulate certain symbols or myths of cultural or political unity (e.g., state religion).
-Political Power- The ability to impose authority throughout society by both administrative & military means.

Front 21

(Theories of State Formation)
Ideology & Factionalism:

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-The rise of religion as justification for the social order.
-Also creates two different factions - those with access to the gods and those without (those with privilege & power and those without); those that are blessed and those that are not (or those that are cursed).

Front 22

(Theories of State Formation)
The Role of the Individual:

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-Goals & actions of ancient political actors molded society (Great Man Theory, Action Theory)

Front 23

(Theories of State Formation)
At the moment...

Back 23

-The search for Prime Movers (ultimate causes) is now considered a moot point.
-Systems Theory & Multifactorial Models now predominate.

Front 24

Eagle Knight-

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A class of elite warriors which formed an important part of Aztec power structure in prehispanic Mexico.