State Formation
State: Some form of ________________, in which the ruler plays a leading role.
all-embracing state religion
When did state-organized societies first appear?
3100 BC
How many people would have to be in an ancient settlement for it to be considered a city by archaeologists?
5,000 - 10,000
Theory that controlling irrigation lay behind the development of states in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere
Hydraulic Civilizations
Attributes: full-time craft specialists, food surplus (some of which was given to a god or king), monumental architecture, social stratification, writing, sciences and naturalistic arts, long distance trade, large settlements
City
When a society does this, it suddenly becomes smaller, simpler, and more egalitarian
Collapses
Argued that competition for arable land leads to raiding, which leads to war chiefs, which leads to a single, conquering war chief
Coercive Theory
Used the archaeology of coastal valleys in Peru to argue that warfare played a key role in state formation
Coercive Theory
We now know that war was not common and that it happened after states developed, disproving this theory
Coercive Theory
The state functioning for the benefit of a minority - privileged rulers and nobles to whom all wealth and power flowed.
Factionalism
Control over food distribution, trade, craft production, tribute, and taxes
Economic power
Where did state-organized societies first appear?
Egypt and Mesopotamia
Shaped society and ensured the conformity of its members through a pervasive set of religious beliefs and philosophies
Ideology
Leading authority on ancient societal collapse
Joseph Tainter
Coined the term "Hydraulic Civilizations"
Karl Wittfogel
Formed the Systems Theory
Kent Flannery
Existence of/control over police, war, raiding, laws
Political power
Example of societal collapse
Rapa Nui of Easter Island
Creator of the Coercive Theory
Robert Carneiro
Control over religion, social norms and behavior, social stratification
Social-ideological power
Not a catastrophe but a rational process that occurs when increasing stress requires some organizational change
Societal Collapse
Population densities fall, trade and economic activity dries up, information flow declines, the known world shrinks up
Societal Collapse
Gordon Childe's theory of state formation
Specialization and Metallurgy Hypothesis
Theory that human societies could be broken down into many interacting subsystems (e.g., religion, food production, trade, settlement size, etc.)
Systems Theory
Theory that there was no single cause or "prime mover" that caused states to form
Systems Theory
Theory where a change in one subsystem would lead to changes in others until the society reached a state of equilibrium
Systems Theory
Term coined by V. Gordon Childe
Urban Revolution
the process by which small, kin-based agricultural villages were transformed into large, socially complex, urban societies
Urban Revolution
State: Societies based on _________, with large, very complex social organizations.
cities
Used by archaeologists as shorthand for urbanized, state-level societies
civilization
Once thought to be one of the most important components of the Urban Revolution, we now know that it sometimes occurred after the development of cities and states
complex metallurgy
The three main sources of power:
economic, social-ideological, political
State: Impressive public buildings and ________________.
monumental architecture
A city can be defined by its ____________.
population
State: Economies based on the centralized accumulation of capital and social status through _____________.
tribute and taxation
State: formal record keeping, science, mathematics, and some form of ___________.
written script
