Ideology, Power and Prehistory


Book Description

This book starts from the premise that methodology has always dominated archaeology to the detriment of broader social theory.




The Archaeology of Power and Politics in Eurasia


Book Description

For thousands of years, the geography of Eurasia has facilitated travel, conquest and colonization by various groups, from the Huns in ancient times to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the past century. This book brings together archaeological investigations of Eurasian regimes and revolutions ranging from the Bronze Age to the modern day, from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus in the west to the Mongolian steppe and the Korean Peninsula in the east. The authors examine a wide-ranging series of archaeological studies in order to better understand the role of politics in the history and prehistory of the region. This book re-evaluates the significance of power, authority and ideology in the emergence and transformation of ancient and modern societies in this vast continent.




How Chiefs Come to Power


Book Description

This book is basically about power-how people came to acquire it and the implications that contrasting paths to power had for the development of societies. Earle argues that chiefdoms, being a regional polity with governance over a population of a few thousand to tens of thousands of people, and with some social stratification, possessed the same fundamental dynamics as those of states, and that the origin of states is to be understood in the emergence and development of chiefdoms. His arguments are developed by three case studies-Denmark during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (2300-1300) BC, the high Andes of Peru from the early chiefdoms through the Inka conquest (AD 500-1534), and Hawai'i from early settlement to its incorporation in the world economy (AD 800-1824). After summarizing the cultural history of the three societies over a thousand years, he considers the sources of chiefly power-the economy, military power and ideology-and how these sources were linked together.




Ideology, Power, and Prehistory


Book Description




Architecture and Power in the Ancient Andes


Book Description

An innovative 1996 discussion of architecture and its role in the culture of the ancient Andes.




The Power of Ritual in Prehistory


Book Description

Secret societies in tribal societies turn out to be key to understanding the origins of social inequalities and state religions.




The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion


Book Description

A comprehensive overview, by period and region, of the archaeology of ritual and religion. The coverage is global, and extends from the earliest prehistory to modern times. Written by over sixty renowned specialists, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will also stimulate further research.




Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia


Book Description

The lands between Mesoamerica and the Central Andes are famed for the rich diversity of ancient cultures that inhabited them. Throughout this vast region, from about AD 700 until the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion, a rich and varied tradition of goldworking was practiced. The amount of gold produced and worn by native inhabitants was so great that Columbus dubbed the last New World shores he sailed as Costa Rica—the "Rich Coast." Despite the long-recognized importance of the region in its contribution to Pre-Columbian culture, very few books are readily available, especially in English, on these lands of gold. Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia now fills that gap with eleven articles by leading scholars in the field. Issues of culture change, the nature of chiefdom societies, long-distance trade and transport, ideologies of value, and the technologies of goldworking are covered in these essays as are the role of metals as expressions and materializations of spiritual, political, and economic power. These topics are accompanied by new information on the role of stone statuary and lapidary work, craft and trade specialization, and many more topics, including a reevaluation of the concept of the "Intermediate Area." Collectively, the volume provides a new perspective on the prehistory of these lands and includes articles by Latin American scholars whose writings have rarely been published in English.




Chiefdoms


Book Description

These eleven case studies of different chiefdoms examine how ruling elites retain and legitimize their power.




The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean


Book Description

The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean offers new insights into the material and social practices of many different Mediterranean peoples during the Bronze and Iron Ages, presenting in particular those features that both connect and distinguish them. Contributors discuss in depth a range of topics that motivate and structure Mediterranean archaeology today, including insularity and connectivity; mobility, migration, and colonization; hybridization and cultural encounters; materiality, memory, and identity; community and household; life and death; and ritual and ideology. The volume's broad coverage of different approaches and contemporary archaeological practices will help practitioners of Mediterranean archaeology to move the subject forward in new and dynamic ways. Together, the essays in this volume shed new light on the people, ideas, and materials that make up the world of Mediterranean archaeology today, beyond the borders that separate Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.