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Chiefdoms, States, Cycling, and World-Systems Evolution: A Review Essay

Journal of World-Systems Research

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Title Chiefdoms, States, Cycling, and World-Systems Evolution: A Review Essay
 
Creator Hall, Thomas D.
 
Description Why review a series of books and articles on the rise and fall of chiefdoms in this stetother than my obvious penchant for reading and writing about such topics? The brief answer is that the kind of cycling (rise and fall) that occurs in chiefdoms has analogues in state-based world-systems. In particular, the probabalistic nature of the transitions from chiefdom to state means that there are lots of near misses, or examples of failed transitions. The growing literature on such cycling suggests these transitions are the result of Braudelian conjuncturesall the right pieces falling into place at the right time and placebut nonetheless the result of systematic, or I argue world-systematic processes. Furthermore, initial evidence shows that ideology and individual actors play signi?cant roles in such transitions. Kent Flannery (1999) argues that structure and agency rather than being antithetical, are complementary. Via several examples he shows how in certain phases of chiefdom cycling space, or opportunity, is opened for especially potent actions by leaders, and for ideology to play a much stronger than usual role in social, political, and cultural change. Thus, examination of such events gives some insight into the roles of ideology and individuals in system transformation.
 
Publisher University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
 
Date 2001-02-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/190
10.5195/jwsr.2001.190
 
Source Journal of World-Systems Research; Volume 7, Issue 1, 2001; 91-99
1076-156X
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/190/202
 
Rights Copyright (c) 2015 Thomas D. Hall
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0