unit 9 quiz available from tuesday midnight until thursday midnight this is the last quiz for the...
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Unit 9 QuizUnit 9 Quiz
Available from Tuesday Midnight until Thursday Midnight
This is the LAST QUIZ for the Quarter. Make sure that you have completed at least 7 quizzes.
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
End of Quarter LogisticsEnd of Quarter Logistics
Book Reviews will be returned IN CLASS on Thursday, June 3, 2004
Workbooks need to be turned in to Section Leader on Friday, June 4, from 2-5 pm in Social Sciences 1, Room 461 (The Section Room)
Unit 9, Lecture 2Unit 9, Lecture 2
The Archaeology
of
Power, Inequality and
the State
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
PowerPower
Potential to initiate or influence social actionCan be either constructive, cooperative
(“power to”) or exploitative and coercive (“power
over”)or ability to resist or circumvent
authority (“power not to”)
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
StatusStatus
Collection of rights and duties that accrue to a recognized and named social positionCriteria: Age, Gender, Kinship, Ability,
Occupation, Residence, Alliances, etc.Associated w/ different amounts of powerAchieved vs. Ascribed
Social Persona = composite of multiple, overlapping and intersecting social statuses
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
PoliticsPolitics
How a society organizes itself in order to make and enforce decisions, to resolve conflicts, and to control access to and distribution of social status and power.Small Scale Societies: political structures are
informal and situational.Large Scale Societies: political power vested in
formal institutions of government, coded in law, and backed by coercive force.
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Typological ModelsTypological Models
Morton Fried:Egalitarian
Ranked
Stratified
Elman Service:Band
Tribe
Chiefdom
State
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Egalitarian Societies (Bands) Egalitarian Societies (Bands)
Social Power is widely distributed; hard to monopolize
Status determined by age, gender, abilityNo. of valued statuses = no. of people meeting
criteria to fulfill themLeadership situational and informal
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Tribal or Segmentary SocietiesTribal or Segmentary Societies
Social status determined by age, gender, kinship, and ability
More emphasis on relationships of kinship and marriage (lineage structures)
Corporate/communal groups (moieties, sodalities, clans) [Horizontal Integration]
Tension between egalitarian and ranked tendencies [“Big Men”]
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Ranked Societies (Chiefdoms)Ranked Societies (Chiefdoms)
No. of valued statuses are limited and restricted Ascribed status determined largely by kinship
(ranked lineages = Vertical Integration) Achieved status determined by age, gender, ability “Power Over” = “Power from” the gods and
ancestors (supernaturally sanctioned authority) Feasting, giveaways, gifting Production and ritualized exchange of exotic and
high value objects among elite
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Stratified Societies (States)Stratified Societies (States)
Social status largely determined by role and occupation (class)
Lots of economic specialization, complex division of labor
At least three classes: Rulers, Artisans/Traders, Commoners [and Slaves]
Social classes in competition with each other for power, prestige and wealth
Coercive power and authority sanctioned by law Lots of internal stress, very unstable and subject to
cataclysmic collapse.
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Peebles and Kus (1977) “Some Archaeological Correlates of
Ranked Societies”
Peebles and Kus (1977) “Some Archaeological Correlates of
Ranked Societies”
Moundville, Alabama Center of Mississippian
Chiefdom A.D. 1200-1500 300 acre palisaded ceremonial
center; plaza flanked by 20 platform mounds
Main residential area located outside of palisade
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Evidence for Social Ranking (1) Evidence for Social Ranking (1)
Burials and Funerary Monuments“fossilized terminal status”--rank or status person
held in life is directly reflected in how one is treated at death
3000 burials--statistical analysis grouped burials by similarities in associated context and content.
Subordinate/Commoner vs. Superordinate/Elite
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Burial Clusters at MoundvilleBurial Clusters at Moundville
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Evidence for Social Ranking (2)Evidence for Social Ranking (2)
Settlement HierarchiesThree tiers--major center,
minor centers, villagesSites located at “ecotones”--
areas of high agricultural potential and high diversity
Connected to each other by tribute economy
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Evidence for Social Ranking (3)Evidence for Social Ranking (3)
Organization of ProductionSpecialized WorkshopsAttached SpecialistsSumptuary goods for ritual and displayElite exchanges and alliances
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Marxist/Post-Processual Critique of Typological Models
Marxist/Post-Processual Critique of Typological Models
Too static, holistic, systemic Progressive, teleological Do not deal with internal variability and conflict
(social dynamics, human agency) Today: archaeologists less interested in “What type of
society is it?” And more interested in “How is power distributed in society? How is it negotiated? Who makes decisions in what contexts? How are decisions enforced?”
[Burial Rituals = Social Arena where social status and power are negotiated, contested, reaffirmed, “up for grabs”]
Break Break
Return in 5 minutes to learn more about How and Why States
developed.
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
How and Why Do Systems of Social Inequality and the State Develop?
How and Why Do Systems of Social Inequality and the State Develop?
Evidence for the Earliest States:Mesopotamia and Egypt (3500 BC)Mexico and Peru (ca. 500 BC)
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Processualist Approaches to Origins of the State
Processualist Approaches to Origins of the State
Solves some sort of problem--Need to redistribute resourcesNeed to manage informationCompetition and Warfare; Need for social
stability
Leadership and decision making “more efficient”
Changes seen as “adaptive” or “beneficial” to society as a whole [Altruistic, System-Serving]
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
W.T. Sanders and B. Price (1968) Mesoamerica: The Evolution of a Civilization
W.T. Sanders and B. Price (1968) Mesoamerica: The Evolution of a Civilization
Aztec state developed to manage complex, efficient market system in V. of MexicoMediated conflicts, prevented warfarePromoted craft/crop specialization and exchangeEnabled growing numbers of people in Valley of
Mexico to live in comfort and security
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
Marxist/Post-Processual CritiqueMarxist/Post-Processual Critique
People in states work harder and live more precarious lives than in non-state societies
Who benefits from these changes?Need to focus more on “human agency”--
motivations and strategies employed by individuals and groups to serve their own interests
Internal dynamics vs. external causes
Judith Habicht-Mauche, UCSC, Spring 2004
E. Brumfiel-The View from HuexotlaE. Brumfiel-The View from Huexotla
Aztec power and wealth based on collection and distribution of tribute cloth
Urban elite exchanged cloth for food from rural areas in urban markets (e.g. maguey syrup, sugar and pulque from Huexotla)
Market exchange geared to provisioning urban elite not enhancing “comfort and security” of rural farmers
“The questions that have most concerned me are how Aztec rulers constructed their power and how women’s lives changed as they became part of the Aztec empire”--E. Brumfiel