Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations PDF
Preview Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations
This page intentionally left blank MythsoftheArchaicState Inthisground-breakingwork,NormanYoffeechallengesprevailingmythsunderpin- ningourunderstandingoftheevolutionoftheearliestcities,states,andcivilizations. Hecounterstheemphasisintraditionalscholarshipthattheearlieststateswerelarge anddespoticallycontrolledandtheirevolutioncanbeadequatelymodeledbyethno- graphicanalogies.Byilluminatingthecreationandchangesinsocialroles–notsimply ofmaleleadersbutalsoofslavesandsoldiers,priestsandpriestesses,peasantsand prostitutes,merchantsandcraftsmen–Yoffeedepictsanevolutionaryprocesscentered ontheconcernsofeverydaylife.DrawingonevidencefromancientMesopotamiaas wellasfromEgypt,SouthAsia,China,Mesoamerica,andSouthAmerica,theauthor exploresthechangesinhumansocietiesthatcreatedtheworldwelivein.Thisbook offersaboldnewinterpretationofsocialevolutionarytheory,andassuchitisessential readingforanystudentorscholarwithaninterestintheemergenceofcomplexsociety. Norman Yoffee isProfessorofNearEasternStudiesandAnthropologyatthe UniversityofMichigan.HisvariouspublicationsincludeArchaeologicalTheory:Who SetstheAgenda?(co-editorwithAndrewSherratt,CambridgeUniversityPress,1993) andTheCollapseofAncientStatesandCivilizations(co-editorwithGeorgeL.Cowgill, UniversityofArizonaPress,1988).HeiseditoroftheJournaloftheEconomicandSocial HistoryoftheOrientandCambridgeWorldArchaeology. M y t h s o f t h e A r c h a i c S tat e Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations norman yoffee Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521818377 © Norman Yoffee 2004 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format - ---- eBook (NetLibrary) - --- eBook (NetLibrary) - ---- hardback - --- hardback - ---- paperback - --- paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. ForBarbara Contents Listoffigures pagex Listoftables xiii introduction 1 1 the evolution of a factoid 4 Anintroductiontosocialevolutionarymythology 5 Types,rules,andfactoids 6 Neo-evolutionismevolving 8 Statesandcivilizations:beyondheuristics 15 2 dimensions of power in the earliest states 22 Thepursuitofthewilychiefdom 22 Neo-evolutionismandnewsocialevolutionarytheory:back tothefuture 31 Theevolutionofpoweranditsdistributionintheearlieststates 33 Dimensionsofpowerinsocialevolutionarytheory 34 Statesasstatesofmind 38 Whatneo-evolutionismcannotexplain 41 3 the meaning of cities in the earliest states and civilizations 42 City-statesandchimeras 44 vii viii table of contents Citiesandstates 45 Mesopotamiancity-statesandMesopotamiancivilization 53 Citiesandcity-statesinsocialevolutionaryperspective 59 4 when complexity was simplified 91 SimplifyingthepathtopowerinearlyChinesestates 94 LawandorderinancientMesopotamia 100 ThecontextofMesopotamianlaw 102 ThecontextandfunctionofthecodeofHammurabi 104 Thecomplexitiesoflegalsimplification:decision-makinginMesopotamia 109 5 identity and agency in early states: case studies 113 ApeculiarinstitutioninOldBabylonianMesopotamia 116 Imaginingsexinanearlystate 121 Conclusion:Encounterswithwomeninearlystates 128 6 the collapse of ancient states and civilizations 131 Theorizingcollapse 132 Neo-evolutionismandcollapse 134 Collapseasthedrasticrestructuringofsocialinstitutions 138 ThecollapseofancientMesopotamianstatesandcivilization 140 TheOldAkkadianstate 142 TheThirdDynastyofUr 144 TheOldBabylonianandOldAssyrianstates 147 Theendofthecycle? 151 Collapseasthemutationofsocialidentityandsuffocationofculturalmemory 153 ThecollapseofMesopotamiancivilizationanditsregeneration 159 7 social evolutionary trajectories 161 EvolutionaryhistoryoftheChaco“rituality” 162 Non-normativethinkinginsocialevolutionarytheory 171 SouthwestandSoutheast 173 Towardsahistoryofsocialevolutionarytrajectories 177 8 new rules of the game 180 Thegameofarchaeologicalneologisms 181 Theengineeringofarchaeologicaltheory:miningandbridging 182
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