A chiefdom is a political organization of people
represented or
governed by a
chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a
stateless,
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
analogue or early state system or institution.
Usually a chief's position is based on
kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
, which is often monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites can form a political-ideological
aristocracy
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
relative to the general group.
Chiefdoms and chiefs are sometimes identified as the same as kingdoms and
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
s, and therefore understood as
monarchies
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
, particularly when they are understood as not necessarily states, but having
monarch
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
ic representation or government.
Concept
In
anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of
cultural evolution
Cultural evolution is an evolutionary theory of social change. It follows from the definition of culture as "information capable of affecting individuals' behavior that they acquire from other members of their species through teaching, imitation ...
describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
or a
band society
A band society, sometimes called a camp, or in older usage, a horde, is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consists of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. The general consensus of modern anthropol ...
, and less complex than a
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
or a
civilization
A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...
.
Within general theories of cultural evolution, chiefdoms are characterized by permanent and institutionalized forms of political leadership (the
chief), centralized decision-making, economic interdependence, and social hierarchy.
Chiefdoms are described as intermediate between tribes and states in the progressive scheme of sociopolitical development formulated by
Elman Service
Elman Rogers Service (May 18, 1915 – November 14, 1996) was an American cultural anthropologist.
Biography
He was born on May 18, 1915, in Tecumseh, Michigan and died on November 14, 1996, in Santa Barbara, California. He earned a bachelor' ...
: ''band - tribe - chiefdom - state''. A chief's status is based on
kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
, so it is inherited or
ascribed, in contrast to the
achieved status
Achieved status is a concept developed by the anthropologist Ralph Linton for a social position that a person can acquire on the basis of merit and is earned or chosen through one's own effort. It is the opposite of ascribed status and reflects ...
of
Big Man leaders of tribes. Another feature of chiefdoms is therefore pervasive social inequality. They are ranked societies, according to the scheme of progressive sociopolitical development formulated by
Morton Fried: ''egalitarian - ranked - stratified - state''.
The most succinct definition of a chiefdom in anthropology is by
Robert L. Carneiro: "An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief" (Carneiro 1981: 45).
Chiefdoms in archaeological theory
In
archaeological theory
Archaeological theory refers to the various intellectual frameworks through which archaeology, archaeologists interpret archaeological data. Archaeological theory functions as the application of philosophy of science to archaeology, and is occasion ...
, Service's definition of chiefdoms as “redistribution societies with a permanent central agency of coordination” (Service 1962: 134) has been most influential. Many archaeologists, however, dispute Service's reliance upon redistribution as central to chiefdom societies, and point to differences in the basis of finance (
staple finance v.
wealth finance). Service argued that chief rose to assume a managerial status to redistribute agricultural surplus to ecologically specialized communities within this territory (staple finance). Yet in re-studying the Hawaiian chiefdoms used as his case study, Timothy Earle observed that communities were rather self-sufficient. What the chief redistributed was not staple goods, but prestige goods to his followers that helped him to maintain his authority (wealth finance).
Some scholars contest the utility of the chiefdom model for archaeological inquiry. The most forceful critique comes from
Timothy Pauketat, whose ''Chiefdom and Other Archaeological Delusions'' outlines how chiefdoms fail to account for the high variability of the archaeological evidence for middle-range societies. Pauketat argues that the evolutionary underpinnings of the chiefdom model are weighed down by racist and outdated theoretical baggage that can be traced back to
Lewis Morgan's 19th-century cultural evolution. From this perspective, pre-state societies are treated as underdeveloped, the savage and barbaric phases that preceded civilization. Pauketat argues that the chiefdom type is a limiting category that should be abandoned, and takes as his main case study
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...
, a central place for the
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...
of North America.
Pauketat's provocation, however, has been accused of not offering a sound alternative to the chiefdom type. For while he claims that chiefdoms are a delusion, he describes Cahokia as a civilization. This has been debated to uphold rather than challenge the evolutionary scheme he contests.
Simple category
Chiefdoms are characterized by the centralization of authority and pervasive inequality. At least two inherited
social class
A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...
es (
elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
and
commoner
A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
) are present. (The
ancient Hawaiian chiefdoms had as many as four social classes.) An individual might change social class during a lifetime by extraordinary behavior. A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom, with the greatest influence, power, and prestige.
Kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
is typically an organizing principle, while marriage, age, and sex can affect one's social status and role.
A single simple chiefdom is generally composed of a central community surrounded by or near a number of smaller subsidiary communities. All of the communities recognize the authority of a single kin group or individual with hereditary centralized power, dwelling in the primary community. Each community will have its own leaders, which are usually in a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
and/or subservient relationship to the ruling elite of the primary community.
Complex category
A complex chiefdom is a group of simple chiefdoms controlled by a single paramount center and ruled by a
paramount chief
A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...
. Complex chiefdoms have two or even three tiers of political
hierarchy
A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...
. Nobles are clearly distinct from commoners and do not usually engage in any form of agricultural production. The higher members of society consume most of the goods that are passed up the hierarchy as a tribute.
Reciprocal obligations are fulfilled by the nobles carrying out rituals that only they can perform. They may also make token, symbolic redistributions of food and other goods. In two- or three-tiered chiefdoms, higher-ranking chiefs have control over a number of lesser ranking individuals, each of whom controls specific territory or social units. Political control rests on the chief's ability to maintain access to a sufficiently large body of tribute, passed up the line by lesser chiefs. These lesser chiefs in turn collect from those below them, from communities close to their own center. At the apex of the status hierarchy sits the
paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS.
**Paramount Picture ...
.
Anthropologists and
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
have demonstrated through research that chiefdoms are a relatively unstable form of social organization. They are prone to
cycles of collapse and renewal, in which tribal units band together, expand in power, fragment through some form of social stress, and band together again. An example of this kind of social organization were the
Germanic Peoples
The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
who conquered the western
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
in the 5th century
CE. Although commonly referred to as tribes, anthropologists classified their society as chiefdoms. They had a complex social hierarchy consisting of kings, a warrior aristocracy, common freemen,
serfs
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
, and
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.
The Native American tribes sometimes had ruling kings or satraps (governors) in some areas and regions. The Cherokee, for example, had an imperial-family ruling system over a long period of history. The early Spanish explorers in the Americas reported on the Indian kings and kept extensive notes during what is now called the conquest. Some of the native tribes in the Americas had princes, nobles, and various classes and castes. The "
Great Sun" was somewhat like the Great Khans of Asia and eastern Europe. Much like an emperor, the Great Sun of North America is the best example of chiefdoms and imperial kings in North American Indian history. The Aztecs of Mexico had a similar culture.
Chiefdoms on the Indian subcontinent
The
Indus Valley Civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...
(3300 BCE - 1700 BCE) was a hegemony of chiefdoms with supreme chiefs in each and a system of subsidiary chiefs. The ranks of the chiefs included ordinary chiefs, elders, priests or cattle-owners and head chiefs.
The ''
Arthashastra
''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...
'', a work on politics written some time between the 4th century BC and 2nd century AD by Indian author
Chanakya
Chanakya (ISO 15919, ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Chandragup ...
, similarly describes the
Rajamandala (or "Raja-mandala,") as circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the state of a king (''
raja
Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
T ...
'').
Also see Suhas Chatterjee, ''Mizo Chiefs and the Chiefdom'' (1995).
African chiefdoms
Most African traditional societies involved chiefdoms in their political and social structure before
European colonisation. For an example see the
political organisation of the Mandinka people in West Africa. Each clan, tribe,
kingdom, and empire had its traditional leader, king, or queen.
Ewe people
The Ewe people (; , lit. "Ewe people"; or ''Mono Kple Amu (Volta) Tɔ́sisiwo Dome'', lit. "Between the Rivers Mono and Volta"; ''Eʋenyígbá'' Eweland) are a Gbe languages, Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in G ...
call the king or chief ''Togbui Ga'', the
Fon people
The Fon people, also called Dahomeans, Fon nu, Agadja and historically called Jeji (Djedji) by the Yoruba in the South American diaspora and in colonial French literature are a Gbe ethnic group. ''Dah'', the
Kotafon people ''Ga'', and Ashanti people ''
Asantehene
The is the title for the monarch of the historical Ashanti Empire as well as the ceremonial ruler of the Ashanti people today. The Ashanti royal house traces its line to the Oyoko (an '' Abusua'', or "clan") Abohyen Dynasty of Nana Twum and ...
''. Traditional authority is a distinguishing feature in the landscape of contemporary Africa. It remains important in organising the life of people at the local level despite modern state structures.
Chiefdoms in Hispaniola
Native chieftain system in China
''Tusi'' (), also known as Headmen or Chieftains, were tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the
Yuan,
Ming, and
Qing-era Chinese governments, principally in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
. The arrangement is generally known as the Native Chieftain System ().
Alternatives to chiefdoms
In prehistoric South-West Asia, alternatives to chiefdoms were the non-hierarchical systems of complex
acephalous communities, with a pronounced autonomy of single-family households. These communities have been analyzed recently by Berezkin, who suggests the ''
Apa Tanis'' as their ethnographic parallel (Berezkin 1995). Frantsouzoff (2000) finds a more developed example of such type of polities in ancient South
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
in the
Wadi
Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...
Hadhramawt of the 1st millennium
BCE.
In
Southeast Asian history up to the early 19th century, the metaphysical view of the
cosmos
The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...
called the
mandala
A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
(i.e., circle) is used to describe a
Southeast Asian political model, which in turn describes the diffuse patterns of political power distributed among
Mueang
Mueang ( Ahom: 𑜉𑜢𑜤𑜂𑜫; ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( ''mɯ́ang'', ), Möng ( Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''möeng''; ''móeng'', ), Meng ( zh, c=猛 or 勐) or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or princip ...
(principalities) where circles of influence were more important than central power. The concept counteracts modern tendencies to look for unified political power like that of the large European kingdoms and nation states, which one scholar posited were an inadvertent byproduct of 15th-century
advances in map-making technologies.
Nikolay Kradin has demonstrated that an alternative to the state seems to be represented by the supercomplex chiefdoms created by some nomads of
Eurasia
Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
. The number of structural levels within such chiefdoms appears to be equal, or even to exceed those within the average state, but they have a different type of political organization and political leadership. Such types of political entities do not appear to have been created by the agriculturists (e.g., Kradin 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).
See also
*
Cacicazgo
''Cacicazgo'' is a phonetic Spanish transliteration (or a derivative) of the Taíno word for the lands ruled by a ''cacique''. The Spanish colonial system recognized indigenous elites as nobles in Mexico and Peru, and other areas. Nobles could ...
*
Chief of the Name
*
Band society
A band society, sometimes called a camp, or in older usage, a horde, is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consists of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. The general consensus of modern anthropol ...
*
Mandala (Southeast Asian political model)
''Mandala'' ( is a term used to describe decentralized political systems in medieval Southeast Asia, where authority radiated from a core center rather than being defined by fixed territorial boundaries. This model emphasizes the fluid dist ...
*
Tanistry
Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist (; ; ) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Mann, to succeed to ...
*
Tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
Bibliography
*Berezkin, Yu. E. 1995. "Alternative Models of Middle Range Society" and " 'Individualistic' Asia vs. 'Collectivistic' America?", in ''Alternative Pathways to Early State'', Ed. N. N. Kradin & V. A. Lynsha. Vladivostok: Dal'nauka: 75–83.
*Carneiro, R. L. 1981. "The Chiefdom: Precursor of the State", ''The Transition to Statehood in the New World'' / Ed. by G. D. Jones and R. R. Kautz, pp. 37–79. Cambridge, UK – New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
*Carneiro, R. L. 1991. "The Nature of the Chiefdom as Revealed by Evidence from the Cauca Valley of Colombia", ''Profiles in Cultural Evolution'' / Ed. by A.T. Rambo and K. Gillogly, pp. 167–90. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
*Carneiro, R. L. 199
''"What Happened at Flashpoint? Conjectures on Chiefdom Formation at the Very Moment of Conception."''In: ''Chiefdoms and Chieftaincy in the Americas.'' University Press of Florida, Gainesville, p. 19-42.
*Earle, T. K. 1997. ''How Chiefs Came to Power: The Political Economy of Prehistory''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
*Frantsouzoff S. A. 2000. "The Society of Raybūn", in ''Alternatives of Social Evolution''. Ed. by N.N. Kradin,
A.V. Korotayev,
Dmitri Bondarenko
Dmitri Mikhailovich Bondarenko ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Бондаре́нко, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bəndɐˈrʲenkə, a=Ru-Dmitrii Mikhailovich Bondarenko.ogg; born June 9, 1968) is a Russian anthropologi ...
, V. de Munck, and P.K. Wason (p. 258-265).
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...
: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
*
Korotayev, Andrey V. 2000
Chiefdom: Precursor of the Tribe? in ''Alternatives of Social Evolution''. Ed. by N.N. Kradin,
A.V. Korotayev,
Dmitri Bondarenko
Dmitri Mikhailovich Bondarenko ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Бондаре́нко, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bəndɐˈrʲenkə, a=Ru-Dmitrii Mikhailovich Bondarenko.ogg; born June 9, 1968) is a Russian anthropologi ...
, V. de Munck, and P.K. Wason (p. 242-257).
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...
: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; reprinted in
''The Early State, its Alternatives and Analogues'' Ed. by
Leonid Grinin et al. (р. 300–324). Volgograd: Uchitel', 2004.
*Kradin, Nikolay N. 2000. "Nomadic Empires in Evolutionary Perspective", in ''Alternatives of Social Evolution''. Ed. by N.N. Kradin,
A.V. Korotayev,
Dmitri Bondarenko
Dmitri Mikhailovich Bondarenko ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Бондаре́нко, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bəndɐˈrʲenkə, a=Ru-Dmitrii Mikhailovich Bondarenko.ogg; born June 9, 1968) is a Russian anthropologi ...
, V. de Munck, and P.K. Wason (p. 274-288).
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...
: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; reprinted in: ''The Early State, its Alternatives and Analogues''. Ed. by
Leonid Grinin et al. (р. 501–524). Volgograd: Uchitel', 2004.
*Kradin, Nikolay N. 2002. "Nomadism, Evolution, and World-Systems: Pastoral Societies in Theories of Historical Development", ''Journal of World-System Research'' 8: 368–388.
*Kradin, Nikolay N. 2003. "Nomadic Empires: Origins, Rise, Decline", ''Nomadic Pathways in Social Evolution''. Ed. by N.N. Kradin,
Dmitri Bondarenko
Dmitri Mikhailovich Bondarenko ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Бондаре́нко, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bəndɐˈrʲenkə, a=Ru-Dmitrii Mikhailovich Bondarenko.ogg; born June 9, 1968) is a Russian anthropologi ...
, and T. Barfield (p. 73-87). Moscow: Center for Civilizational Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...
.
References
External links
Was the Chiefdom a Congelation of Ideas?by Robert L. Carneiro. In
Grinin L. E. et al. Early State, Its Alternatives and Analogues. Volgograd, Uchitel, 2004.
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