Abstract This paper explains why anthropological archeologists are interested in cultural evolution, discusses the Spencerian and Darwinian models of cultural evolution, identifies the key characteristics of tribes, chiefdoms, and archaic states, and analyzes what kinds of material remains might archaeologists find most useful in their search for a better understanding of how prehistoric cultural evolution worked.
Abstract The paper discusses the four designations of political structures and points out that they do not necessarily imply that one culture is morally or culturally superior to any other. The paper looks at the Basseri that are a nomadic society that exhibits features of being a band, a tribe and a chiefdom, while Haiti exhibits all the features of a modern state, including worldwide recognition as such. The paper also relates that ancient Aztec society was a state, while the Minangkabau are a matrilineal tribal society dwelling within the state of Indonesia who also experience some features of state politics.
From the Paper "Most human cultures can be classified based on their social and political systems, especially as those systems impact issues such as class stratification or gender. Political organizations vary considerably but usually fall well within one of the following four categories: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Although often described as more or less advanced than one another, these four designations do not necessarily imply that one culture is morally or culturally superior to any other. A state can be enormously tyrannical in spite of its relatively complex and hierarchical system. In contrast, a band might be egalitarian."
Abstract This paper discusses cultures and how they are structured in terms of their management of economic and natural resources. It reviews political systems within different culture types, and how these affect resource management. The paper examines methods of distribution of goods and marketing practices in these various cultures.
From the Paper "Natural and economic resources are distributed differently in different societies depending upon several different factors including the culture of the society, location of its resources, type of government, population density and distribution. Some ..."
Abstract This paper examines the main characteristics of the environmental zones of Patagonia and the Amazon Basin. The paper discusses the revelation that human adaptive systems were constrained or limited to bands in the case of Patagonia, villages in the case of terra firme Amazonia, and chiefdom in the case of the Amazonian region.
From the Paper "Environmental Zones and Human Adaptive Systems: Each of these respective human adaptive systems developed in response to the environmental realities presented by each of these geographical regions. The implications of the relationship between environmental zones and the characteristic adaptive system each zone influenced are evident, for the Band-Village-Chiefdom heuristic in South America reveals that human societies and cultures generally develop in response to the availability or lack of availability of food."
Abstract This paper looks closely at two central questions regarding the sociology of historical modes of production. It looks firstly at antique, chiefdom and then slave modes of production, and there progression. Next, it it looks at the methods of the feudal system, how it functioned, and the methods which the landlords and the church used to oppress the peasants.
From the Paper "Chiefdom's began to become more dominant as environmental factors, such as an abundance of resources, food and materials can be obtained from a variety of natural resources (Landstreet "Chiefdom" 229). With this society based upon a redistribution of goods, people would work together in order to supply one another with basic needs. If there was one Chiefdom in an area, others would likely follow; as this process continued, chiefdoms became more and more dominantly linked in society and to one another that older, tribal or band societies began to decline (Landstreet "Chiefdom" 232). Labor, thus, was divided into ..."
