Title: Agricultural Societies Chapter 14 From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy The evolution of Government and
1Agricultural SocietiesChapter 14From
Egalitarianism to KleptocracyThe evolution of
Government and Religion
- Text extracted from
- Guns Germs and Steel
- By Jared Diamond, 1997
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2Government and Religion
- Descendents of those societies that achieved
- centralized government and organized religion
- earliest
- ended up dominating the modern world
3Government and Religion
- 4 main forces of history
- Resulting in the broadest patterns
- government religion
- germs
- writing
- technology
4Government and Religion
- How did government and religion arise?
- How did they become combined?
King Solomon
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semitism/arts/visual_arts.cfm
5Levels of Social Organization
- Bands
- Tribes
- Chiefdoms
- States
6Bands
- Tiny Populations typically 5-80 people
- Most are close relatives by birth or marriage
- All humans lived in bands until 40,000 years ago
In recent history - African Pygmies, Bushmen
- Australian Aborigines
- Eskimos
7Bands
- Usually nomadic
- live in areas where food is scarce
- Land used by whole group
- No specialization
- all able-bodied individuals forage for food
- Economic system
- Reciprocal Exchange
- No laws, police, or treaties to resolve
conflicts - But being closely related helps
8Bands
- No stratification into classes
- Egalitarian leadership based on
- personality
- strength
- intelligence
- fighting skill
9Fayu in New Guinea
- Four clans totaling 400 people
- Normally live as single families scattered in
swampy area - Come together once or twice a year to negotiate
brides - Formerly numbered 2,000
- Population reduced by Fayu killing Fayu
- Lacked political and social mechanisms to resolve
disputes
10Tribes
- Society with hundreds of people, usually settled
in many villages - Few left today
- Shared language and culture
- More than one clan (kinship group)
- Land belongs to clans within a tribe
- Everyone knows everyone else by name and
relationship
11Tribes
- Conflicts still solved by being closely related
- If two New Guinea Tribesmen were both away from
their villages and happened upon one another - They would engage in a long discussion to
determine possible family ties - Otherwise, no reason not to kill one another
12Tribes
- Social System egalitarian
- No upper or lower class
- Each has debts and obligations to many others
- No one can become more wealthy
- Government still egalitarian
- Decisions are made in a group
- Big Man would have limited power, may look and
live like everyone else
13Reciprocity
- Reciprocity was the Basis of Early Economic
Systems
14Reciprocity
- Gift giving creates an obligation to return
similar gifts - Feasting improves relations, prevents hostility,
is an excellent way to store food - Reciprocity leads to intermarriage
- Villages are connected by multiple ties of
kinship - Reciprocity results in food security, balances
inequities - Political leadership is bestowed on those that
give the most
15 Kerekere in Moala
- Moalans live in 1200 scattered villages in Fiji
Pacific Islands - Kerekere is a formal request for a good or
service - Can only kerekere a relative, but everyone are
relatives - Are duty bound to honor a kerekere if you have
what is asked for - This system evens out inequity
- Prestige comes from giving more than taking
16Chiefdoms
- Population several thousand to tens of thousands
- Arose about 7,500 years ago with rising
populations - In 1492, widespread in
- N. and S. America
- Africa
- Polynesia
17Chiefdoms
- No chiefdoms left in 20th century
- Prime land taken by larger state societies
- Chiefdoms consolidated into states
18Chiefdoms
- Usually have Public Architecture
- Temples
- Tombs
Easter Islands
19Chiefdoms
- Most people unrelated to others
- People dont know most others by name
- For first time in history, people had to learn
how to encounter strangers regularly - without attempting to kill them
20Chief
- Held monopoly on right to use force
- Held recognizable, hereditary office
- Wore distinguishing clothes demanded respect
- Was thought of as a god, or had a hotline to the
gods
21Chief
- Centralized authority
- Monopoly on information
- Levels of Bureaucrats work under Chief
- Many specialized jobs that can be done by slaves
22Redistributive Economy
- Chief receives food from everyone, then
- Throws feast to redistribute
- Stores it for later redistribution
- Keeps much of it himself (tribute)
- Chief also claims labor for construction of
public works - Irrigation,
- Lavish Tombs
20,000 workers built the Taj Mahal
23Redistribution
- Chief receives foodstuffs, goods from many
- because he has power
- Chief has power because
- he regularly directs a flow of goods to his
followers - Early city-states operated on this principle
24Traders
- Traders did not make a profit but were agents of
the empire - Goods traded on a fixed-price basis
- Did not buy low and sell high
25Luxury Goods
- Food surpluses generated by common people feed
- Chief
- Bureaucrats Priests
- Craft Specialists
- Luxury Goods reserved for Chiefs
26Contribution Enforced
- In Mesopotamia, police ensured that farmers
contributed - Impersonality of city life
- ends feelings of obligation of Chief to people
- or vice versa
27Good Chiefdoms
- Good chiefdoms used tribute to provide important
services to entire society - Irrigation
- Religion
- Defense
Roman Aquaduct
28Kleptocracies
- At worst, chiefdoms were kleptocracies
- Transferred net wealth from commoners to upper
class
29Kleptocracies
- How do kleptocracies keep from being overthrown?
- Disarm the populace, arm the elite
- Redistribute tribute in popular ways
- Use monopoly of force to keep public order
- Construct an ideology or religion that justifies
kleptocracy
30State Religion
- State Religion
- Provides bond between people
- not based on kinship
- keeps them from killing each other
- Gives warriors a motive for sacrificing life in
battle - now much more effective in conquest
31States
- Populations of 50,000 to
- 1 Billion
- Usually literate elites
- sometimes literate population
- Arose 3,700 BC in Mesopotamia
- Later in Mesoamerica, China, Southeast Asia,
Andes, West Africa
Babylon
32Earliest States
33States
- True cities, characterized by
- Monumental public works
- Palaces of rulers
- Accumulation of capital from tribute or taxes
- Concentration of people other than food producers
34States
- Early states hereditary leader equivalent to a
king - Democracies today crucial knowledge still
available to only a few - Central control, redistribution of tribute more
far-reaching - Even farmers not self-sufficient
35Mesopotamia
- Food produced by 4 specialist groups
- Cereal farmers
- Herders
- Fishermen
- Orchard and Garden growers
36Mesopotamia
- State took produce from each farming group
- Redistributed necessary supplies
- and the other foods not produced
- Exchanged wool by long distance trade
- for other essential raw materials
- Paid food rations to laborers
- who maintained irrigation systems for farmers
37Slavery
- Many states adopted slavery on much larger scale
than chiefdoms because - More use for slave labor
- More economic specialization
- More mass production
- More public works
- Warfare on a larger scale meant more captives
available
38Bureaucracies
- More complex bureaucracies
- Formalized laws, judiciary, police
- Laws often written (by literate elite)
- Writing not developed until formation of state
societies - Mesopotamia
- Mesoamerica
Code of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia
39Religion
- Early state religions, standardized temples
- Many kings divine
- Kings often head of state religion
- Mesopotamian Temple was center of
- Religion
- Economic redistribution
- Writing
- Crafts technology
Babylonian Ziggurat
40Organization of States
- States organized on political and territorial
lines not kinship and tribe boundaries - States and empires often are multiethnic and
multilingual - Bureaucrats selected more on ability than
heredity - Modern states have non-hereditary leadership
Roman Empire
41Why Do States Arise?
- More complex societies usually conquer less
complex ones - Advantage of weapons, technology, numbers
- Centralized decision making more efficient in
conquest - Official religions, patriotic fervor
- make troops willing to fight suicidally
fanaticism -
Arab Muslim Empire
42How Do Chiefdoms Become States?
- Aristotle States are the natural condition of
human society. - knew only Greek Societies of 400 BC
- Rousseau States formed by a social contract
- a rational decision of people based on self
interest. - Never happened this way
- Small groups do not give up their sovereignty
willingly -
43Irrigation Theory
- Major civilizations had large-scale irrigation
- Mesopotamia,
- Egypt
- China
- Mesoamerica
- Large-scale irrigation requires centralized
bureaucracy for - Construction
- Maintenance
- Management
Pre-Incan Irrigation
44Irrigation Theory Disputed
- States formed to create irrigation systems?
- But irrigation came after states formed
- States did not always have centrally controlled
irrigation
Hanging Gardens, Babylon
45Population Theory
- Strong correlation between size of population and
complexity of society - Autocatalysis population growth leads to social
complexity - Social complexity leads to intensified food
production and population growth
46Food Production Leads toSocial Complexity
- Requires seasonal labor.
- After harvest, labor used for
- public works,
- wars of conquest
- Stored surpluses permit economic specialization,
social stratification - feed chiefs, elite, scribes, craftspeople,
specialists, - feed farmers while they are working on public
works
47Food Production Leads toSocial Complexity
- Sedentary living required for
- Possessions
- Technology
- Crafts
- public works
- control of people
Mayan Temples, Mexico
48Large Populations Require Complex Social System
- Conflict resolution needed between unrelated
people - need laws and authority
- Communal decisions impossible
- need structure
- Reciprocal economy impossible
- Need redistributive economy
- Density of population must be organized
Argebam, Iran
49Amalgamation of Smaller Units
- Occurs by merger under threat of external force
- 40 Cherokee chiefdoms joined together,
- American colonies joined together
50Amalgamation of Smaller Units
- Occurs by conquest among chiefdoms
- Zulu state
- Hawaii, Tahiti
- Aztecs, Incas (before Spanish arrived)
- Rome, Macedonian empire
- Etc.
Aztec Empire
51After Conquest
- Bands
- survivors can move away
52After Conquest
- Tribes
- Need the land
- Territory occupied.
- No need for slaves
- No need for survivors,
- except women as wives
- Defeated men are killed
53After Conquest by States and Chiefdoms
- Defeated can be used as slaves
- Or defeated can be exploited
- left in place to produce food, goods
- Deprived of political autonomy
- Made to pay taxes, tribute
- Amalgamate their society
- into victorious state or chiefdom
54Aztec Tribute
- Aztec Empire received tribute from its subjects
and had tribute lists - Spanish wanted tribute from Mexico
- Interested in Aztec Empires tribute lists
55Aztec Tribute
- Each year Aztec subjects paid Aztecs
- 7,000 tons of corn
- 4,000 tons of amaranth
- 2,000,000 cotton cloaks
- Huge quantities of Cacao beans, war costumes,
shields, feather headdresses, amber -