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Understanding Key Transitions in World Prehistory This chapter will enable you to answer these questions: 1. What is unilineal evolution and why did anthropology discard it? 2. What theories have been proposed to explain the origin of agriculture? 3. What theories have been proposed to explain the origin of the archaic state? 4. What is the difference between sufficient and necessary conditions in an explanation? Outline Introduction Evolutionary Studies Why Were Plants Domesticated? Why Did the Archaic State Arise? Introduction Historical sciences approach subjects differently than laboratory sciences; laboratory sciences can repeat experiments, changing one variable while holding others constant to determine what effect a particular variable has on the outcome; historical science can not. Introduction Archaeology cannot ignore the “when,” “how,” and “what” questions of prehistory; we need to know the particular processes and events at work. Necessary conditions of change must exist for a particular change to occur; Sufficient conditions are the minimal ones needed for a change to occur. Evolutionary Studies Unilineal cultural evolution, the belief that human societies have evolved culturally along a single developmental trajectory. Typically, such schemes depict Western civilization as the most advanced evolutionary stage. Anthropology rejects this idea. Evolutionary Studies Comparative method, in Enlightenment philosophy, the idea that the world’s existing peoples reflect different stages of human cultural evolution. Evolutionary Studies: Darwin and the Origin of Species Charles Darwin (1809-1882),On the Origin of Species, 1859 Natural selection, the process through which some individuals survive and reproduce at higher rates than others because of their genetic heritage; leads to the perpetuation of certain genetic qualities at the expense of others. Evolutionary Studies: John Lubbock John Lubbock (1834-1913), Pre-historic Times, as Illustrated by Ancient Remains, and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages, 1865. Illustrated the lives of “paleolithic” and “neolithic” people by reference to contemporary “primitives”– native peoples of Africa, Asia, and Australia. The assumption was that contemporary “primitives” were living approximations of what Europeans used to be. Evolutionary Studies: Social Darwinism Social Darwinism, the extension of the principles of Darwinian evolution to social phenomena; It implies that conflict between societies and between classes of the same society benefits humanity by removing “unfit” individuals and social forms. Evolutionary Studies: Social Darwinism Social Darwinism assumed that unfettered economic competition and warfare were primary ways to determine which societies were “fittest.” The view that cultural differences were grounded in biological differences. Evolutionary Studies: Franz Boas (1858-1942) Ethnocentricism – the attitude or belief that one’s own cultural ways are superior to any other. Historical particularism – the view that each culture is the product of a unique sequence of developments in which chance plays a major role in bringing about change. Differences Between Unilineal and Modern Evolutionism Modern evolutionism contains none of the racist or moral overtones of 19th century unilineal evolutionism. Contemporary evolutionary thinking recognizes that if natural selection works on cultural phenomena, it is far more subtle than it is among animals. Although unilineal evolutionists argued over the details of evolution, they all believed in a single immutable sequence. Generalized Historical Sequence Subsistence Band Foraging Tribe Foraging, horticulture pastoralism (herding) Chiefdom Agriculture; pastoralists often incorporated within society. Agriculture, industrial, pastoral separated as specialists. State Generalized Historical Sequence Economic Organization Band Equal access to strategic resources through sharing and reciprocity. Tribe Reciprocity; limited redistribution of goods by charismatic leaders Chiefdom Chief redistributes goods of lower-ranking people; includes some non-food producers. State Elites control access to strategic resources; includes non-food producers. Generalized Historical Sequence Political Organization Band Egalitarian Tribe Egalitarian; temporary and limited roles of authority; competitive feasting to establish rank. Chiefdom Differences in status based on genealogical closeness to chief, who has a permanent, inherited office. State State controlled by elites and run by specialists Generalized Historical Sequence Settlement pattern Band Tribe Temporary camps; some seasonal settlements reoccupied. Sedentary villages (temporary) camps among pastoralists) Chiefdom Sedentary villages of different sizes; ranked (chief’s village has highest rank). State Hierarchy of settlements reflects administrative functions; may be cities. Generalized Historical Sequence Population density Band Low Tribe Low to medium Chiefdom Medium to high State High Generalized Historical Sequence Tribal societies, a wide range of social formations that lie between egalitarian foragers and ranked societies (such as chiefdoms). Tribal societies are normally horticultural and sedentary, with a higher level of competition than seen among nomadic hunter-gatherers. Generalized Historical Sequence Archaic states, a centralized political system found in complex societies, characterized by having a virtual monopoly on the power to coerce. Civilization, a complex urban society with a high level of cultural achievement in the arts and sciences, craft specialization, a surplus of food and/or labor, and a hierarchically stratified social organization. Generalized Historical Sequence Horticulture, cultivation, using hand tools only, in which plots of land are used for a few years and then allowed to lie fallow. Intensive agriculture, cultivation using draft animals, machinery, or hand tools in which plots are used annually; often entails irrigation, land reclamation, and fertilizers. Major Hearths of Agriculture Why Were Plants Domesticated? Oasis Theory, proposed by V. Gordon Childe, argues that animal domestication arose as people, plants, and animals congregated around water sources during the arid years that followed the Pleistocene. In this scenario, agriculture arose because of “some genius” and preceded animal domestication. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Hilly Flanks Theory, proposed by Robert Braidwood, it claims that agriculture arose in the areas where wild ancestors of domesticated wheat and barley grow. Attributing agriculture’s appearance to human efforts to continue to increase the productivity and stability of their food base, coupled with culture being “ready” to accept an agricultural lifeway. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Density-Equilibrium Model, proposed by Lewis Binford, attributes the origins of agriculture to population pressure in favorable environments that resulted in emigration to marginal lands, where agriculture was needed to increase productivity. Population pressure, the result of a population’s reaching carrying capacity. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Carrying capacity, the number of people that a unit of land can support under a particular technology. Teosinte, a plant native to southern Mexico, believed to be the wild ancestor of maize. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Optimal Foraging Theory, the idea that foragers select foods that maximize the overall return rate. Return rate, the amount of energy acquired by a forager per unit of harvesting/processing time. An Aché man hunting Why Were Plants Domesticated? Predicts that as high-return-rate resources (e.g. large game animals) become scarce, foragers add lower-return-rate resources (e.g. seeds) to their diet. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Coevolution, an evolutionary theory that argues that changes in social systems are best understood as mutual natural selection among components rather than as a linear cause-andeffect sequence. Why Were Plants Domesticated? David Rindos argues that because of some plants’ genetic composition and because of how they must be harvested. The very act of harvesting them results in unintentional selection in such a way that the plants become dependent on humans for survival. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Each of the preceding paradigms explain the origins of agriculture privileging the power of human intent and conditions of environment, demography, and selection. Population and environment may not be the only relevant variables. Why Were Plants Domesticated? Brian Hayden suggests that agriculture arose as a way to increase productivity so that certain individuals could garner prestige and power. New technologies enabled hunter-gatherers to harvest resources efficiently and build food surpluses. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East Fertile Crescent, a broad arc of mountains in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran where wild wheat, barley, and other domesticated plants are found today. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East Younger Dryas, a climatic interval, 13,000 to 11,600 BP, characterized by a rapid return to cooler and drier, but highly variable, climatic conditions. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East Natufian, a cultural manifestation in the Levant (the southwest Fertile Crescent) Dating from 14,500 to 11,600 BP and consisting of the first appearance of settled villages, trade goods, and possibly early cultivation of domesticated wheat, but lacking pottery. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East We can’t tell exactly when intentional agriculture began, because it’s difficult to distinguish wild wheat and barley from early domesticated forms. The best evidence suggests that a fulltime agricultural economy began about 10,000 to 9,000 BP. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East Neolithic, the ancient period during which people began using ground stone tools, manufacturing ceramics, and relying on domesticated plants and animals– literally, the “New Stone Age”—coined by Sir John Lubbock (in 1865). Bar-Yosef estimates that by 9000 years ago, a growing population required that the full productivity of agriculture be harnessed, and agricultural communities appeared. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East: Comparing the Paradigms Late Pleistocene foragers understood that seeds produce plants, but the knowledge is not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East: Comparing the Paradigms Childe suggests that climatic change was important; Foragers could not have become agriculturalists without a supportive environment that did not occur until the early Holocene. The Younger Dryas altered the Natufian lifeways, requiring a formerly sedentary foraging population to make land more productive through cultivation. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East: Comparing the Paradigms Evidence from Natufian settlements suggests that population growth caused some groups to become sedentary on localities that included stands of wild wheat and barley. Population pressure on resources may have required people to expand diets and rely heavily on plants. The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East: Comparing the Paradigms Agriculture may have helped make possible feasts that, in turn, helped to form social alliances that were critical too survival in climatically uncertain time of Younger Dryas. Humans intended to increase productivity and forage well, leading them to agriculture. Why Did the Archaic State Arise? The state is a strong, usually highly centralized government, with professional ruling class, largely divorced from the bonds of kinship that characterize simpler societies. Residential patterns based on occupational specialization, rather than blood or affinal relationships. Affinal, relatives by marriage rather than blood. Major Primary Archaic States Why Did the Archaic State Arise: The Irrigation Hypothesis Irrigation hypothesis, proposed by Karl Wittfogel (1896–1988), attributes the origin of the state to the administrative demands of irrigation. The need for coordinated labor, massive construction, and so forth led to increased wealth and military strength and eventually to the powerful ruling bureaucracy that characterized state development. Irrigation Hypothesis Why Did the Archaic State Arise: The Warfare and Circumscription Hypothesis Warfare and Circumscription Hypothesis, proposed by ethnologist Robert Carneiro. Attributes the origin of the state to the administrative burden of warfare conducted for conquest as a response to geographic limits on arable land in the face of a rising population. Why Did the Archaic State Arise: The Warfare and Circumscription Hypothesis Carneiro’s initial premise stipulates that political change of lasting significance arises only from coercive pressure. And warfare, he suggested, is the only mechanism powerful enough to impose bureaucratic authority on a large scale. Carneiro’s Circumscription and Warfare Hypothesis Why Did the Archaic State Arise A Multicausal Theory Allen Johnson and Timothy Earle list three conditions necessary for archaic states to form: 1. High population density that strains the food production system. 2. A need for a system of integration. 3. The possibility of controlling the economy to permit financing of institutions and support a ruling class. Given these conditions, any number of specific processes can result in a state. Multicausal Origins of the Archaic State The Role of Ideology in State Formation Ideology, a set of beliefs often political, religious, or cosmological in nature that rationalizes exploitive relations between classes or social groups. The Role of Ideology in State Formation In states, ideologies are often linked to religion; elite tied themselves to deities. When they take on a life of their own, they can play a causal role in the development of states. The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation A map of the lowland Maya region showing the location of some major Maya sites The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation Maize horticulturalists moved into the area about 4000 years ago. Evidence suggests early farmers were egalitarian. Middle Preclassic Period (2900-2300 BP) population increase, trade, and sedentary, slashand-burn horticulturalists precipitated change to small chiefdoms. The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation Ancestor worship, a religion in which one’s deceased ancestors serve as important intermediaries between the natural and supernatural. The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation Late Preclassic Period (2300-1750 BP), regional population grew by 350% and aggregated in large settlements. Political organization had no single center, instead many small centers controlled the territory around them. The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation Classic Period (1750-1300 BP) characterized by archaic state. The Maya: A Case Study of State Formation 1. High population density places pressure on the agricultural economy and, in dry years, can lead to conflict. 2. Warfare requires social integration, as do efforts to ensure the flow of goods and information between allied centers. 3. Possibly, as one large center gained the edge in authority, families moved to it and smaller centers gave their allegiance in return for protection. Summary Questions 1. What is unilineal evolution and why did anthropology discard it? 2. What theories have been proposed to explain the origin of agriculture? 3. What theories have been proposed to explain the origin of the archaic state? 4. What is the difference between sufficient and necessary conditions in an explanation?