Albert A. Trouwborst
Aldan Southall
Alva Ixtlilxochitl
American Bottom
ancient taxation
Aztec Mexico
Ca Da Mosto
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Central Government
Claessen Henri J. M.
Classic Maya Societies
comparative early state economies
Early Aztec
Early State Economics
Elizabeth M. Brumfiel
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Forcible Extraction
Frederic Hicks
Henri J. M. Claessen
Interlacustrine Area
Kongo Kingdom
Late Aztec
Late Postclassic
Late Preclassic
M. Estellie Smith
Martin A. Van Bokel
Marxist state theory
Maya Culture Area
Michal Tymowski
Middle Mississippian
Nepalese Territory
Nonlocal Goods
Obsidian Procurement
Patricia J. O'Brien
Pfaff-Czarnecka Joanna
Pieter Van De Velde
political anthropology
prestige goods exchange
Rien Ploeg
Ronald Cohen
Segmentary State
social stratification models
Sociopolitical Organization
Tributary Subjection
tribute systems
Tui Tonga
Van Bakel
Village Fono
Product details
- ISBN 9780887388859
- Weight: 544g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jan 1991
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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The central theme of this volume is the political economy of early state societies: the ways in which the income of the central government of such systems was collected and spent. The work contains descriptive as well as narrative and commemorative essays. Contributions present data on early states as diverse as the Interlacustrine states of East Africa, the Sudanic states of West Africa, prehistoric Cahokia in the Mississippi Valley, Aztec Mexico, the Classical Maya, eighteenth-century Nepal, and Polynesian, Tahitian, and Mayan case studies. At the theoretical end of the spectrum, the book offers a general discussion of the concept of political economy; modes of production in antiquity, and the editors themselves offer an overview of early state organizational forms. With the data of the contributions to this volume, such theoretical viewpoints are evaluated. The conclusion is that inherited approaches fall far short of explaining the political economies of early states. The editors of this volume maintain that much thinking on this issue of the early state is off-base because it is confined to the study of redistribution. They hold that a prestige goods system is probably as important, while in some cases, the key factor to look at is tribute or taxation. Likewise, the system of gift giving, often viewed as ancillary, should be considered central to the performance of the ancient states. In short, political economy is rooted in the stages of social growth. Nearly all contributors agree that simple evolutionary generalizations can no longer be applied to specific cases without considerable modification, and in this undertaking formalist and Marxist canons alike need to be invoked for a deeper understanding of the actual operations of the state in earlier societies.
Henri J.M. Claessen, Pieter van de Velde
