The Emergence of Social Complexity

A Global Archaeological Comparison

AvRobert Drennan,Christian Peterson

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

454 kr

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Beskrivning

The emergence of social complexity is at the heart of archaeological inquiry, but to date, there has been insufficient global comparative analysis of this phenomenon. This volume offers archaeologists and other social scientists reconstructions of past societies in all parts of the world, some of which challenge currently popular accounts. Using recently developed analytical approaches robust enough to yield compatible results from disparate datasets, the reconstructions presented here rest on fresh comparative analysis of archaeological data from 57 regions. They reveal the highly varied pathways to social complexity in ways that make it possible to see previously conflicting ideas as complementary. The analytical approaches and the full datasets are presented in detail in the book as well as an online data base. Offering new insights into the forces that have shaped human societies for millennia, this study provides a deeper understanding of the ways in which archaeology uses the material remains of past societies to reconstruct how they were organized.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-05-31
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:300
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009702744

Utforska kategorier

Arkeologiska perioder och områden inom Historia och arkeologi

Mer om författaren

Robert D. Drennan was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh, where he founded the Center for Comparative Archaeology. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he had conducted field research in Mesoamerica, Colombia, and China. Christian E. Peterson is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He specializes in the comparative study of early complex societies, regional settlement analysis, household archaeology, and in quantitative methods. His archaeological field research focuses on the emergence of social complexity in Northeastern China and South Africa. C. Adam Berrey is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in the comparative study of early complex societies. He received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Sacramento. He conducts field research in central and eastern Panama.

Recensioner i media

'As only archaeology can document, Emergence of Social Complexity is foundational to an historical science of human societies. The authors creatively analyze rich archaeological evidence from many 'natural experiments'. They show how to rank key variables, such as monumentality, wealth, and population, to understand developmental interactions as 'rhymes in time.'' Timothy Keese Earle, Northwestern University

Innehållsförteckning

1. Early social complexity: restructuring social roles and relationships; 2. Archaeological comparison: challenges, quantification, and robust analysis; 3. Variation characterized and explored; 4. Finding rhymes; 5. Complexification trajectories that rhyme; 6. What bundles of trajectories reveal about complexification; 7. Focusing future research; Appendix. Supporting data online; References cited.