Chiefdoms and states- The Anthropology of Complex socieites

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  • Created by: Heather
  • Created on: 23-12-16 17:16
WHat does the term social complexity involve?
Political complexity
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More specifically in political complexity, what presence is needed in complex societies?
A hierarchy in the form of a ruling elite
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Who are the ruling elite supported by and how are they associated and an example?
-Supported by bureaucrats with associated paraphernalia, -Such as administrative buildings in urban population centres
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The political hierarchy is based on differences in what, which is associated with what?
-Based on differences in social status, which is associated with differential access to resources, including political power e.g. inequality,
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Give a modern day American example of how social status can lead to political power?
Donald Trump was born into a rich family,
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Give another example of social status leading to political power with James Murdoch?
He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of 21st century fox and sky, a multinational media company- The conservative party has been accused to bending its broadcasting policy to suit his father's media interests,
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Why do complex society under this definition require agriculturalists?
To provide surplus necessary to support a social (non-food producing) elite- not just themselves,
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In turn, how is this achieved in comparison to what societies?
More intensive agricultural methods than the simple horticulture which is often associated with tribal level societies,
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What Ancient historical group of people's agriculture was more intensive and organised than that of tribal ones?
the Ancient Egyptians
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What laid out the agricultural works of Ancient Egyptians from the 16th-11 century BC?
THe Instruction of Amenemope
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Give an example of the organisation of agriculture from this?
"The overseer of grain who controls the measure, who sets the harvest dues for his lord... who records the markers on the borders of the fields."
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In Ancient states, how much did farmers produce and why?
They produced surplus food to supply those higher up the pyramid of status,
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Describe the numbers of farmers in the population?
Farmers made up by far the largest part of the population,
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Therefore, studies by anthropologists in complex societies are often concentrated on what?
On communities of these small-scale farmers, often defined as "peasants",
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IS there a ruling elite in Africa? What is their official title and where do they rule?
Kabaka (King) of Buganda (In Uganda)
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Who succeeded to the throne in 1939?
Mutesa II
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Who then succeeded to the throne in 1993?
Muwenda Mutebi II
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Give an example of what administrative court they have and where is it?
The Royal Court of the King of Barotse (In Zambia)
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What is the name of their royal court?
Barotse Kuta
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What position or person do complex societies need?
They need bureaucrats
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What role was this similar to in Ancient Egypt and what was his function?
-Vizier, -The Pharoah's prime minister- the office was as old as kingship itself
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How was the Vizier recognisable?
With his special simple garment of pure white linin,
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What did this garment symbolise and show about his role and why
It show his impartiality in affairs and his need to be strict and fair, -As he was also often involved in the administration of justice where difficult cases were appealed to him,
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For an example of bureaucrats in a complex society, what is the proper title for the 'Black Rod'?
The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod,
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He is an official where?
In the House of Lords,
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Who was he appointed by?
The Crown,
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What is his role?
-The Usher and doorkeeper at meetings of the Order of the Garter, -Arresting any Lord guilty of breaching his privileges, -Summons members of the House of Commons to attend the Queens speech at the State Opening of Parliament,
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What word is often used to describe state level societies and is derived from the Latin word for city?
Civilisations,
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Why is the term civilisation derived from the Latin word city?
AS states are often associated with the appearance of cities, or at least administrative centres,
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However, how does this differ to chiefdoms?
There may be very little difference between ordinary villagers and the settlement associated with the chief's residence,
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Where are chiefdoms in the scale from simple of complex societies?
It is a sort of "halfway house" between tribes and states in the level of complexity of political organisations,
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IS this scale and defining the different types of state divided?
No obvious boundaries between chiefdoms and tribes, or chiefdoms and states- They simply grade into each other
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What have anthropologists noted about both chiefdoms and states based on resources?
There is differential access to strategic and socially valued resources,
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For example, there is institutionalised what?
Institutionalised inequality,
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While social inequality is a feature in both states and chiefdoms, which does it dominate in?
States,
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Why is this the case based on power?
State level societies tend to have a great centralisation of power through chiefdoms,
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What don't chiefdoms have in terms of political power? However, what can advanced chiefdoms have in terms of political power?
-They have no adminstrative bureaucracy, - In advanced chiefdoms, the chief may devolve power through sub-chiefs,
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How are most traditional states headed and how is power devolved?
Headed by a King of similar hereditary ruler, -Power devolved throughout the state's population via a series of bureaucratic levels,
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Describe the differences between state societies and chiefdoms in terms of social class?
They both have differences in social status, -Inequality in state level societies depends on wealth and class- The greater wealth and status you have, the better more favourably treated you are by those in power,
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For inequality within chiefdoms, give the title of the Chief in Ghana in West Africa?
The Asante Paramount Chief,
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What does he wear on his person to symbolise what?
The amount of gold he wears on his person exemplifies the differential access to resources,
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How is inequality also shown through residences and two examples?
Elite residences e.g Buckingham Palace and the White House,
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How much is the face lift Buckingham Palace will receive paid for by who?
-£369,000,000, -By the people through taxes,
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In both Chiefdoms and states, what is is normal for there to be in dispute settlements?
Formalised dispute-solving mechanisms,
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However, what differs markedly?
Levels of formation of these judicial mechanisms,
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These judicial mechanisms tend to become increasingly formalised as what increases?
AS power of government at the centre increases,
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In many societies, what is the role of the official or the chief himself in dispute settlements?
They make a judgement, which is fact
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What then occurs between the two parties who are disputing and their supporters?
A consensus is arrived at
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What does a consensus avoid the problem of?
Anyone trying ti impose a decision on one or both parties which are opposed,
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Why would someone trying to impose a decision in a Chiefdom particularly be a bad ideas?
As there is no standing army, police force etc. to enforce the decision,
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In chiefdoms, why are judgements to serious disputes important?
As it re-balances what could potentially divide the whole society if the dispute is not formally adjudicated,
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What tribe in North America had a Council called hat who decided what on homicide and murder?
-Cheyennes, -Council of Fourty-Four, -They decided on whether violent deaths were homicide, and if so, what sanctions to impose on the murderer,
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In addition, Courts among the Barotse of Southern Africa were what?
They were essentially courts of meditation,
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For both examples what is there an emphasis on rather than strict body of rigid law?
An emphasis on the reasonableness or otherwise of various actions, and attempts to restore social harmony,
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Why can the Cheyenne Council of Forty-Four and the Barotse Courts make their decision stick unlike the leopard skin chiefs?
-They have distinctly differentiated statuses, -The emergence of individuals or groups with elevated status in these societies mean tha t"judges" are able to make judgements which are accepted by both,
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Therefore, the ability to make binding judgements concerning disputes is based on what?
Differences in status,
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For example, where was the Viziers position in the scale of power?
Directly below the Kings
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Give an example of the vizier's code to solving disputes from a previous vizier's grave?
"Forget not to judge justice. It is an abomination of the god to show partiality."
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In state level societies, who is entrusted with dispute settlements?
The state, in the form of various officials, often including the King,
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Until 2009, what was the highest court in Britain? What was its place in the power scale?
-House of Lords, -Constitutionally as close to the monarch as is possible,
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What is the negative effects of disputes in all societies?
They divide societies and break down group cohesiveness,
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For this reason, what are governments in chiefdoms and states concerned to minimise?
The risk of disputation or division caused by long-running serious disputes,
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What is another named for a blood feud and what is it?
-Vendatta, -A cycle of retaliatory violence, with the relatives of someone who has been killed seeking vengeance by killing the culprits or their relatives, leading to further retaliation,
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Where are these feuds often found?
In societies with limited political centralisation,
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Was is the effect of these feuds on society?
They are disruptive
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In order to avoid the social disruption this causes, what did ancient Anglo Saxon and Germanic law have a practice of?
Wergeld, or blood money,
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What does wergeld involve to sort out blood feuds?
It sets a price upon a person's life on the basis of rank and paid as compensation by the family of a slayer to the kindred or lord of a slain person to free the culprit from further punishment
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How did the centralised power of the state change this system?
It led to state-sanctioned execution for crimes such as murder,
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For maintaining order in complex societies, is this a recent development?
No, in many ancient states legal codes occurred very early on in their histories,
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Give an example law code of which King created in Babylon which is where? When was it created?
-King Hammurabi, -Middle East, -Dating to the Bronze Age,
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What was one of the code's most significant features?
The variability of penalties, depending on the social status of the victim,
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For populations in complex societies, how do they usually administer their populations based on geographically and ethically?
They usually administer populations occupying environmentally diverse areas and ethnically diversity- Often speak different languages (State),
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What formal system is frequently associated with this diversity and why?
Formal systems of exchange and redistribution, -To allow regular flow of specialist items from different areas e.g. markets,
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Especially for the Chiefdom level, how does the redistribution system advantage the chief and society?
As the chief is at the centre of these distributions it strengthens his power, and it acts as a social glue between the different areas of the political unit,
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For differences between the two societies, For chiefdoms, what aspect of society do they retain the importance of and for what reasons?
-Kinship, -The primary organising principle and the main indicator of belonging to a group,
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How is there a personalised relationship to people and the centre of power?
Sometimes there is an actual or fictional kinship link between all members of the chiefdom and the chief,
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However, does the chief have equal status and power to the people?
No- Its members have unequal access to strategic goods and resources, in terms of land and material goods, status and political power,
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What other political positions are better off than ordinary "commoners"?
Sub-chief and officials of the chief's court
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For differences between chiefdoms and states, for states, Social relations at what levels are frequently regulated via what?
-Lower organisational levels, -Via kinship
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Are only kinship factors important?
Non kinship factors are also important e.g. common residence in a village or region,
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Do the population of states have a direct link to the leader or central government?
Relationships to a central government may well be via a series of administrations at lower levels rather than directly to the centre of power,
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For states, what is access to resources in comparison to chiefdoms?
There is unequal access to resources, status and political power which is more marked here than chiefdoms,
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When these differences in access between different sectors of society are regularised, what do we define them as?
"classes",
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When they are very rigid what are they terms as and what is its definition?
"castes", -A hereditary system of social classification, based on endogamy, occupation, economic status and ethnicity,
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What is another difference between states and chiefdoms based on population numbers?
States have noticeably larger populations,
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What do state populations also have a greater diversity in?
1) Class 2) Regional differences 3) Ethnic differences,
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Therefore, what do states need to organise and deal with any potential disputes?
A more complex administrative system
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In addition, what is the difference between states and chiefdoms on the sizes of their settlements?
States have a number of settlements whcih are larger than the villages or small towns generally associated with chiefdoms e.g. cities,
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What do larger states have frequently high levels of often with a variety of mutually unintelligible languages?
Ethnic diversity
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Different ethnic groups have differing what which means states need what to sort disputes between members of different groups?
-They have differing local laws and customs, -They need an overarching legal structure,
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What are the two types of states anthropologists have identified and their definitions?
1) Archaic- Pre-industrial and pre-modern states 2) Industrial states e.g. modern western nation states,
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Give three examples of "archaic states"?
-Roman Empires, -Ancient Greek city states, -The Inca of South America,
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A number of states in some parts of the world were still "archaic" up to what point and some examples?
-Up to the 20th century, -Barotse in Zambia and the Toro of Uganda
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What is the Toro Kingdom and where is it?
It is one of the four traditional kingdoms located within the borders of present day uganda
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What is their population?
Around 800,000
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Who is the current King? How old is he now and when did he begin ruling?
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, -24, -3
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Which Empire was the largest pre-industrial urban centre in the world between the 9th and 15th century CE?
The Khmer Empire,
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What is the Angkor Wat?
The largest temple in the ancient capital of the Khmer empire,
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Do anthropologists study modern state-level societies?
They have considerable difficulties studying modern state-level societies as whole social units,
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Traditionally what types of societies do they study?
Relatively small scale societies such as tribal people.
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Why are small scale societies easy to study?
As they re relatively homogenous, their populations are limited and their organisation is simple,
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What have the findings been assumed as when completed due to the small scale nature of society?
The findigns have been generally assumed to be broadly representative of the society as a whole,
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Why is it difficult to study contemporary states based on previous techniques?
AS state societies aren't homogenous, the sorts of studies suited to small scale societies are generally not readily applicable,
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Why are they difficult to study based on ethnicity?
They have a highly diverse ethnicity,
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Why are they difficult to study based on population?
The population is widely differentiated in terms of the various ways they earn money, status, political power,
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Why are they difficult to study based on cities and political power?
Centres of political power are often located in a city- a population too large to be studied by traditional anthropological methodologies,
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How have many anthropologists investigated states?
They have investigated important aspects of life in states, especially in the developing world, through small-scale farmers living in small communities,
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Have any studies been made on the urban population?
Yes but generally in relatively poor neighbourhoods with high levels of social cohesiveness,
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Describe features of peasant communities?
They tend to be relatively small in size with generally homogeneous populations,
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However, are the study of peasants representative and why?
No- They don't represent all levels of society and are rarely as ethically differentiated as those closer to centre of political power,
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What is another problem with peasant communities based on isolation?
In many developing countries, rural communities may be relatively isolated from the main stream of the state,
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What is another problem based on the times peasants will go to the city?
Peasants often depend largely on what they produce themselves so only visit for some kind of bureaucratic or legal requirements,
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Describe the peasant community and their education?
In many parts of the world peasants are likely to have little or no schooling, -Often the language they speak is unintelligible to those who have political power,
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Describe the peasant community an they behaviour in comparison to those in cities?
Their ways of behaviour (dress, speech or language) may be very different to those accepted in towns,
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Therefore, for both these reasons who might peasants be ridiculed by in towns?
They may be ridiculed for all these reasons and not taken seriously by state officials,
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Give an example of this differing peasant dress with what kind of Indian peasant women and where are they from?
Quechua Indian peasants in the Peruvian Andes in South America, -They have distinctive dress and speak Quechua, a native American language,
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Under these circumstances, who might peasants turn to and who is this?
-A patron, -They are someone from their community, or local area, whom they know and who understands them,
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What is the formal definition of a patron client relationship?
A mutually obligatory arrangement between and individual who has authority, superiro social status, wealth or some other personal resource and another who benefits from his or her support
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Who do patrons tend to be people of?
Relatively high social status,
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What is their role?
They can understand and deal with complex demands of state governments and their bureaucracy and also understand the ways of the people whose interests they look after,
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Why does patron-client relationships also occur in urban areas?
Among immigrants it can occur as they may be unfamiliar with the new ways of lfie, laws and language
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What do anthropologists argue patron-client relationships tell us about states?
It tells us a great deal about their fundamental nature and their organisation,
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What does the relationship tell us about states and kinship?
The functions of kinship are limited to the local level, but have crucial agencies in centres of power beyond the local level, and so peasants cannot employ kinship links to interact with these extra-local agencies and centres of power,
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What does the relationship also tell us about different groups and their occupations?
Patrons and clients come from very different occupation and class backgrounds, -Patrons have a much higher social status and are literate, while clients may not be,
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States often have a variety of different ethnic groups. What are anthropologists told about this with patron-client relationships?
We are shown ethnic groups with distinctively different cultures and languages tend to have relatively low status, and are often ignored by officials,
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For immigrants, who often acts as the patron?
A priest,
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Why is a priest used?
he is educated and therefore literate and has an elevated status, and he has a better knowledge of the wider world,
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What does state-client relationships allow in terms of political power?
They allow the relatively powerless better access to those in power, and help integrate them,
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Patron-client relationships highlight many of the key features of state level societies. What do they show about populations?
State have much larger societies than in tribes,
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What do they show about diversity and kinship?
Due to the numbers and the diversity of the population, kinship can no longer be the main way in which social order is maintained,
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What do they also show about social integration through exchange?
They show that the use of reciprocity and redistribution in chiefdoms is replaced by more impersonal market economies,
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In states, there is a great deal of differentiation in population in terms of what?
Ethnicity, occupation, status, education and access to resources of wealth and political power,
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More specifically in political complexity, what presence is needed in complex societies?

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Card 3

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Card 4

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The political hierarchy is based on differences in what, which is associated with what?

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Card 5

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