Power from Below in Premodern Societies The Dynamics of Political Complexity in the Archaeological Record
Book contents
- Power from Below in Premodern Societies
- Power from Below in Premodern Societies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Preface
- One Power from Below in the Archaeological Record
- Two Fragmenting Trypillian Megasites
- Three Structure and Agency
- Four Power Requires Others
- Five “And Make Some Other Man Our King”
- Six Societies against the Chief? Re-Examining the Value of “Heterarchy” as a Concept for Studying European Iron Age Societies
- Seven Peasants, Agricultural Intensification, and Collective Action in Premodern States
- Eight The Spread of Scribal Literacy in Han China
- Nine Confronting Leviathan
- Ten The Emergence of Monte Albán
- Eleven Dispersing Power
- Twelve The Perplexing Heterarchical Complexity of New Guinea Fisher-Forager Polities at Contact
- Thirteen Restoring Disorder
- Index
- References
Thirteen - Restoring Disorder
Thoughts on the Past and Future of a Politically and Socially Conscious Archaeology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 October 2021
Book contents
- Power from Below in Premodern Societies
- Power from Below in Premodern Societies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Preface
- One Power from Below in the Archaeological Record
- Two Fragmenting Trypillian Megasites
- Three Structure and Agency
- Four Power Requires Others
- Five “And Make Some Other Man Our King”
- Six Societies against the Chief? Re-Examining the Value of “Heterarchy” as a Concept for Studying European Iron Age Societies
- Seven Peasants, Agricultural Intensification, and Collective Action in Premodern States
- Eight The Spread of Scribal Literacy in Han China
- Nine Confronting Leviathan
- Ten The Emergence of Monte Albán
- Eleven Dispersing Power
- Twelve The Perplexing Heterarchical Complexity of New Guinea Fisher-Forager Polities at Contact
- Thirteen Restoring Disorder
- Index
- References
Summary
Elite maneuvers from above, to suppress opposition or seize command of the polity, are often overt – for the very purpose of control through shock and awe. But disorder is a word applied to the bubbling up and whispering of those below as, through surreptitious meetings and nascent public protests, grievance turns to action. The appearance of disorder can indicate a variety of rights or capabilities that have been eroded or lost, and the attempt to restore them. Social disorder is not easy to live through; but for those who foment it, it can sometimes signify changes to come. While this phenomenon is in many ways more interesting than overt strategies of control, it is often harder to “see” in the archaeological record. Those with interest are engaged in inventing ways to study this – structurally, materially, and iconographically. Below, we examine some concepts that may help frame future research.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Power from Below in Premodern SocietiesThe Dynamics of Political Complexity in the Archaeological Record, pp. 295 - 314Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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