Myths of the Archaic State
Myths of the Archaic State
In this ground-breaking work, Norman Yoffee shatters the prevailing myths underpinning our understanding of the evolution of early civilisations. He counters the emphasis in traditional scholarship on the rule of 'godly' and despotic male leaders and challenges the conventional view that early states were uniformly constituted bureaucratic and regional entities. Instead, by illuminating the role of slaves and soldiers, priests and priestesses, peasants and prostitutes, merchants and craftsmen, Yoffee depicts an evolutionary process centred on the concerns of everyday life. Drawing on evidence from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica, the author explores the variety of trajectories followed by ancient states, from birth to collapse, and explores the social processes that shape any account of the human past. This book offers a bold new interpretation of social evolutionary theory, and as such it is essential reading for any student or scholar with an interest in the emergence of complex society.
- Offers a radical new interpretation of the origins of early civilization
- Presents a new multi-layered model for the development of states
- An invaluable introduction to theories of social evolution
Reviews & endorsements
"Profoundly interesting volume."-Bruce Trigger, McGill University
"I strongly recommend Myths of the Archaic State to anyone interested in social evolution."-David Webster, Pennsylvania State University
"Norman Yoffee has written an elegant, witty, and substantive critique of neo-evolutionary theory in archaeological anthropology."-Phillip Kohl, Wellesly College
"A highly stimulating book that expounds a clear line of argument while maintaining an entertaining line of discourse. Yoffee has written a superb and exciting book that will provoke thought and discussion wherever it is read."-Roger Matthews, Institute of Archaeology, University College London
"Norman Yoffee identifies a series of what he terms 'myths' in archaeological thought, and then proceeds to demolish them one by one, using an astonishing array of case studies, from Mesopotamia to Chaco Canyon. His book is provocative, inspirational, transformative, and so full of small (and weighty) gems that it is a pleasure to read."-Katharina Schreiber, University of California, Santa Barbara
"In Myths of the Archaic State, Norman Yoffee seeks to rescue the concept of social evolution from its critics--altering its shape, content, and meaning, while retaining its traditional goal of explaining the emergence of early civilizations. It clears away the cobwebs of an earlier generation of anthropological thought and, in its strongest moments, points to a new configuration of global history."-David Wengrow, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, SCIENCE
Product details
May 2005Adobe eBook Reader
9780511079573
0 pages
0kg
2 tables
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- 1. Evolution of a factoid
- 2. Dimensions of power in the earliest states
- 3. The meaning of cities in the earliest states and civilizations
- 4. When complexity was simplified
- 5. Identity and agency in early states: case studies
- 6. The collapse of ancient states and civilizations
- 7. Social evolutionary trajectories
- 8. New rules of the game
- 9. Altered states: the evolution of history.
