Myths of the Archaic State

293 Pages·2004·3.43 MB·English

by  Norman Yoffee

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MythsoftheArchaicState
Inthisground-breakingwork,NormanYoffeechallengesprevailingmythsunderpin-
ningourunderstandingoftheevolutionoftheearliestcities,states,andcivilizations.
Hecounterstheemphasisintraditionalscholarshipthattheearlieststateswerelarge
anddespoticallycontrolledandtheirevolutioncanbeadequatelymodeledbyethno-
graphicanalogies.Byilluminatingthecreationandchangesinsocialroles–notsimply
ofmaleleadersbutalsoofslavesandsoldiers,priestsandpriestesses,peasantsand
prostitutes,merchantsandcraftsmen–Yoffeedepictsanevolutionaryprocesscentered
ontheconcernsofeverydaylife.DrawingonevidencefromancientMesopotamiaas
wellasfromEgypt,SouthAsia,China,Mesoamerica,andSouthAmerica,theauthor
exploresthechangesinhumansocietiesthatcreatedtheworldwelivein.Thisbook
offersaboldnewinterpretationofsocialevolutionarytheory,andassuchitisessential
readingforanystudentorscholarwithaninterestintheemergenceofcomplexsociety.
Norman Yoffee isProfessorofNearEasternStudiesandAnthropologyatthe
UniversityofMichigan.HisvariouspublicationsincludeArchaeologicalTheory:Who
SetstheAgenda?(co-editorwithAndrewSherratt,CambridgeUniversityPress,1993)
andTheCollapseofAncientStatesandCivilizations(co-editorwithGeorgeL.Cowgill,
UniversityofArizonaPress,1988).HeiseditoroftheJournaloftheEconomicandSocial
HistoryoftheOrientandCambridgeWorldArchaeology.

M y t h s o f t h e
A r c h a i c S tat e
Evolution of the Earliest Cities,
States, and Civilizations
norman yoffee
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Cambridge University Press
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© Norman Yoffee 2004
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Contents
Listoffigures pagex
Listoftables xiii
introduction 1
1 the evolution of a factoid 4
Anintroductiontosocialevolutionarymythology 5
Types,rules,andfactoids 6
Neo-evolutionismevolving 8
Statesandcivilizations:beyondheuristics 15
2 dimensions of power in the earliest states 22
Thepursuitofthewilychiefdom 22
Neo-evolutionismandnewsocialevolutionarytheory:back
tothefuture 31
Theevolutionofpoweranditsdistributionintheearlieststates 33
Dimensionsofpowerinsocialevolutionarytheory 34
Statesasstatesofmind 38
Whatneo-evolutionismcannotexplain 41
3 the meaning of cities in the earliest states
and civilizations 42
City-statesandchimeras 44
vii
viii table of contents
Citiesandstates 45
Mesopotamiancity-statesandMesopotamiancivilization 53
Citiesandcity-statesinsocialevolutionaryperspective 59
4 when complexity was simplified 91
SimplifyingthepathtopowerinearlyChinesestates 94
LawandorderinancientMesopotamia 100
ThecontextofMesopotamianlaw 102
ThecontextandfunctionofthecodeofHammurabi 104
Thecomplexitiesoflegalsimplification:decision-makinginMesopotamia 109
5 identity and agency in early states: case studies 113
ApeculiarinstitutioninOldBabylonianMesopotamia 116
Imaginingsexinanearlystate 121
Conclusion:Encounterswithwomeninearlystates 128
6 the collapse of ancient states and civilizations 131
Theorizingcollapse 132
Neo-evolutionismandcollapse 134
Collapseasthedrasticrestructuringofsocialinstitutions 138
ThecollapseofancientMesopotamianstatesandcivilization 140
TheOldAkkadianstate 142
TheThirdDynastyofUr 144
TheOldBabylonianandOldAssyrianstates 147
Theendofthecycle? 151
Collapseasthemutationofsocialidentityandsuffocationofculturalmemory 153
ThecollapseofMesopotamiancivilizationanditsregeneration 159
7 social evolutionary trajectories 161
EvolutionaryhistoryoftheChaco“rituality” 162
Non-normativethinkinginsocialevolutionarytheory 171
SouthwestandSoutheast 173
Towardsahistoryofsocialevolutionarytrajectories 177
8 new rules of the game 180
Thegameofarchaeologicalneologisms 181
Theengineeringofarchaeologicaltheory:miningandbridging 182