Over the course of its history, mankind has gone through several stages of the formation of statehood, and one of them is the chiefdoms. This term is firmly in use around the middle of the last century and since that time has been actively used to denote the final stage of decomposition of the tribal system. Until now, many tribes of Africa and Polynesia have passed this stage without fail, which indicates its importance as a transitional form of state formation. Today, this term has become very popular and interesting for young people thanks to computer games.
If you want to understand in practice how to create an chiefdom in Predynastic Egypt, for example, it will help you immerse yourself in the ancient world. This strategy makes it possible to understand how relations were built and developed among the Egyptians, and the evolution of mankind was going on. But before you plunge into the world of computer games and test yourself, you should carefully read our article and find out as much as possible about this transitional stage, which is often called the "pre-state".
What is chiefdom?
This term is used not only by historians, but also by anthropologists, archaeologists and political scientists. The definition of chiefdom in all these scientific disciplines is given approximately the same. But each specialist puts his own meaning in the term. For example, from the point of view of anthropologists, chiefdoms are a symbiosis of a simple and complex society. But archaeologists see this stage of development as just a certain culture of hunters and gatherers, for whom military conflicts and the expansion of borders are gradually becoming the most important activity.
A more generalized concept found in various scientific works on history says that chiefdom is a combination of several human groups and their falling under a single control. Moreover, territorially these groups can be located at a considerable distance from each other. Within the created society, great importance is given to blood relations and ties, however, they are already losing their importance and management is based on other principles.
Brief description of the term
No wonder the chiefdom is considered the first step on the road to building a state. After all, a group of people is managed through several hierarchical steps. But the management apparatus itself does not have a branched structure, which is characteristic of a mature state.
Most often, the chiefdom consists of several large settlements. Communities have their own ways and traditions, but are subject to a single strong center. It is understood as the largest settlement, where the head lives - the leader.
It is noteworthy that, according to historians, the transitional form from tribal relations arose under the influence of external threats. Disparate communities could not resist the more powerful tribes of the conquerors and they had to unite among themselves. It is not surprising that the leader was the strongest and most authoritative member of the community. His power was built on personal authority and military victories, which provided the squad. Warriors were a disciplined army subject to a single leader.
It is noteworthy that in such a structure of society, those representatives who stand closest to the leader have the greatest value. At the same time, they may not be consanguineous with him. Thus, it is gradually formed to know, in the future at the next stages of the formation of the state, it will become a significant leverage in government structures.
The emergence of the term
The theory of chiefdoms arose in the middle of the last century. In scientific works, it was introduced by K. Oberg, who studied the social structure of South and Central America. In his scientific work, he justified the new term and listed its main features on the example of small American tribes. However, the scientific community rather indifferently reacted to this work, so for several years the new terminology was forgotten. Four years after the publication of Auberg's work, American ethnographers took advantage of his chiefdom theory and applied it in their research. But even then the definition did not become widely used by other specialists.
After some time, Elman Service became interested in the work of Oberg and worked in more detail at the terminology he introduced, transforming it into a full-fledged scientific concept. It was he who began to be considered a man who discovered the chiefdom as a phenomenon and gave him a clear definition.
Modern chiefdom concepts are included in many textbooks. They are studied at universities, and the concept itself is used universally. Interestingly, even political scientists and economists talk about chiefdoms. This makes it possible to conclude that this term allows you to more fully characterize the structure of society in the period of expansion of tribal relations.
By the way, I would like to clarify that in the term "chiefdom" the emphasis is placed on the first syllable. Scientists are faced with the incorrect pronunciation of the word quite often, so we decided to focus the reader on this issue.
Chiefdom concept
Historically, the first associations of people were local groups. They were formed on the basis of consanguinity and were a classic version of family relationships. In these groups, there was no social inequality, and management was carried out through the decision of the most experienced members of the community.
The next stage in the development of social groups was tribes. Interestingly, they are often confused with the chiefdom, but in fact, serious differences can be revealed between the two concepts. It is they who do not allow an equal sign between the tribe and the chiefdom. We will talk about this in more detail in one of the following sections of the article.
Some experts consider the chiefdom the third step towards the formation of a full-fledged state. This is the structure as close as possible to the concept of statehood, characterized by a mass of distinctive features. This association already includes people completely alien to each other by blood. Groups are geographically located in different places, but are closely related to a single center. It is customary to take for him a large village where the leader lives, the soldiers and his entourage. Usually in the center of the village there is a temple complex in which ceremonies and ceremonies are held. It is noteworthy that they are important for all members of society. However, only part of them is honored to take a direct part in the rituals.
Most often, various craftsmen live in the center, they work and give part of their products to the leader for protection and the right to work freely. Do not confuse the city and the central settlement of the chiefdom, which can be safely transferred to another place.
Signs of chiefdom
This structure of society has a number of characteristic features that can be represented by the following list:
- The presence of a control apparatus. For the first time, a certain branch of power is formed, based on military power and religious beliefs. The leader maintains his authority by mass conquests, the annexation of new lands and the protection of borders. Also successfully with the help of warriors, he suppresses any manifestations of discontent. At this stage in the development of society, religion also begins to acquire importance, therefore, the very fact of the leader’s power is possible only if such is consecrated.
- Formation of management bodies of the company. Gradually, structures appear that take responsibility for various spheres of the population’s life. Historians call this separation the prototype of future branches of government.
- Hierarchy of society. Property inequality that occurs around this time period forms hierarchical steps. However, at the stage of chiefdom, they still cannot be pronounced. This is facilitated by a relatively small population. Steps are filled with small social groups, among which inequality is still not too noticeable. However, the presence of bigmen and ordinary people is clearly traced. The former will subsequently form a class of prosperous people close to those in power.
- The public nature of power. During the chiefdom period, power gradually moves away from the people. She begins to deny the right of all members of society to participate in important decisions and expresses the will of only certain segments of the population. Some historians claim that it takes on a class character.
Summing up, I want to say that the chiefdom retains some of the features of the previous social system, expressed in the partial preservation of self-government structures, but at the same time it is building a new apparatus of power based on professional troops and the unquestioned authority of the leader.
Tribe and chiefdom: differences
This topic is of great interest, because often these concepts people tend to confuse with each other. But actually it’s enough to know a few basic differences to understand how big the difference is between the voiced public entities:
- Characteristics of members of society. The tribe mainly unites among themselves blood relatives living in the same territory. The chiefdom is the structure in which groups interact for the sake of common interests.
- The location. As you already understood from the previous explanation, the tribes live in the same territory. They are extremely rarely divided, because this significantly weakens the society. Chiefdom, in turn, involves the residence of local groups in different territories. The connection between them is carried out with the help of representatives of the leader.
- Number of population. The tribal group is extremely small in comparison with the chiefdom. This education may include many settlements with several thousand inhabitants. Between them there are not even territorial, but rather conditional borders. The arrangement is based on several levels of perceptions of world order. Often, various settlements of the same chiefdom can be recognized by certain fetishes.
- Political board. In tribes, all issues are resolved through general meetings, each member of the community has the right to speak and influence an event. The chiefdom implies the focus of power in the hands of the leader and his proteges. Specific posts are formed with a number of responsibilities. The former manager is always replaced by a new one, appointed by the leader.
Sometimes the chiefdom is characterized as a primitive democratic system in which social property inequality only appears.
Number
We have already mentioned the difference in population between the tribe and the chiefdom. But how many members of society should there be for us to talk specifically about chiefdom? In fact, giving an exact answer is not too easy.
On average, historians call a figure from one to one hundred thousand people. At the same time, subordination is clearly traced between them. For example, elders and other managers close to the leader are installed in certain places.
Institutionalization of power
The institution of chiefdoms was not formed immediately. It is a hereditary branch of power, usually all the leaders were among themselves relatives and members of the same group. This also includes two or three steps of the closest managers. They constitute the highest hierarchy of power.
It is noteworthy that the chiefdom elite is formed from different groups. These may be leaders whose ancestors once belonged to the tribal elite. In this case, power is clearly inherited, it is impossible to enter an outside member of society. Most often, the chiefdom gives birth to new leaders who, by force, gather power in their hands. They are supported by the priests, who are also prominent representatives of the new elite. Moreover, a struggle for power is constantly waged between various representatives of the formed nobility.
The leader always relies not on his close associates, but on soldiers. They are well supplied with food and have many privileges. The head always shows his authority in the form of prohibitions and religious taboos. The more different rules are invented and introduced into society, the more solid is the position of leader.
Who could claim the position of leader?
Only the oldest man in the family could become a leader. At the same time, genealogy was always taken into account and complex calculations of the number of relatives of all representatives of the elite were carried out. It is noteworthy that there was no single scheme for determining a leader. Each society created its own rules. However, the seniority of the applicant has always remained the same condition.
Chiefdom in the history of mankind
In history, chiefdoms are an intermediate form of political structure that can exist on its own or continue to transform into a more complex structural unit.
Historians claim that some modern tribes of Polynesia have settled on the chiefdom, considering it the most suitable for existence. Many nomadic peoples who lived in antiquity are the clearest example of this structure. Together, they completely obeyed the leader, who was responsible for their life, military achievements and level of prosperity. For example, the Huns and Türks during the chiefdom period achieved the most noticeable successes in military affairs. This allowed them to subjugate not only disparate tribes, but also the early states, which significantly complicated the structure of their society.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the chiefdom must be perceived as an intermediate stage in the development of mankind, which preceded the historical leap that led to the creation of such a complex structure as the state.