The Archaeology of Politics and Power: Where, When and Why the First States Formed

by Charles Keith Maisels

Overview

Archaeology is not just about the past, but the present and future too. Much of our present condition and future prospects are inevitably bound up with what states do and what they fail to do. To understand the inner-workings and motivations of states one must understand how and why they came into existence in the first place. This book describes how states formed in Egypt and Mesopotamia, China and the Andes, and also how the Indus Civilization functioned without a state. This work spans law, ideology, politics, economics, and psychology, the ancient world and modern history, in order to show how power is obtained, sustained and deployed, and in whose interests. Grounded in archaeological data, it examines human nature, morality, violence and governance, issues of special importance to everyone, but in particular to students of politics, anthropology, psychology and sociology, as well as archaeology.opology, psychology and sociology, as well as archaeology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789253351
Publisher:	Oxbow Books
Publication date:	07/31/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	488
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

Table of Contents

List of Figures vi

Acknowledgements xiii

Preface: Why are NGOs necessary? xv

Chapter 1 The Science of History 1

Chapter 2 On Human Nature: Rhetoric, Relativism and the Realities of Violence 21

Chapter 3 Indus-Sarasvati Civilization ('Harappan' Civilization) 37

Chapter 4 The Levant and Mesopotamia 81

Chapter 5 Egypt 139

Chapter 6 China 175

Chapter 7 Andean Civilization 263

Chapter 8 Politics, Culture and Social Structure 343

Chapter 9 How do states form? 349

Appendix A The Socio-Political Contract and the Lessons of History 355

Appendix B Science v. Ideology 361

Appendix C Leadership Attributes 365

Bibliography 369

Index 431

Editorial Reviews

Well-researched and free of superfluous jargon, Maiselss fascinating study makes a valuable contribution to the comparative analysis of state formation, a longstanding obsession of archaeologists... Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.'

Choice - E.R. Swenson