homesteads or villages.
Characteristically, no one settlement dominates any of
the others in the region. Instead, the archaeologist
finds evidence for isolated,
permanently occupied houses or for permanent villages. Such villages may be
made up of a collection of free-standing houses, like those of the first farms of the Danube valley in Europe.
Or they may be clusters of buildings grouped together, for example, the pueblos of the American Southwest,
and the early farming village or small town of (catalhoyuk in modern Turkey.
Chiefdom. These operate on the principle of ranking differences in social status between
people.
Different lineages (a lineage is a group claiming descent from a
common ancestor) are graded on a scale of
prestige, and the senior lineage,
and hence the society as a whole, is governed by a chief. Prestige and rank
are
determined by how closely related one is to the chief, and there is no true
stratification into classes. The
role of the chief is crucial.
Often, there is local specialisation in craft products, and surpluses of these and of foodstuffs are
periodically paid as obligation to the chief. He uses these to maintain his retainers, and may use them for
redistribution to his subjects. The chiefdom generally has a center of power, often with temples, residences
of the chief and his retainers, and craft specialists. Chiefdoms vary greatly in size, but the range is generally
between about 5000 and 20,000 persons.
Early State. These preserve many of the features of chiefdoms, but the ruler (perhaps a
king or
sometimes a queen) has explicit authority to establish laws and also to
