Cross-Cultural Comparison Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, and State
Question :
Create a PowerPoint slide presentation on bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Your PowerPoint presentation must include a title slide and a reference slide, including the full reference entry citation.
Include at least one slide each for bands, for tribes, for chiefdoms, and for states. You may include up to three slides for each, if you wish. Do not include more than three slides for each.
Answer :
Band
• Band can be defined as the smallest unit of the political organization.
• It consists of only a few families.
• It also does not have formal leadership position.
• The band society is considered as egalitarian society.
• There is no great difference between individual and valued position within the society.
• A band form of society is organized by societies that is typically comprised of foragers who heavily rely on hunting as well as gathering.
Conti…
• Band is considered as the first political unit that came into existence outside the family.
• Most of the band societies depend on hunting and hunting is the major source of food.
• Women are the subordinates of men.
• Both share almost equal status and power within the society.
• Dispute among people occurs commonly that is resolved informally because it is characterized with no formal leadership.
Example
• The spread of modern nation-state throughout the world has reduced the number of band society significantly.
• The Shoshone of the Great Basin in the United States is one of historical examples of band society.
• They are native Americans who were originated in western Great Basin.
• With the passage of time, they spread north as well as east into Idaho and Wyoming.
Tribes
• Tribes as compared to band have larger population.
• It is organized around the family ties.
• It has shifting system or fluid of temporary leadership.
• It is almost similar to band society in terms of the nature and power of individual within the society.
• There is no much difference between individual and valued position.
Conti…
• The leadership position in the society could be situational.
• Every individual has an opportunity to become the leader or the headman of the society.
• The population is comparatively large and hence there is a need of mechanism in order to create and maintain connection between individuals within the society.
• Most of the tribes have established age-based social structure.
Example
• One of the well-known examples of tribe societies is Tiriki of Kenya.
• In this society boys become the members of one of the sets of seven named age sets.
• As the last boy is selected in one set, that set closes and a new set is opened.
• There is a mechanism in this society that defines the role of every set and people act accordingly.
• The elder worriers in the society handle the decision-making function of the society.
Chiefdom
• Chiefdom can be defined as the large political unit in which the chief is determined by heredity.
• The chief in chiefdom holds a formal position of power.
• This society is characterized by substantial difference in social status as well as wealth of individuals.
• The social status and wealth of individuals depend on how closely they are associated with the chief.
Conti…
• Chiefdom is called ranked society due to differences in social status and wealth.
• However, every individual has access to basic resources without any restriction.
• Every individual can also meet their needs.
• The society is accompanied by an economic exchange system that is called redistribution.
• In the economic exchange system, goods and services flow from population to the central authority.
Example
• One of the significant example of chiefdom is Trobriand as well as Tongan Islanders in the pacific.
• The people at higher position in the society believes in maintain their position in the society.
• Interclass marriage is one of the key tactics to maintain or reinforce dominance.
• If a child of a women marry a man with lower status, she assumes the status of her mother.
States
• States on the other hand are the most complex type of political organization.
• States are characterized by a central government.
• The central government has a monopoly over legitimate uses of physical force.
• The central government has a system of formal laws, a sizeable bureaucracy, and a standing military force.
Conti…
• State level of political organization is the most formal of all political organizations.
• A weak state frequently uses physical force in order to maintain order.
• A state always occupies a defined territory or land that is defined by boundaries.
• The boundary of a state separate it from other political entities.
• Administrative bureaucracy and taxation are the power of a state.
Example
• Modern nations are the example of state society such as the United States of America.
• The country has central authority that controls all affairs of the country.
• All characteristics of a state society is found in the country.
• The government collects various taxes that increase the power of the government.
References
Williams, B. J., & Wobst, H. M. (1974). A model of band society. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, (29), i-138.
Xaxa, V. (2008). State, society, and tribes: Issues in post-colonial India. Pearson Education India. Berger, J., Humphreys, A., Ludwig, S., Moe, W. W., Netzer, O., & Schweidel, D. A. (2020). Uniting the tribes: Using text for marketing insight. Journal of Marketing, 84(1), 1-25. Carneiro, R. L. (2017). The Chiefdom in Evolutionary. Chiefdoms: Yesterday and Today, 15. Willer, D., Emanuelson, P., Chacon, Y., & Chacon, R. J. (2017). How chiefdom and early state social structures resolve collective action problems. In Feast, Famine or Fighting? (pp. 417-452). Springer, Cham. Brown, N., McIlwraith, T., & de González, L. T. (2020). Political Anthropology: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition.
