Warfare and the Dynamics of Political Control

Buch | Hardcover

320 Seiten

2025
University of Arizona Press (Verlag)
978-0-8165-5481-2 (ISBN)

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Warfare and the Dynamics of Political Control draws on a wealth of interdisciplinary perspectives to explore how conflict shapes the establishment and maintenance of political institutions, from small-scale societies to expansive empires. The book examines the material and ideological factors that drive warfare, the organization of combatants, the ways leaders use violence to consolidate power, and how groups resist political domination in times of conflict. By posing critical questions about the efficacy of strategies and the varied outcomes of conflict-driven power struggles, this volume offers profound insights into the dynamics of political control throughout history. Bringing together case studies from diverse regions and time periods, Warfare and the Dynamics of Political Controlilluminates the multifaceted nature of political violence. The volume includes discussions of human sacrifice, slave-taking, ideological signaling, and military strategy and tactics. The case studies reveal how different forms of political violence influence societal structures. From the fortifications of the Māori in New Zealand to the city walls of early historic India, each contribution provides a detailed analysis of how warfare has been used to both to challenge and to establish political hierarchies. Featuring examples from small foraging communities to large empires across various regions and time periods, the book offers a wide-ranging exploration of how different groups have used and resisted political violence.

This essential work contributes to our understanding of the intersections between conflict and political power, making it a vital resource for scholars of anthropology, archaeology, political science, and history.

Brian R. Billman is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Chapter 1. Politics by Other Means: Toward an Understanding of the Role of Violence in the Origins of Political Control by Brian R. Billman

Chapter 2. Warfare and Sociopolitical Change in the Late Prehistoric Period in Central and Southeastern Costa Rica by Amanda SuÁrez CalderÓn, Yahaira NÚÑez CortÉs, and Francisco Corrales Ulloa

Chapter 3. The Chiefdom of Hāwea: Whakapapa (Genealogy) and Fortifications in Heretaunga, New Zealand by Mark W. Allen and Ngahiwi Tomoana

Chapter 4. Warfare, Captive-taking, Enslavement, and the Creation of Power by Catherine M. Cameron

Chapter 5. Transformations in Mississippian Political Control, Social Houses, and Warfare by David H. Dye

Chapter 6. War, Power, History: Mississippian Village Formation in the Central Illinois River Valley by Gregory D. Wilson, Tyler Ferree, and Amber VanDerwarker

Chapter 7. Conflict and the Politics of Solidarity: Hierarchy and its Limits in the Late Pre-Columbian Andean Highlands by Elizabeth Arkush

Chapter 8. From City Walls to Country Forts: Changing Landscape Intentions of Political Control from the Early Historic to Medieval Eras in the Indian Subcontinent by Monica L. Smith

Chapter 9. Conveying Inka Ideology of Warfare for Establishing and Maintaining Political Control by Dennis Ogburn

Chapter 10. War and the Polity in Early China by Roderick Campbell

Chapter 11. Leadership, Leveling Mechanisms, Warfare, and Political Power by Richard Chacon

Erscheinungsdatum	04.06.2025
Reihe/Serie	Amerind Studies in Archaeology
Zusatzinfo	29 b&w illustrations, 4 tables
Verlagsort	Tucson
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-8165-5481-1 / 0816554811
ISBN-13	978-0-8165-5481-2 / 9780816554812
Zustand	Neuware