Power from Below in Premodern Societies: The Dynamics of Political Complexity in the Archaeological Record

This volume challenges previous views of social organization focused on elites by offering innovative perspectives on 'power from below.' Using a variety of archaeological, anthropological, and historical data to question traditional narratives of complexity as inextricably linked to top-down power structures, it exemplifies how commoners have developed strategies to sustain non-hierarchical networks and contest the rise of inequalities. Through case studies from around the world – ranging from Europe to New Guinea, and from Mesoamerica to China – an international team of contributors explores the diverse and dynamic nature of power relations in premodern societies. The theoretical models discussed throughout the volume include a reassessment of key concepts such as heterarchy, collective action, and resistance. Thus, the book adds considerable nuance to our understanding of power in the past, and also opens new avenues of reflection that can help inform discussions about our collective present and future.

Table of Contents:
Preface Carole L. Crumley; 1. Power from Below in the Archaeological Record: Trends and Trajectories T. L. Thurston and Manuel Fernández-Götz; 2. Fragmenting Trypillian Mega-Sites: A Bottom-Up Approach Bisserka Gaydarska; 3. Structure and Agency. On Bronze Age Tell Settlement in the Carpathian Basin Tobias L. Kienlin; 4. Power Requires Others – 'Institutional Realities' and the Significance of Individual Power in Late Prehistoric Europe David Fontijn; 5. 'And Make Some Other Man Our King': Labile Elite Power Structures in Early Iron Age Europe Bettina Arnold; 6. Societies against the Chief? Re-Examining the Value of 'Heterarchy' as a Concept for Studying European Iron Age Societies Tom Moore and David González-Álvarez; 7. Peasants, Agricultural Intensification, and Collective Action in Premodern States Lane F. Fargher and Richard E. Blanton; 8. The Spread of Scribal Literacy in Han China: All along the Watchtowers Christopher J. Foster; 9. Confronting Leviathan: Some Remarks on Resistance to the State in Pre-Capitalist Societies. The Case of Early Medieval Northern Iberia Carlos Tejerizo-García and Álvaro Carvajal Castro; 10. The Emergence of Monte Albán: A Social Innovation that Lasted a Millennium Gary M. Feinman, Richard E. Blanton and Linda M. Nicholas; 11. Dispersing Power: The Contentious, Egalitarian Politics of the Salado Phenomenon in the Hohokam Region of the US Southwest Lewis Borck and Jeffery J. Clark; 12. The Perplexing Heterarchical Complexity of New Guinea Fisher-Forager Polities at Contact Paul Roscoe; 13. Restoring Disorder: Thoughts on the Past and Future of a Politically and Socially Conscious Archaeology T. L. Thurston and Manuel Fernández-Götz.

About the Author :
T. L. Thurston is Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Buffalo. His main interest lies in the interface between people, places, and governance in late prehistoric and historical Europe, often in comparison with other regions, cultures, and times. He finds that questions linking large-scale sociopolitical conditions with the life-course experiences of individuals and groups are best addressed with mixed research methods that unify quantitative and qualitative approaches. Manuel Fernández-Götz is Reader and Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on Iron Age and Roman societies in Europe, the archaeology of identities, and conflict archaeology. Among his main publications are the edited volumes Eurasia at the Dawn of History: Urbanization and Social Change (2016) and Conflict Archaeology: Materialities of Collective Violence from Prehistory to Late Antiquity (2018).

Review :
'The book … is a pleasure to handle. It is beautifully presented in hardback, printed on high quality paper, with an attractive layout and clearly printed figures in black and white. Each chapter is well-argued, thoughtful and stimulating.' Susan Oosthuizen, Antiquity