A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'.
Tribes and Chiefdoms. Unlike the band organization of most foragers, food producers, either horticulturalists or pastoralists, are politically organized into either tribes, associated with big men, or chiefdoms, associated with chiefs. 1 Stratified redistributive exchange is important in chiefdoms. 2  In stratified redistributive exchange, goods and resources flow into the political center (the chief and his immediate followers) and are then redistributed to the people. 3  However, the political center keeps more for themselves. Both tribes and chiefdoms have the basic traits of horticulture (or pastoralists if herders); however the sociopolitical structure can be quite different. Below is a list of traits that tend to differentiate the two. 1 Stratified redistributive exchange is important in chiefdoms. 2  In stratified redistributive exchange, goods and resources flow into the political center (the chief and his immediate followers) and are then redistributed to the people. 3  However, the political center keeps more for themselves. Chiefdom. A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological aristocracy relative to the general group A complex chiefdom is a group of simple chiefdoms controlled by a single paramount center, and ruled by a paramount chief. Complex chiefdoms have two or even three tiers of political hierarchy. Nobles are clearly distinct from commoners and do not usually engage in any form of agricultural production. A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom, with the greatest influence, power, and prestige. Kinship is typically an organizing principle, while marriage, age, and sex can affect one's social status and role. Chiefdoms are similar to bands and tribes in being mostly classless societies. However, chiefdoms differ in having a more or less permanent, fulltime leader with real authority to make major decisions for their societies. These leaders are usually referred to by anthropologists as chiefs. An important advantage that chiefdoms have over band and tribal level societies when conflicts arise between them is that chiefdoms are usually more effective in warfare. This is due to the fact that chiefdoms have two important advantages. They have larger populations so they can assemble larger military forces. Before examining the nature of chiefdoms and states, it is important to keep in mind that the political systems in many societies do not clearly fit either category completely. They are essentially in transition from tribes to chiefdoms or from chiefdoms to states. An important advantage that chiefdoms have over band and tribal level societies when conflicts arise between them is that chiefdoms are usually more effective in warfare. This is due to the fact that chiefdoms have two important advantages. They have larger populations so they can assemble larger military forces. A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological aristocracy relative to the general group. A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom, with the greatest influence, power, and prestige. Kinship is typically an organizing principle, while marriage, age, and sex can affect one's social status and role. The larger populations of chiefdoms generally means that the people have less in common than do those in the smaller societies of bands and tribes. Disputes inevitably arise that cannot be settled by informal means based on kinship and friendship. A chief usually functions as an arbitrator and judge in these cases. An important advantage that chiefdoms have over band and tribal level societies when conflicts arise between them is that chiefdoms are usually more effective in warfare. This is due to the fact that chiefdoms have two important advantages. They have larger populations so they can assemble larger military forces. Chiefdoms are intermediate forms of societies between tribal and large-scale state societies. They tend to consist of centralized economic and political sociocultural systems in contrast to those of foragers or tribes. The social organization of chiefdom societies consisted of lineages, clans, and other descent groups. Yet unlike tribal societies, these descent groups were ranked in strata based on their relationship to a chiefly family. Marriages were frequently endogamous within a particular stratum. The most succinct definition of a chiefdom in anthropology is by Robert L. Carneiro : An autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief (Carneiro 1981: 45). Chiefdoms are characterized by centralization of authority and pervasive inequality. A single lineage/family of the elite class becomes the ruling elite of the chiefdom, with the greatest influence, power, and prestige. Kinship is typically an organizing principle, while marriage, age, and sex can affect one's social status and role.
https://laulima.hawaii.edu/access/content/user/millerg/ANTH_151/Anth151Unit2/TribesChiefdoms.html https://laulima.hawaii.edu/access/content/user/millerg/ANTH_151/Anth151Unit2/TribesChiefdoms.html http://www.definitions.net/definition/chiefdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiefdom http://anthro.palomar.edu/political/pol_3.htm http://anthro.palomar.edu/political/pol_3.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiefdom http://anthro.palomar.edu/political/pol_3.htm http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_scupin_cultanthro_5/3/931/238394.cw/index.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiefdom
what are chiefdoms