Book chapter
Начальные этапы политогенеза на тихоокеанском побережье Юго-Восточной Мезоамерики
In book
The review is an essay on the initial stage of the ethnogenesis of Croats and general problems of reconstruction of the processes of formation of early medieval communities and polities. In particular, the dilemma of two paradigms of interpretation of the genesis of archaic ethnosocial groups is discussed: «primordial» («essential») and « constructivist». The question is the correlation of various ethno-cultures and ethno-linguistic components (Slavic, Avaric, etc.) in the formation of the Croatian identity. The role of external impulses (Franco-Latin, Gothic, Byzantine-Greek, Avaro-Turkic) in the constitution of the Croatian elite is reconsidered. A new version of the etymology of the ethnonym «Croat» and an assessment of the authenticity of the various etymologies of the names of Croatian cultural heroes and leaders are proposed.
The general process of the growth of sociocultural complexity was multidimensional and multilinear. That is why the evolutionary phase of medium-complex societies (where the chiefdoms are most often observed) was represented by numerous types of societies.
The article is devoted to the analysis of chiefdom analogues, or various evolutionary alternatives to the chiefdom: poleis, autonomous towns and complex village communities, cast-clan systems, non-hierarchically organized territorial groups and federations of villages, certain types of tribal systems, and so on. All chiefdom analogues' forms can be subdivided into a few types: monosettlement analogues (with the majority of the population concentrated in a single central settlement); horizontally integrated polysettlement analogues; and corporate analogues. The notion of chiefdom analogues which we put forward will advance the theoretical analysis of the cultural-political variations among medium-complex societies where chiefdoms are bound to occupy one of the main positions.
In this paper we analyze macroevolutionary processes that took place during the very prolonged late archaic and early civilization periods. During those periods two macrochanges took place, i.e.: first – the formation of more or less institutionalized political subsystem, starting from the complexity level of chiefdoms and their analogues; and second – the formation of archaic states and their analogues with further institutionalization of the political subsystem. All this macroevolutionary process is generally denoted here as primary (initial) politogenesis, whereas the early state formation process is regarded as a component of the politogenesis. We denote it as ‘initial’ because the politogenesis did not stop with the state formation, but continued further with the evolution from the early state to the developed one, and even from the developed state to the mature one.
The articles in this book pose important questions about the place of chiefdoms on political antropology. First, we must ask if the very notion of the chiefdom has become outdated. Can the chiefdom be regarded as an evolutionary stage? Do archaeological data adequately correspond to it? Does it make sense to offer definitions to the chiefdom, and is not the value of all typologies rather limited? Has the introduction of this notion been beneficial to archaeology or has it only obscured the situation? The chapter is devoted to the analysis of chiefdom analogues, or various evolutionary alternatives to the chiefdom: poleis, autonomous towns and complex village communities, cast-clan systems, non-hierarchically organized territorial groups and federations of villages, certain types of tribal systems, and so on. All chiefdom analogues' forms can be subdivided into a few types: monosettlement analogues (with the majority of the population concentrated in a single central settlement); horizontally integrated polysettlement analogues; and corporate analogues. The notion of chiefdom analogues which we put forward will advance the theoretical analysis of the cultural-political variations among medium-complex societies where chiefdoms are bound to occupy one of the main positions.
The first volume of the Wayeb Publication Series is a Gedenkschrift to Alfonso Lacadena García-Gallo (1964–2018).
Alfonso was one of the founders and a great supporter of Wayeb. The numerous presentations and workshops he gave at the EMCs between 1997 and 2016, have inspired colleagues and students from different parts of the world. This is the reason why we considered that it is more than appropriate that a volume dedicated to Alfonso would be the one inaugurating the new Wayeb Publication Series. In accordance with the spirit of Alfonso, of a collaborative, open and accessible nature, this volume is published digitally and it is freely accessible on the Wayeb webpage to facilitate its dissemination.
The volume has been divided in three sections, preceded by writings by Alfonso and his family. The first section of this volume brings together a series of writings in which his contributions to the field of research and teaching are collected, from the end of the eighties until he left us in the month of February 2018. The authors of these texts are those who have had the joy of being able to share innumerable experiences with Alfonso, both in fieldwork in archaeological sites of Mexico and Guatemala and in the daily life of the Complutense University in Madrid and the Autonomous University of Yucatán.
The second part of this publication includes the research of numerous colleagues and specialists in Mesoamerican studies, starting with the publication of “New Research on the Aztec Script: A True Writing System” that Alfonso delivered in October 2011, at Harvard University, when he was awarded the Tatiana Proskouriakoff Award. Following, the reader will find texts on Mesoamerican writing systems and languages, iconography, belief systems and ritual practices, and accounts on the Contact period and the Colonial era. Some of these texts were generated from long conversations or joint work with Alfonso, while others present ideas that do not always agree with some of his proposals. However, all agree that the field of Mesoamerican research has lost a brilliant thinker and an admired professional.
The last section brings together a collection of memories and anecdotes that the colleagues and friends of Alfonso shared with him. Some are funny, others emotional, but all of them show the immense human quality that characterized Alfonso, as well as his catching enthusiasm in each activity he undertook, his passionate way of working, and his singing skills.
The author analyzes archaeological materials from the settlement and necropolis near village of Zolotaya Balka situated in the lower reaches of the Dnieper dating to the period from the 2nd c. BC to the early 2nd c. AD. A qualitative, quantitative and spatial analysis of features of the burial rite has been done. The groups of burials with a special set of burial equipment were singled out, which seem to differ in social status. It is assumed that the ancient population of the settlement had a horizontal corporate organization, which, in turn, was incorporated into a more complex social system (chiefdom). There are revealed similarities in funeral rites between the necropolis of Zolotaya Balka and cemeteries of Cherniakhov culture, which are apparently due to the ethnic and cultural continuity.