The Evolution of Human Societies: From Foraging Group to Agrarian State

Allen W. Johnson; Timothy Earle

ISBN 10: 0804715157 / ISBN 13: 9780804715157

Published by Stanford Univ Pr, 1988

About this Item

Good+ paperback copy (NOT ex-library). Some creasing to spine, binding remains strong. Moderate shelfwear. Ships same or next business day from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Seller Inventory # 332049

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Evolution of Human Societies: From Foraging Group to Agrarian State
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804715157
• ISBN 13: 9780804715157
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good+
• Weight: 17 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Anthropology

About this title

Synopsis

By combining an original thesis and a representative body of ethnographic data, this ambitious work seeks to describe and explain the growth in complexity of human societies.

Its emphasis is on the causes, mechanisms, and patterns of cultural evolution, which the authors explain in terms of a coherent theory of political economy—defined as the mobilization and exchange of goods and services between families. The authors show that the interconnected processes of technological change and population growth are the motor of social change, resulting in three related processes—intensification, integration, and stratification—that transform human societies over time. The validity of their theory rests on evidence drawn from 19 case studies that range widely over time and space.

For this new edition, the authors have thoroughly rewritten the theoretical argument for greater clarity, updated the case materials to incorporate new research, and added a new chapter that applies their theoretical perspective to the problems of change since the industrial revolution and the globalization of trade and political influence.

Reviews of the First Edition

“In a book full of perceptive observations and persuasive arguments . . . Johnson and Earle show in masterly detail how societies articulate to their environments and . . . how they evolve.â

—Ethnohistory

“A major contribution. . . . The book is a marvelous synthesis of ethnographic and historical data.â

—American Journal of Sociology

“A large amount of research and thought has produced sensible and illuminating specific analyses of the mechanisms of evolutionary change. Another plus is that the writing is clear and the argument is neatly conceived.â

—American Anthropologist

From the Back Cover

“Johnson and Earle show in masterly detail how societies articulate to their environments and . . . how they evolve.”—Ethnohistory