Circumscription Theory and the Political Evolution in Prehistoric China
2012; Uchitel Publishing House; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1681-4363
Autores Tópico(s)Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Resumoand found that a few revisions made his theory logi-cally more rigorous. The most important change is that the core of his theory, the circumscription, is somewhat de-emphasized, while the role of warfare is placed at an even more prominent position. This theory may thus be less vulnerable to criticism. However, Carneiro is known first and foremost for his unique circumscrip-tion explanation for chiefdom and state formation. As for the coer-cive theory, he is only one of the many championing that theory, among whom are Herbert Spencer, Ludwig Gumplowicz, Gustav Ratzenhofer, and Franz Oppenheimer, as mentioned by Carneiro himself (Carneiro 1970: 734). On the other hand, the circumscrip-tion theory was first systematically proposed by him alone, and he remains its most important proponent. The more important reason for us to stress the circumscription core of his theory is that the first states in human history did arise in the tightly constricted en-vironments. Therefore, we are not surprised that so many scholars have been influenced by Carneiro's explanation, and as a conse-quence, great attention has been focused on the relations between the circumscribed environment and state formation. Regardless of whether such a scholar ultimately agrees or disagrees with Carneiro, those relations have been crucially highlighted. Of course, the revisions in the new article do not mean that Carneiro has ignored the significance of circumscription, be it geo-graphical or social one. He does de-emphasize its role relative to
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