Description
- Abstract:
- This study investigates the origins and variable nature of inequality in pre-hierarchical Central Mediterranean communities between the 4th and 1st millennia BC. The arguments for this study are dual. First, all human societies struggle in some way with inequality. Second, archaeology has to divest itself from problematic assumptions that only expect evidence of inequality in settings of considerable hierarchical division. To explain the origins of inequality and its continued presence over time, I argue that inequality was largely hidden by a false sense of collectivity. Individuals, seeking to control others in a pre-hierarchical context, were only able to assert their power by emphasizing the collective nature of their settings, despite clear indications of manipulation and exploitation of their peers. To best tackle these arguments, this study examines the Central Mediterranean region through five intersecting “avenues”: the Mediterranean as a marine and terrestrial space, broad distribution networks, limited production of certain ideological objects, burial customs and rituals, and the variable monumentality found across this region. This research provides a number of insights into the nature of inequality within the Central Mediterranean between the 4th and 1st millennia BC. First, the absence of state societies until the 1st millennium BC did not equal an absence of inequality. Rather, we can see that not all communities were able to participate in trade networks, while even on an individual level display of social competition was common. Second, the collective was being manipulated by individuals seeking to hold power because it was easier to project a false sense of collectivity than outrightly stress the power of an individual. For instance, the construction of monuments was projected as a collective enterprise but access into these structures was often guarded. The main contribution of this study is that inequality in prehistoric societies occurred in tangible and intangible. By studying these prehistoric settings we can also further our own understanding of inequality in human societies in the past, present, and future.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph.D. -- Brown University (2016)
Access Conditions
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- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
Vella, Clive,
"The Diminishing Collective: Inequality and Social Complexity in late Central Mediterranean Prehistory"
(2016).
Graduate Research Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0319T9Q
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Graduate Research Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Graduate Research department....