Structure and Dynamics

This first installment of an Atlas of Chiefdoms and Early States assembles data on six clusters of elementary hierarchical polities, coded here to measure the scale of both the political-administrative aspects and the social-economic aspects of these case studies. These six clusters - the Hawaiian archipelago, Madagascar, the interlacustrine region of East Africa, the central Cameroons, southeastern Nigeria, and southern Mesopotamia - are documented with ethnographic, historical, and archaeological evidence, for which key references are provided. This initial step toward a compendium is intended to be cumulative. It will be revised and expanded in future installments, along with revisions of the Excel data file that is provided for download, and the editor's edition Spss file with labeled and corrected codings. These data are released into the public domain but because they are constantly up-dated please communicate with the author before using them. Updates of the data may be available from the author before a new installment appears.