Form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies
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A chiefdom is a political organization of people represented or governed by a chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless, state analogue or early state system or institution.[1][2][3]
Usually a chief's position is based on kinship, which is often monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites can form a political-ideological aristocracy relative to the general group.[4]
Chiefdoms and chiefs are sometimes identified as the same as kingdoms and kings, and therefore understood as monarchies, particularly when they are understood as not necessarily states, but having monarchic representation or government.[2]
^Claessen, Henri J. M. (September 2022). "Before the early state and after". Social Evolution & History. 21 (2). Retrieved 2024-02-26.
^ ab"Chiefdoms and kingdoms in Africa: Why they are neither states nor empires". African Studies Centre Leiden. 2002-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
^Grinin, Leonid (2022). "Complex Chiefdoms vs Early States: The Evolutionary Perspective". Evolution: Trajectories of Social Evolution. pp. 96–129. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
^Helm, Mary (2010). Access to Origins: Affines, Ancestors, and Aristocrats. Austin, TX: Univ Of Texas Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780292723740. OCLC 640095710.
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