Abstract
What is power? How does it work? Is power in politically complex societies always constituted in the same, repeated ways, with variation only in the contextual details? This chapter examines the European Iron Age, a protohistoric archaeological context that may help answer these questions. When archaeologists think of power, they usually think of leaders or rulers, yet in no society is power held exclusively by elites. In some cultures, elite power is highly constrained and balanced by the power of ordinary people.
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Thurston, T.L. (2010). Bitter Arrows and Generous Gifts: WhatWas a ‘King’ in the European Iron Age?. In: Price, T.D., Feinman, G.M. (eds) Pathways to Power. Fundamental Issues in Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6300-0_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6300-0_8
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