Abstract
The origins and development of centralized decision making are critical issues in our understanding of how and why complex cultural systems evolve. The chapters in this volume all provide alternative perspectives on both the process and products of centralization. They also collectively attest to the combination of tinkering and pattern. In looking at the emergence of political centralization and the transition from “leaders to rulers” across times and culture areas, several major points become evident: first, there are cross-cultural commonalities in the trajectory toward increased centralization in political systems; second, societies follow many different routes in proceeding along that trajectory; and third, the “center” of centralized societies may be not be a single person—a leader or ruler who yields ultimate power and authority.
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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Haas, J. (2001). Nonlinear Paths of Political Centralization. In: Haas, J. (eds) From Leaders to Rulers. Fundamental Issues in Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1297-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1297-4_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5484-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1297-4
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