Anthropology Most Human Cultures Can Essay

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In chiefdoms, power is often hereditary but in a state system political power it is usually not based on kinship. States are the most complex of the four main political structures. Large and densely-populated societies evolve into states because of the need for centralized political power.

The Basseri are a nomadic society that exhibits features of being a band, a tribe, and a chiefdom. For example, families often live together in tents, and each tent forms the basic social unit as with a band (Johnson). Many decisions are made with consensus, and task differentiation with regard to the acquisition of food is not stratified. However, the Basseri do have a rigid kinship-based centralized political system. Therefore, the Basseri are not a band or a tribe; they are a chiefdom. Political power is centralized even though the society is nomadic, and the Basseri government is hierarchical. Basseri culture is also hierarchical and stratified at the very top; a chief possesses the most power followed by a range of "headmen," (Johnson). Kinship is key to determining political succession and the chief's relationship with the Basseri is kinship-based too. Like many chiefdoms, the status gap between the chief and his henchman is large even if the rest of Basseri society is not socially stratified.

Haiti exhibits all the features of a modern state, including worldwide recognition as such. Even if the Haitian government is notoriously corrupt, its essential structure is that of a state including rotating heads of state and a plethora of variously ranked government officials. The Haitian central government controls everything from commerce to maintaining law and order. The government is functionally and geographically centralized, and not based on kinship.

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Haitian society itself demonstrates features of being a state including class stratification and role differentiation. Moreover, Haiti is a diverse culture impacted heavily by colonization and the slave trade. Indigenous peoples, African slaves, and French colonizers all mingle in the Haitian gene pool. The society's diversity demands a centralized government not based on kinship. Haitian society is hierarchical and socially stratified but unlike the Basseri does not exhibit the kinship-based features of a chiefdom. Moreover, the political leaders in a modern state like Haiti possess political power but do not act as community advisors or counselors as they might in a smaller, less complex society.

Ancient Aztec society was also a state. Like most modern states, the Aztec empire was comprised of a large, diverse population. Government was centralized, and society was duly stratified and hierarchical. The government managed the burgeoning economy of the ancient Aztec people. Some local governance was also necessary within the large, geographically diverse Aztec society as it is with most states. Unlike chiefdoms, though, states do not emphasize kinship. Both ancient Aztec and modern Haitian society are not kinship-based.

The Minangkabau are a matrilineal tribal society dwelling within the state of Indonesia. A relatively egalitarian culture, the Minangkabau do not have a strong centralized government. The Minangkabau do, however, live within the political borders of a state and so the Minang do experience some features of state politics too. Within Minangkabau culture, kinship is important. Class stratification is not overly apparent in traditional Minang society, except where Minang and modern Muslim Indonesian norms intersect......

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