Hierarchy, History, and Human Nature - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Hierarchy, History, and Human Nature write by Donald E. Brown. This book was released on 1988. Hierarchy, History, and Human Nature available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. "Here is a book that I can strongly recommend for a variety of reasons. It is well written, it is scholarly, but its greatest appeal lies in the posing of an important question and in the offering of a satisfying (to this reviewer, at least) answer."ÑJournal of Historical Geography "This is an intriguing and stimulating study of historical differences in the indigenous historiography of parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe."ÑAmerican Anthropologist."
Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies
Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies write by Benoît Dubreuil. This book was released on 2010-09-06. Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In this book, Benoît Dubreuil explores the creation and destruction of hierarchies in human evolution. Combining the methods of archaeology, anthropology, cognitive neuroscience and primatology, he offers a natural history of hierarchies from the point of view of both cultural and biological evolution. This volume explains why dominance hierarchies typical of primate societies disappeared in the human lineage and why the emergence of large-scale societies during the Neolithic period implied increased social differentiation, the creation of status hierarchies, and, eventually, political centralisation.
Hierarchies' Origin
Hierarchies' Origin - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Hierarchies' Origin write by Covey Lee. This book was released on 2024-06-06. Hierarchies' Origin available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Have you ever wondered why hierarchies exist everywhere, from animal packs to corporations? HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN: The Evolutionary Roots of Hierarchies (by Covey Lee) takes you on a captivating exploration that reveals the surprising biological basis for these structures. Imagine a world where: Ant colonies function flawlessly without a central leader. Chimpanzee troops maintain order without a dominant alpha. Intrigued? Delve deeper and discover: The Hidden Forces: Uncover the fascinating evolutionary pressures that shaped the development of hierarchies across all forms of life. Benefits and Drawbacks: Explore the advantages hierarchies provide, like increased efficiency and specialization, along with the potential downsides, such as power imbalances. Beyond Humans: Learn how hierarchies manifest in surprising ways, from the social structures of insects to the organization of the human brain. A New Perspective: Gain a fresh understanding of the natural world and the very fabric of human societies. HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN isn't just about the past; it sheds light on the future. By understanding the origins of hierarchical structures, we can better understand their impact on our own lives and organizations. Are hierarchies an inevitable product of evolution, or is there room for a different way of structuring our world? Read HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN and embark on a thought-provoking journey to discover the roots of order.
Hierarchy in the Forest
Hierarchy in the Forest - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Hierarchy in the Forest write by Christopher BOEHM. This book was released on 2009-06-30. Hierarchy in the Forest available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Are humans by nature hierarchical or egalitarian? Hierarchy in the Forest addresses this question by examining the evolutionary origins of social and political behavior. Christopher Boehm, an anthropologist whose fieldwork has focused on the political arrangements of human and nonhuman primate groups, postulates that egalitarianism is in effect a hierarchy in which the weak combine forces to dominate the strong. The political flexibility of our species is formidable: we can be quite egalitarian, we can be quite despotic. Hierarchy in the Forest traces the roots of these contradictory traits in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and early human societies. Boehm looks at the loose group structures of hunter-gatherers, then at tribal segmentation, and finally at present-day governments to see how these conflicting tendencies are reflected. Hierarchy in the Forest claims new territory for biological anthropology and evolutionary biology by extending the domain of these sciences into a crucial aspect of human political and social behavior. This book will be a key document in the study of the evolutionary basis of genuine altruism. Table of Contents: The Question of Egalitarian Society Hierarchy and Equality Putting Down Aggressors Equality and Its Causes A Wider View of Egalitarianism The Hominoid Political Spectrum Ancestral Politics The Evolution of Egalitarian Society Paleolithic Politics and Natural Selection Ambivalence and Compromise in Human Nature References Index Reviews of this book: This well-written book, geared toward an audience with background in the behavioral and evolutionary sciences but accessible to a broad readership, raises two general questions: 'What is an egalitarian society?' and 'How have these societies evolved?'...[Christopher Boehm] takes the reader on a journey from the Arctic to the Americas, from Australia to Africa, in search of hunter-gatherer and tribal societies that emanate the egalitarian ethos--one that promotes generosity, altruism and sharing but forbids upstartism, aggression and egoism. Throughout this journey, Boehm tantalizes the reader with vivid anthropological accounts of ridicule, criticism, ostracism and even execution--prevalent tactics used by subordinates in egalitarian societies to level the social playing field...Hierarchy in the Forest is an interesting and thought-provoking book that is surely an important contribution to perspectives on human sociality and politics. --Ryan Earley, American Scientist Reviews of this book: Combing an exhaustive ethnographic survey of human societies from groups of hunter-gatherers to contemporary residents of the Balkans with a detailed analysis of the behavioral attributes of non-human primates (chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos), Boehm focuses on whether humans are hierarchical or egalitarian by nature...[Boehm's hypotheses] are invariably intriguing and well documented...He raises topics of wide interest and his book should get attention. --Publishers Weekly Boehm has been the first to look at egalitarianism with a cold, unromantic eye. He sees it as a victory over hierarchical tendencies, which are equally marked in our species. I would predict that his insightful examination will reverberate within anthropology and the social sciences as well as among biologists interested in the evolution of social systems. --Frans de Waal, Emory University Hierarchy in the Forest is an original and stimulating contribution to thinking about the origins of egalitarianism. I personally find Boehm's ideas convincing, but whether one agrees with him or not, he has formulated his hypotheses in such a way that this book is likely to set the terms of the discussion for the forseeable future. --Barbara Smuts, University of Michigan The most unique and interesting feature of this clear, well written book is the way Boehm links the study of nonhuman primates (particularly chimpanzees) to traditional concepts of political anthropology. As a political scientist, I was intrigued by Boehm's suggestion that democracy, both ancient and modern, could be understood as the expression of the same natural dispositions that support the egalitarianism of nomadic bands and sedentary tribes. I expect that many scholars in biology, anthropology, and the social sciences would learn from this stimulating book. Even those who disagree with Boehm's arguments are likely to be provoked in instructive ways. --Larry Arnhart, Northern Illinois University Chris Boehm boldly and cogently attacks a whole orthodoxy in anthropology which sees hunter-gatherer 'egalitarianism' as somehow the basic form of human society. No praise can be too high for Boehm's brilliant and courageous book. --Robin Fox, Rutgers University
The Mormon Hierarchy
The Mormon Hierarchy - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Mormon Hierarchy write by D. Michael Quinn. This book was released on 1997. The Mormon Hierarchy available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The Mormon church today is led by an elite group of older men, nearly three-quarters of whom are related to current or past general church authorities. This dynastic hierarchy meets in private; neither its minutes nor the church's finances are available for public review. Members are reassured by public relations spokesmen that all is well and that harmony prevails among these brethren. But by interviewing former church aides, examining hundreds of diaries, and drawing from his own past experience as an insider within the Latter-day Saint historical department, D. Michael Quinn presents a fuller view. His extensive research documents how the governing apostles, seventies, and presiding bishops are likely to be at loggerheads, as much as united. These strong-willed, independent men-like directors of a large corporation or supreme court justices-lobby among their colleagues, forge alliances, out-maneuver opponents, and broker compromises. There is more: clandestine political activities, investigative and punitive actions by church security forces, personal "loans" from church coffers (later written off as bad debts), and other privileged power-vested activities. Quinn considers the changing role and attitude of the leadership toward visionary experiences, the momentous events which have shaped quorum protocol and doctrine, and day-to-day bureaucratic intrigue from the time of Brigham Young to the dawn of the twenty-first century. The hierarchy seems at root well-intentioned and even at times aggressive in fulfilling its stated responsibility, which is to expedite the Second Coming. Where they have become convinced that God has spoken, they have set aside personal differences, offered unqualified support, and spoken with a unified voice. This potential for change, when coupled with the tempering effect of competing viewpoints, is something Quinn finds encouraging about Mormonism. But one should not assume that these men are infallible or work in anything approaching uninterrupted unanimity.
