CHIEFDOMS AND STATES

CHIEFDOMS
• A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-
industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal
leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select
families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological aristocracy
relative to the general group.
• Chiefdom has some formal structure, integrated community
and rules populated and the position of the chief is
hereditary & almost permanent. Chiefdom have more
economic productivity and the chief have the authority of
redistribution as compare the tribes’ societies. The chief of a
chiefdom posse a high status and rank in the society. He
coordinate & mange the religious activities as well as labor
responsibilities. He had the responsibility of directing and
managing military activates .Chiefdom societies are
practical in, south pacific chiefdom, Ayes and Tahiti etc.
• Examples of chiefdoms include the Trobriand and Tongan
Islanders in the Pacific, the Maori of New Zealand, the
ancient Olmec of Mexico (only known archaeologically),
the Natchez of the Mississippi Valley, the Kwakwaka'wakw
of British Columbia, and the Zulu and Ashanti in Africa.
• An important advantage that chiefdoms have over band and tribal level
societies when conflicts arise between them is that chiefdoms are usually
more effective in warfare. This is due to the fact that chiefdoms have two
important advantages. They have larger populations so they can assemble
larger military forces.
STATES
 STATES
• The term state refers to a form of polity that is typically characterised
as a centralized organisation. There is no single, undisputed definition
of what constitutes a state. A widely-used definition is a state being a
polity that, within a given territory, maintains a monopoly on the use of
force, but many other widely used definitions exist.
• Some states are sovereign, while other states are subject to external
sovereignty or hegemony, where supreme authority lies in another
state.The term "state" also applies to federated states that are
members of a federation, in which sovereignty is shared between
member states and a federal body.
• State is a self-governing unit surrounded by many
communities within a territory, having the power and
authority to collect taxes, use men for work & war and
enforce laws. State has a formal system of written rules and
regulation. The economic system is highly developed and
having technology. State societies have its centralized
political structure. State has many social institutions in which
executive, legislature, Judiciary and a large bureaucracy is
bureaucracy is practicing.