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Rethinking the Ramey State: Was Cahokia the Center of a Theater State?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
Abstract
Archaeologists often portray Cahokia as the center of a chiefdom. A minority view is that Cahokia was the center of a state. These competing views are considered here, and an alternative model is presented, that Cahokia might be considered the center of a theater state. This model agrees with other models that Cahokia was an economic and political center, but also emphasizes Cahokia's role as a center of ritual. In the theater state model, the power of a state lies more in its ceremonies than in its armies. People came to Cahokia, helping to build it and feed it, not because they were coerced but because they wanted to be part of the drama. This view of Cahokia is not presented in order to replace all other models but, rather, to stimulate archaeologists to rethink what Cahokia might have been like. Geertz's theater state model suggests an alternative, non-Western view of the state that might be useful in reconsidering other archaeological complex societies as well.
Résumé
Frecuentemente los arqueólogos pintan Cahokia como si fuera un centro de grandes caciques. Una pequeña minoridad dice que era el pueblo central y el asiento del estado. Se consideran ambos puntos de vista, y también se presenta otro modelo, donde se consideraría Cahokia como el centro de un estado teatro. Este modelo como los otros modelos describen Cahokia como un centro económico y político, pero de más importancia, Cahokia era un centro ritual. En el modelo teatro estado, el poder del estado se concentra más en las ceremonias que en los ejércitos. Vino la gente a Cahokia ayundando a construirla y alimentarla, no porque vinieron a fuerza sino porque querían ser parte del drama. No se presenta está interpretación de Cahokia para reemplazar todos los otros modelos, sino para estimular la interpretación arqueológica de lo que podría haber sido Cahokia. El modelo teatro-estado de Geertz sugiere una visión alternativa y no occidental del estado, una visión que podría ser útil al reevaluar otras complejas sociedades arqueológicas también.
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- Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2009
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