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  3. The Power of Ritual in Prehistory
  • Cited by 55
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      August 2018
      September 2018
      ISBN:
      9781108572071
      9781108426398
      9781108445108
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108572071
      Dimensions:
      (253 x 177 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      1.03kg, 410 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (254 x 178 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.712kg, 412 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Prehistory, Archaeology of The Americas, Area Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Archaeology
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    • Selected: Digital
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    Subjects:
    Prehistory, Archaeology of The Americas, Area Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Archaeology
    Information

    Book description

    The Power of Ritual in Prehistory is the first book in nearly a century to deal with traditional secret societies from a comparative perspective and the first from an archaeological viewpoint. Providing a clear definition, as well as the material signatures, of ethnographic secret societies, Brian Hayden demonstrates how they worked, what motivated their organizers, and what tactics they used to obtain what they wanted. He shows that far from working for the welfare of their communities, traditional secret societies emerged as predatory organizations operated for the benefit of their own members. Moreover, and contrary to the prevailing ideas that prehistoric rituals were used to integrate communities, Hayden demonstrates how traditional secret societies created divisiveness and inequalities. They were one of the key tools for increasing political control leading to chiefdoms, states, and world religions. Hayden's conclusions will be eye-opening, not only for archaeologists, but also for anthropologists, political scientists, and scholars of religion.

    Reviews

    ‘This is a strong book and a fascinating account of practices … It gives us clear examples of secret societies in a variety of cultures and helps us get an appreciation for how they might have functioned in the past as well as how this undermines perceived notions of the role of religion in ancient societies.’

    Joanne M.A. Murphy Source: American Journal of Archaeology

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    Contents

    Contents
    • Chapter Two - The Complex Hunter/Gatherers of the American Northwest
      pp 31-75
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