The Political Landscape: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities [Paperback]

Adam T. Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520237501 | ISBN-13: 978-0520237506 | Publication Date: October 7, 2003 | Edition: 1

How do landscapes--defined in the broadest sense to incorporate the physical contours of the built environment, the aesthetics of form, and the imaginative reflections of spatial representations--contribute to the making of politics? Shifting through the archaeological, epigraphic, and artistic remains of early complex societies, this provocative and far-reaching book is the first systematic attempt to explain the links between spatial organization and politics from an anthropological point of view.
The Classic-period Maya, the kingdom of Urartu, and the cities of early southern Mesopotamia provide the focal points for this multidimensional account of human polities. Are the cities and villages in which we live and work, the lands that are woven into our senses of cultural and personal identity, and the national territories we occupy merely stages on which historical processes and political rituals are enacted? Or do the forms of buildings and streets, the evocative sensibilities of architecture and vista, the aesthetics of place conjured in art and media constitute political landscapes--broad sets of spatial practices critical to the formation, operation, and overthrow of polities, regimes, and institutions? Smith brings together contemporary theoretical developments from geography and social theory with anthropological perspectives and archaeological data to pursue these questions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"This highly original and challenging book defies every easy form of classification. Ostensibly about early polities, its penetrating and erudite asides extend with equal facility into contemporary politics and the symmetrical deficiencies of modernism and postmodernism. To my knowledge, imaginative reflections of spatial representations have never previously found their way into the theoretical base of what has been thought of as an essentially materialistic archaeological science. It is a pleasure and a discovery to see the permanent and rightful place Adam Smith has now fashioned for them."--Robert McC. Adams, Secretary Emeritus, The Smithsonian Institution

"If social theory in cultural anthropology was transformed in the last decades by a 'linguistic turn,' research by archaeologists into the development and practices of early states now seems to be undergoing a 'geographic turn.' Adam Smith's book, although drawing from modern currents in geography, anthropology, sociology, and political philosophy, brings original archaeological contributions to social theory by examining the making and re-making of landscapes in early complex polities (especially in Mesopotamian, Urartian, and Maya states). Smith observes these (and other) early states as 'political landscapes,' in which monuments come to constitute authority and shape memories. Smith's book represents a comprehensive turn from metahistorical reifications of the state to investigations of how the content of social roles was determined through the production of landscapes. The landscape of archaeology will be changed decisively by this book."--Norman Yoffee, Professor, Dept. of Near Eastern Studies and Dept. of Anthropology, University of Michigan.

"This book emerges as both a remarkable scholarly achievement and something of a manifesto for contemporary political thinking and engagement."--Susan E. Alcock, author of Archaeologies of the Greek Past: Landscape, Monuments, and Memories

About the Author

Adam T. Smith is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and in the College of the University of Chicago. He is the coeditor of Archaeology in the Borderlands: Investigations in Caucasia and Beyond (2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520237501
• ISBN-13: 978-0520237506
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, July 1, 2004

By 

Michael E. Smith "Archaeologist" (Arizona State University) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Political Landscape: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities (Paperback)

This book is the best comparative treatment of early state political dynamics yet published. Smith (no relation) is erudite and a sophisticated thinker. He has great insight into all sorts of issues relating to ancient and modern states and political systems. Many past archaeological works on early states are in for serious criticism here. The level or thinking and writing can be difficult in places, but the book is well worth the effort.

In brief, Smith devotes a chapter to each of four major political relationships: geopolitics, polities, regimes, and institutions. Each of these is considered through three perspectives on human dimensions of the landscape: experience, perception, and imagination. Each chapter includes a single extended case study plus general remarks on theory and other cases.

10 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Political Landscapes and Plain English, March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Political Landscape: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities (Paperback)

There are some extremely interesting ideas within this book, and Adam T. Smith also provides some useful discussion of past landscape (and archaeological) theory. However, my big complaint is about the language the author uses throughout. While I agree that sometimes it is necessary to express complex ideas in a complex way, as a general rule the simpler the language, the better the work. It is almost always harder to write well using simple words and sentence structures, but surely being instantly intelligible makes this effort worthwhile?
I'm sure academics will find this a useful volume, but only the most persistent students will benefit from it.