Complex society
Encyclopedia
In anthropology
and archaeology
, a complex society is a social formation that is otherwise described as a formative or developed state
. The main criteria of complexity are:
in the form of a ruling elite supported by bureaucrat
s, with associated paraphernalia such as administrative buildings and elite residences in urban or proto-urban population centres.
Complex societies under this definition are also agricultural
to provide the surplus required to support a social (non-food producing) elite
. Explaining the origins of these types of social formations, which appear in many areas of the world, is one of the tasks of archaeology
(see, e.g., History & Mathematics: Historical Dynamics and Development of Complex Societies).
may be more or less complex than any other given society in one or more aspects (for example, western society
can be characterised as extremely simple from the perspective of kinship
structures when compared to, for instance, Indigenous Australian societies). In this sense, Indigenous Australian societies are highly complex societies. The term "social complexity" is thus not without problems, and qualifiers are typically applied by anthropologists and archaeologists when using this term to define more precisely the phenomenon that is being described as complex.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, a complex society is a social formation that is otherwise described as a formative or developed state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
. The main criteria of complexity are:
- the extent of a division of labourDivision of labourDivision of labour is the specialisation of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and likeroles. Historically an increasingly complex division of labour is closely associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialisation...
in which members of society are more or less permanently specialized in particular activities and depend on others for goods and services, within a system regulated by customCustomCustom may refer to:* Convention , a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom* Customization , anything made or modified to personal taste...
and laws. - the population sizePopulation sizeIn population genetics and population ecology, population size is the number of individual organisms in a population.The effective population size is defined as "the number of breeding individuals in an idealized population that would show the same amount of dispersion of allele frequencies under...
of a human community; the larger the population, the more complex and variegated the co-existence of people tends to become.
Concept
Social complexity in this sense thus refers typically to political complexity, specifically the presence of a hierarchyHierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
in the form of a ruling elite supported by bureaucrat
Bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...
s, with associated paraphernalia such as administrative buildings and elite residences in urban or proto-urban population centres.
Complex societies under this definition are also agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
to provide the surplus required to support a social (non-food producing) elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
. Explaining the origins of these types of social formations, which appear in many areas of the world, is one of the tasks of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
(see, e.g., History & Mathematics: Historical Dynamics and Development of Complex Societies).
Controversy
There are, however, problems with the term "complexity" when used in this manner. It has been argued that using political organisation (or technological sophistication, or subsistence strategy) as the measure of complexity reinforces concepts of western superiority over other forms of social complexity. For example, any given societySociety
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
may be more or less complex than any other given society in one or more aspects (for example, western society
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
can be characterised as extremely simple from the perspective of kinship
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
structures when compared to, for instance, Indigenous Australian societies). In this sense, Indigenous Australian societies are highly complex societies. The term "social complexity" is thus not without problems, and qualifiers are typically applied by anthropologists and archaeologists when using this term to define more precisely the phenomenon that is being described as complex.
See also
- History of the worldHistory of the worldThe history of the world or human history is the history of humanity from the earliest times to the present, in all places on Earth, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. It excludes non-human natural history and geological history, except insofar as the natural world substantially affects human lives...
- Stateless societyStateless societyA stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state. In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power and are generally not permanently held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through...
- Division of labourDivision of labourDivision of labour is the specialisation of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and likeroles. Historically an increasingly complex division of labour is closely associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialisation...
- Social complexitySocial complexityIn the discipline of sociology, social complexity is a theoretical construct useful in the analysis of society.- Overview :Contemporary definitions of complexity in the sciences are found in relation to systems theory, where a phenomenon under study has many parts and many possible arrangements of...