By combining an original thesis and a representative body of
ethnographic data, this ambitious work seeks to describe and explain the
growth in complexity of human societies. Its emphasis is on the causes,
mechanisms, and patterns of cultural evolution, which the authors
explain in terms of a coherent theory of political economy--defined as
the mobilization and exchange of goods and services between families.
The authors show that the interconnected processes of technological
change and population growth are the motor of social change, resulting
in three related processes--intensification, integration, and
stratification--that transform human societies over time. The validity
of their theory rests on evidence drawn from 19 case studies that range
widely over time and space. For this new edition, the authors have
thoroughly rewritten the theoretical argument for greater clarity,
updated the case materials to incorporate new research, and added a new
chapter that applies their theoretical perspective to the problems of
change since the industrial revolution and the globalization of trade
and political influence. Reviews of the First Edition "In a book full
of perceptive observations and persuasive arguments . . . Johnson and
Earle show in masterly detail how societies articulate to their
environments and . . . how they evolve." --Ethnohistory "A major
contribution. . . . The book is a marvelous synthesis of ethnographic
and historical data." --American Journal of Sociology "A large amount
of research and thought has produced sensible and illuminating specific
analyses of the mechanisms of evolutionary change. Another plus is that
the writing is clear and the argument is neatly conceived." --American
Anthropologist
