Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia:Monuments, Metals and Mobility

Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia challenges current interpretations of the emergence, development, and decline of social complexity in the steppe region of China and the former Soviet Union. Through a thematic investigation of archaeological patterns ranging from monument construction and use and production and consumption of metals to the nature of mobility among societies, the essays in this volume provide the most up-to-date thinking on social and cultural change in prehistoric Eurasia. Collectively, they challenge broader theoretical trends in Anglo-American archaeology, which have traditionally favored comparative studies of sedentary agricultural societies over mobile pastoralist or agro-pastoralist communities. By highlighting the potential and limitations of comparative studies of social complexity, this volume sets the agenda for future studies of this region of the world. It emphasizes how the unique nature of early steppe societies can contribute to more comprehensive interpretations of social trajectories in world prehistory.

Bryan K. Hanks is assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh and research associate of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. He has been involved in collaborative archaeological research in the Russian Federation since 1998 and has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Katheryn M. Linduff is UCIS Professor of Art History and Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the co-editor (with Karen S. Rubinson) of Are All Warriors Male? Gender Roles on the Ancient Eurasian Steppes and (with Sun Yan) Gender and Chinese Archaeology.