An Essay on Political Economies in Prehistory

A political economy approach to prehistory offers a robust means to understand different pathways to complexity. Why do states with extreme inequality develop quickly in some circumstance, while in others egalitarian societies continue for thousands of years? The search for primary drivers like population density, warfare, trade, irrigation, or information have proven largely inadequate. This essay argues that economic relations and their potential for control of surplus mobilization explain alternative evolutionary trajectories in human societies.