Section: Social Complexity

Subsection: Hierarchical Complexity

Settlement Hierarchy

settlement hierarchy records (in levels) the hierarchy of not just settlement sizes, but also their complexity as reflected in different roles they play within the (quasi)polity. as settlements become more populous they acquire more complex functions: transportational (e.g. port); economic (e.g. market); administrative (e.g. storehouse, local government building); cultural (e.g. theatre); religious (e.g. temple), utilitarian (e.g. hospital), monumental (e.g. statues, plazas). example: (1) large city (monumental structures, theatre, market, hospital, central government buildings) (2) city (market, theatre, regional government buildings) (3) large town (market, administrative buildings) (4) town (administrative buildings, storehouse)) (5) village (shrine) (6) hamlet (residential only). in the narrative paragraph explain the different levels and list their functions. provide a (crude) estimate of population sizes. for example, large town (market, temple, administrative buildings): 2,000-5,000 inhabitants. (See here)

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Variable	Definition
Polity	The Seshat Polity ID
Year(s)	The years for which we have the data. [negative = BCE]
Tag	[Evidenced, Disputed, Suspected, Inferred, Unknown]
Verified	A Seshat Expert has approved this piece of data.

Variable	Definition
settlement_hierarchy_from	The lower range of settlement hierarchy for a polity.
settlement_hierarchy_to	The upper range of settlement hierarchy for a polity.

Actual Data:

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#	Polity	Year(s)	Settlement Hierarchy from	Settlement Hierarchy to	Description	Edit
31	(Kingdom of Kaffa)	1390 CE 1797 CE	None	None	None
32	(Tairona)	1400 CE 1524 CE	3	4	None
33	(Spanish Empire II)	1716 CE 1814 CE	5	5	None
34	(British Empire I)	1780 CE 1849 CE	6	7	None
35	(Kingdom of Kaffa)	1798 CE 1897 CE	3	3	None
36	(Early Nyoro)	Full Year Range of Early Nyoro is assumed. [900, 1449]	2	2	levels. "Polities during this period seem to have been no more than small chiefdoms, presumably comprising a chiefly settlement and neighbouring villages." [Taylor_Robertshaw 2000, p. 17]
37	(Duchy of Aquitaine I)	Full Year Range of Duchy of Aquitaine I is assumed. [602, 768]	4	4	levels.
38	(Bito Dynasty)	Full Year Range of Bito Dynasty is assumed. [1700, 1894]	4	4	levels. 1. Capital2. Seat of bakungu (great chiefs)3. Seat of bakongole (lesser chiefs)4. Lesser towns and/or villages "In the Nyoro state of the nineteenth century, as reconstructed by John Beattie (1971), all political authority was regarded as belonging to, and allocable by, the king (mukama) alone. Political authority was delegated by the mukama, usually in the form of grants of estates. There was a limited number of great chiefs (bakungu), who ruled over large areas subdivided amongst lesser chiefs (bakongole)." [Robertshaw 2010, p. 261] It seems reasonable to infer that this was the case in preceding centuries as well, given organisational continuity between the Babito dynasty and its predecessors: Uzoigwe [Uzoigwe 1972, p. 247] specifically notes that the Babito "do not seem to have introduced any fundamental economic changes" or "any revolutionary social reorganization".
39	(Chu Kingdom - Warring States Period)	Full Year Range of Chu Kingdom - Warring States Period is assumed. [-488, -223]	4	5	Inferred from contemporary polities. pre-reforms (fifth c bce): 1. Capital city 2. town 3. feudal estates (?) 4. village post-reforms (fifth c bce): 1. Capital city 2. Commandery capital 3. County 4. town 5. village
40	(Chu Kingdom - Spring and Autumn Period)	Full Year Range of Chu Kingdom - Spring and Autumn Period is assumed. [-740, -489]	4	4	1. Capital 2. Town 3. Feudal estate 4. Village

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