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)
Contributors:

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.

# Polity Year(s) Settlement Hierarchy from Settlement Hierarchy to Description   Edit
81
(Later Yan Kingdom)
Full Year Range of Later Yan Kingdom is assumed.
[385, 409]
4
6
levels.
The preceding Early Jin was coded with six levels. Although the Later Qin was a much smaller state the territory it did have had a capital city and likely contained many settlement levels.
82
(Five Dynasties Period)
Full Year Range of Five Dynasties Period is assumed.
[906, 970]
None
None
levels.
DH: need to be clear throughout here which polity exactly is being coded (or if the code is common to all)
"Studies of Chinese urban history have pointed to a revolutionary change inurban settlement after the Rebellion. The change was conditioned by the rise of long-distance trade between the north and the south and the increase in ruralmarkets across the country. Kaifeng is a well-known case. It was the first city in Chinese history to be chosen as the political centre because it was a hub of transport and trade." [Liu 2015, p. 57] "In a general survey of urban development in China prior to 960, Shi Nianhai counted 21 large cities that performed a key role in inter- and intra-regional trade after the mid-Tang period." [Liu 2015, p. 57]
83
(Austria - Habsburg Dynasty II)
Full Year Range of Austria - Habsburg Dynasty II is assumed.
[1649, 1918]
5
5
None
84
(Khwarezmid Empire)
Full Year Range of Khwarezmid Empire is assumed.
[1157, 1231]
5
5
None
85
(Hohokam Culture)
Full Year Range of Hohokam Culture is assumed.
[300, 1500]
2
2
None
86
(Austria - Habsburg Dynasty I)
Full Year Range of Austria - Habsburg Dynasty I is assumed.
[1454, 1648]
5
5
None
87
(Armenian Kingdom)
Full Year Range of Armenian Kingdom is assumed.
[-188, 6]
6
6
None
88
(Italian Kingdom Late Antiquity)
Full Year Range of Italian Kingdom Late Antiquity is assumed.
[476, 489]
None
None
None
89
(Golden Horde)
Full Year Range of Golden Horde is assumed.
[1240, 1440]
6
6
None
90
(Early East Africa Iron Age)
Full Year Range of Early East Africa Iron Age is assumed.
[200, 499]
1
1
levels. Autonomous homesteads. "The ubiquity of Urewe [ceramics], coupled with its relatively small size, suggests that these vessels were produced and used by family-groups, and on a regular, domestic level. However, it is evident that Urewe-related activities also transcend the purely utilitarian realm, with the remarkable emphasis placed on quality of production. On the domestic level, this investment in commonplace objects may be an example of ceramics being used as tools of social cohesion or as the 'channels through which society implants its values in the individual—every day at mealtimes' (David et al. 1988: 379). As such, the importance of family and the home is emphasised through investment in key domestic goods—ceramics. This picture of small-scale, familial units fits well with the wider evidence from archaeology, which suggests these early communities probably consisted of dispersed networks of homesteads, rather than centralised societies (Reid 1994/5; Van Grunderbeek et al. 1983)." [Ashley 2010, p. 146]
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