Associations and Interest Groups

This week we will be concentrating on social organization--associations, interest groups, and political entities. The evolution of social institutions has long captured the interest of anthropologists. When did man first begin to form family units? Did xenophobia, or the fear of strangers, make organization and recognition of allies important in the make-up of bands? What pushed people to intensify food production and to develop means of control over the surplus? Are there any real chiefdoms? Did Chiefdoms evolve into nation states and how? What happened to our first nation states such as Teotihuacan in Mexico? All these questions look toward man the social animal--social and complex to an extent not yet known in the rest of the animal kingdom--our very humanness.

As an introduction to our chapters, I will relate two fields of my study in anthropology, one dealing with voluntary association among older Xhosa women in South Africa and a brief description of how archaeologists look for political complexity in excavation, such as Teotihuacan. First, Manyano's.

Xhosa Voluntary Associations

The Xhosa are the second largest political/ethnic group living in South Africa. The Zulu are the largest. Until the dismantling of Apartheid, both groups were disenfranchised and had little access to the country's wealth. Nelson Mandela, South Africa's current president, is Xhosa. I was in South Africa before the changes occurred conducting preliminary field research on the status of Xhosa women. I interviewed rural Xhosa farmwomen near Grahamstown, an area predominantly controlled by white settlers of English heritage. The farms in the area had been family owned since the first half of the 19th century. Xhosa farm workers and settler children had grown up side by side. Xhosa workers would reside in communities of rondavals on the vast ranches and farms in the area. They were separated geographically and probably able to continue their traditional practices, language, and synthesize their culture because of this gap. Christianity had come to the Xhosa and they had elaborate Christian rituals along with their traditional customs. Historically, Xhosa practiced marriage exchange or bride price. Eight cattle and other goods were given to the bride's family, placing a high value on women. With the change to wage labor that practice had fallen away and women's status was in jeopardy, especially in their old age.

Xhosa women viewed their children as economic resources, insurance that a child would take care of them in their old age, but many children were moving away and men controlled the household money. A remedy for this impoverishment was to form Manyanos or voluntary associations that offered the women entertainment, social support, and acted as a economic resource in times of need. The association was part of the church. Women joined after their reproductive years were over, a time in traditional days that marked the transition from being polluting to being able to participate in traditional ceremonies, make beer, and in general move about with greater freedom--having reached a more neutral than sexual stage in life. The women were distinguished by their Sunday clothes. A white collar marked their status (See picture) just like a change in costume marked their transition from maiden to married status. Women at this later stage of life had greater status, social, and some economic support through their voluntary association.

Social Complexity at Teotihuacan

When we see how voluntary associations arise out of need for support during times of intense change, can we draw parallels to describe what happened in the prehistoric past? We can draw inferences regarding man's response to change, but from the archaeology of the distant past we have to look solely at the material culture to understand the growth of social complexity.

Teotihuacan is located in the Valley of Mexico in the Highlands near Mexico City. Its extensive ruins have drawn the attention of archaeologist because of the impressive temple mounds, extent of the city, and the relatively sudden disappearance of its inhabitants. The rise of Teotihuacan began as early as perhaps 100 years BC and extended to its fluorescence with a estimated population of 125,000 (making it the 6th largest city in the world at the time) around 650 AD until its decline after 700 AD. What does the material evidence tell us about the political complexity of the civilization that existed there?

First, the pyramids indicate a high degree of social complexity. The Pyramid of the Mood, the Pyramid of the Sun, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, and the Ciudadela with their monumental architecture indicate that a central hierarchy was able to command the labor to build such edifices. The ability to feed such a large number of workers indicated the ability to collect and redistribute food and other function of political hierarchies.

Second, the bones of multiple individuals were found buried around the Old Temple of Quetzalcoatl who appeared to have a different social status or ritual affiliation. The burials suggest sacrifice rather than burial tombs of high status people. Individuals found at the corners of the building were military men extrapolated from the inclusion of artifacts of weaponry who were positioned as if to guard the temple.

Third, in the city there was a clear economic difference in residences. The more elaborate had decoration, spacious rooms, and preferential location near the main corridor. Barrios or apartment compounds were found away from the central city that contained the remains of related people. The condition of the bones found in the denser sections was of poorer health. The living areas were much smaller and less decorated than the elite residences. In the compounds were found the remains of obsidian flakes indicating that the related people were perhaps specialists in tool manufacture, a specialization possible with redistribution.

These and other factors indicate the complexity of the political system in ancient Teotihuacan. If archaeologist were to excavate Fort Myers in another 1000 years, what argument would they see in the material remains to represent the political complexity of our society? This is your electronic discussion board question for the week.