Expansions and Contractions: World-Historical Change And The Western Sudan World-System (1200/1000 B.C. 1200/1250 A.D.)

Archaeological evidence from West Africa suggests a process of relatively autochthonous state formation involving unusual forms of urbanization, horse warrior aristocracies, craft status groups and commodified trade networks organized by merchant-scholars. The emergenceof a West African state system...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ray A. Kea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh 2015-08-01
Series:Journal of World-Systems Research
Online Access:http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/286
Description
Summary:Archaeological evidence from West Africa suggests a process of relatively autochthonous state formation involving unusual forms of urbanization, horse warrior aristocracies, craft status groups and commodified trade networks organized by merchant-scholars. The emergenceof a West African state system played a generative role in the world-historical development of universal rationality in Western Afroeurasia, as well as in the intensification of empire formation and monetary integration in the formative era before the rise of European hegemony.
ISSN:1076-156X