Carneiro's Circumscription Theory

Carneiro's Circumscription Theory is an influential theory of the role of warfare in state formation in political anthropology, created by anthropologist Robert Carneiro (1927- ).

The theory begins with some assumptions. Warfare usually disperses people rather than uniting them. Environmental circumscription occurs when an area of productive agricultural land is surrounded by a less productive area such as the mountains, desert, or sea. More extensive cultivation would bring severely diminishing returns.

If there is no environmental circumscription, then losers in a war can migrate out from the region and settle somewhere else. If there is environmental circumscription, then losers in warfare are forced to submit to their conquerors, because migration is not an option and the populations of the conquered and conqueror are united. The new state organization strives to alleviate the population pressure by increasing the productive capacity of agricultural land through, for instance, more intensive cultivation using irrigation.

Primary state development occurred in the six original states of the Nile Valley, Peru, Mesoamerican, Yellow River Valley China, Indus River Valley, and Mesopotamia. Secondary state development occurred in states that developed from contact with already existing states. Primary state development occurred in areas with environmental circumscription.

Example #1: The mountainous river valley’s of Peru were severely environmentally circumscribed. More intensive terrace cultivation under one large state was the result.

Example #2: Amazonian Indians could always retreat into deeper forest, whereas American Indians could not.

External links

* [http://a-s.clayton.edu/kemp/SYLLABUS/1111/1111online/carniero1.htm Carneiro's Circumscription Theory on the Origin of the State] , by Kathryn W. Kemp

References

* Carneiro, R. L. 1970. A Theory of the Origin of the State. Science 169: 733–738.
* Carneiro, R. L. The Muse of History and the Science of Culture. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2000.
* Lewellen, Ted C. 1992. "Political anthropology: An Introduction", Second Edition. Westport Connecticut, London: Bergin and Garvey, pp. 54-55.