After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

12.1 Discuss how anthropologists understand politics, warfare, and law.

12.2 Discuss the characteristics of politics in foraging societies.

12.3 Describe the features of violence and warfare in foraging societies.

12.4 Discuss the characteristics of politics in tribal societies.

12.5 Discuss how anthropologists explain tribal warfare.

12.6 Describe political authority in chiefdoms.

12.7 Discuss how anthropologists explain the evolution and origins of chiefdoms.

12.8 Discuss the features of politics in agricultural civilizations.

12.9 Discuss the characteristics of politics in industrial and postindustrial societies.

12.10 Discuss how warfare changes in industrial and postindustrial states.