From Chiefdom to State in Early Ireland (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781107015630)

This book tracks the development of social complexity in Ireland from the late prehistoric period on into the Middle Ages. Using a range of methods and techniques, particularly data from settlement patterns, Blair Gibson demonstrates how Ireland evolved from constellations of chiefdoms into a political entity bearing the characteristics of a rudimentary state. This book argues that early medieval Ireland's highly complex political systems should be viewed as amalgams of chiefdoms with democratic procedures for choosing leaders rather than kingdoms. Gibson explores how these chiefdom confederacies eventually transformed into recognizable states over a period of 1,400 years.

Author: D. Blair Gibson
ISBN-10: 1107015634
ISBN-13: 9781107015630
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/27/2012
Pages: 341
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.05lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 1.00d