Ideology, Materialization, and Power Strategies

Abstract

Ideology, as a part of culture, is an integral component of human interactions and power strategies that configure sociopolitical systems. We argue that ideology must be materialized, or given concrete form, in order to be a part of the human culture that is shared by a society. This process of materialization makes it possible to control, manipulate, and extend ideology beyond the local group. Ideology is an important source of power; to be controlled it must be rooted in a material medium. To illustrate these concepts three cases are examined: Neolithic and Bronze Age chiefdoms of Denmark, the Moche states of northern Perú, and the Inka empire of the Andes. Castillo, DeMarais and Earle, Ideology, Materialization and Power Strategies There are two aspects to these material means of ideology: a symbolic and a material. Symbolic objects and religious monuments of a l l s o r t s c o n v e y a n d t r a n s m i t s y m b o l i c information and meanings, standing for and representing them. The symbolic meanings these objects and monuments stand for and represent, and especially how these were perceived by individual actors, are inaccessible to the archaeologist. But as material objects they are part of the fabric of the social, political, and economic aspects of society, revealing patterns of access and manipulation of the power of some social segments over others. Archaeologically we can study differential access to the material expressions of the ideological system, and how this access affected the dynamics of social power. From this standpoint, the study of ideology i n a r c h a e o l o g y c a n c o n t r i b u t e t o o u r understanding of power relations. Although we are interested in the symbolic aspect of ideology, the avenue we pursue here is that of ideology as social power, particularly in complex, stratified societies. We are purposely o m i t t i n g a l e n g t h y d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e relationships between ideologies of domination and resistance (McGuire 1992), and we are also setting aside the applicability of our ideas to the study of simple societies. We study, therefore, the relationships between ideological means and relations of domination: What gives primacy to one ideology over another; how can an ideology suporting domination be sustained in the presence of an ideology of resistance? The answer, we argue, is grounded in the processes by which these ideologies become physical, that is in the Materialization of Ideology.

Primary State Formation in the Virú Valley, North Coast of Peru

“…Although the nature of Huacas de Moche's political influence is still debated, evidence indicates that it developed into a multivalley expansionist state around A.D. 300 (10,13,15,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). In recent years, Andeanists have offered a number of explanations for the spread of Moche art and architecture, which range from two or more independent polities that ruled over contiguous territories (30,31) to a constellation of political entities spread along the littoral, marked by periodic alliance of contending government systems that shared a common cultural tradition (13,23,(32)(33)(34)(35).…”

Celebración, identidad y memoria. Construcción de la esfera comunitaria en el Valle de Traslasierra (Córdoba, Argentina)

“…La compleja polisemia del ritual hace que las prácticas comensales unan y dividan al mismo tiempo, que produzcan relaciones transversales y definan fronteras, generándose sentimientos de inclusión o exclusión. En efecto, cohesión y distancia social forman parte indisoluble de este tipo de prácticas (DeMarrais, Castillo y Earle, 1996;Dietler, 2001;Ikehara y Shibata, 2005;Janusek, 2005;Aranda Jiménez, 2008;Sardá Seuma, 2010;Mesía Montenegro, 2014;entre otros).…”

The Economics of Social Stratification in Premodern Societies

“…For example, if groups are segregated and investments in human capital generate positive externalities within groups, then individual choices may lead to self-perpetuating economic di¤erences between groups (Lundberg and Startz 1998). In addition, upper-class propaganda could deceive the lower classes into believing that economic inequalities are in their best interest (Cronk 1994;DeMarrais et al 1996). If people tend to be in ‡uenced by members of their own social classes, lower-class people could just learn to play their disadvantaged role in society without questioning (Henrich and Boyd 2008).…”