| Title |
Some notes on the issue of the development of Balt society in the ninth to the 13th centuries in the context of the socio-political structures of the Baltic region |
| Translation of Title |
Kai kurios pastabos baltų visuomenės raidos IX-XIII a. klausimu Baltijos regiono socialinių-politinių struktūrų kontekste. |
| Authors |
Ščavinskas, Marius |
| DOI |
10.15181/ab.v19i0.276 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Archaeologia Baltica: Societies of the past: approaches to landscape, burial customs and grave goods.. Klaipėda : Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla. 2013, vol. 19, p. 82-101.. ISSN 1392-5520. eISSN 2351-6534 |
| Keywords [eng] |
chiefdom ; institution of chieftain ; tribes of the West Balts ; structures of societies ; social and political relations ; Viking era ; Baltic region |
| Abstract [eng] |
The article discusses questions pertaining to the development of the socio-political structures of the West Balts. On the basis of archaeological studies and scarce historical sources, the conclusion is drawn that the first shoots of statehood might have emerged during the Viking era. It seems that the fortification of hill-forts, the emergence of castles, the increasing differentiation of material wealth, the emergence of proto-towns, and the formation of the stratum of warriors should allow us to talk of the emergence of chiefdoms in the land of the West Balts. However, all these attributes rather demonstrate the development of social structures. The question is put whether the social elite that stood out during the Viking era was at the same time the political elite. Thus, the main question is, what kind of chiefdoms can we talk about, and from when and how did the political elite emerge, which predetermined the emergence of a state in the lands of the East Balts, but which nevertheless did not lead the society of the West Balts to statehood? |
| Published |
Klaipėda : Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2013 |
| CC license |
|
