Book contents
- The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present
- The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Geography and Society
- Part I Long Historical Formations
- 2 Prehistory and Protohistory
- 3 The Growth of Complex Societies
- 4 States and Small-Scale Polities, AD 1400–1600
- Part II Yoruba Polities and Entry into the Atlantic World
- Part III The Nineteenth Century: Wars and Transformations
- Part IV Economic, Social, and Cultural Practices over Time
- Part V Colonial Yoruba
- Part VI Postcolonial Yoruba
- Notes
- References
- Index
3 - The Growth of Complex Societies
from Part I - Long Historical Formations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2019
- The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present
- The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Geography and Society
- Part I Long Historical Formations
- 2 Prehistory and Protohistory
- 3 The Growth of Complex Societies
- 4 States and Small-Scale Polities, AD 1400–1600
- Part II Yoruba Polities and Entry into the Atlantic World
- Part III The Nineteenth Century: Wars and Transformations
- Part IV Economic, Social, and Cultural Practices over Time
- Part V Colonial Yoruba
- Part VI Postcolonial Yoruba
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
Scholars of Yoruba studies do not often ask: “Why did states or kingdoms develop in some parts of Yorubaland, but not in others?” The question is whether complex societies are possible without a central leader.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present , pp. 58 - 86Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019