1963
DOI: 10.1017/s0010417500001729
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Poor Man, Rich Man, Big-man, Chief: Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia

Abstract: With an eye to their own life goals, the native peoples of Pacific Islands unwittingly present to anthropologists a generous scientific gift: an extended series of experiments in cultural adaptation and evolutionary development. They have compressed their institutions within the confines of infertile coral atolls, expanded them on volcanic islands, created with the means history gave them cultures adapted to the deserts of Australia, the mountains and warm coasts of New Guinea, the rain forests of the Solomon … Show more

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Cited by 873 publications
(344 citation statements)
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“…Given similar ecologies and means of subsistence, Hallpike concludes that historical relationships are key to understanding cultural diversity. Sahlins 42 and Vansina 16 have made similar arguments for Melanesia-Polynesia and Central Africa, respectively. There is the possibility, however, that these historical cases were studied precisely because of the clear signal they evince.…”
Section: Historical Roots In Anthropologymentioning
confidence: 80%
“…Given similar ecologies and means of subsistence, Hallpike concludes that historical relationships are key to understanding cultural diversity. Sahlins 42 and Vansina 16 have made similar arguments for Melanesia-Polynesia and Central Africa, respectively. There is the possibility, however, that these historical cases were studied precisely because of the clear signal they evince.…”
Section: Historical Roots In Anthropologymentioning
confidence: 80%
“…Political freedom decreases steadily as scale increases. Slightly larger-scale societies, or what were once called "big man" societies (Sahlins 1963) have recognized leaders who usually hold relatively little actually power. Chiefdoms, which may include tens of thousands of people, are characterized by the presence of leaders who sometimes have fairly limited authority, but may in some cases hold fairly extreme political power-even sometimes including the power of life and death over subjects (Earle 1991).…”
Section: A Political Freedommentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Although the authors do not pursue the point, this is highly significant, because it demonstrates the "big man" social institution is almost certainly less than 500 y old. The big man is an archetype of cultural anthropology (11), is characteristic of traditional highland societies in the main intermontane valleys of New Guinea (12), and is thought to have become more defined following the adoption of intensive sweet potato cultivation and pig husbandry (13). Previous cultivation in the highlands was almost certainly based on taro (Colocasia esculenta) (14).…”
Section: Addressing the Tripartite Hypothesismentioning
confidence: 99%