First States II: Indus, China, Peru, and Mexico

In light of the previous discussion of the political economy of early state formation, I review evidence from four pristine early states: Harappa in Indus Valley, Erlitou in northern China, Moche in coastal Peru, and Monte Alban in central Mexico. These examples share many similarities but are also different in several aspects with the experiences in Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the end of the chapter, we summarize the evidence from all six early centers of pristine states.