Ultimate causes of state formation: the significance of biogeography, diffusion, and neolithic revolutions

Abstract

Ultimative Ursachen fur die Staatsbildung: Die Signifikanz von Bi ogeographie, Diffusion und Neolithische Revolutionen?. The timing of early state formation varies across the world. Inspired by Jared Diamond's seminal work, we employ large-n statistics to demonstrate how this variation has been structured by prehistoric biogeographical conditions, which have influenced the timing of the transition from hunter/gatherer production to agriculture and, in turn, the timing of state formation. Biogeography structures both the extent to which societies have invented agriculture and state technology de novo, and the extent to which these inventions have diffused from adjacent societies. Im portantly, we demonstrate how these prehistoric processes have continued to