World History I

Chapter 1: The African Origins of Humanity
Prehistory-10000 BCE

8: Mon, Sep 29, 2025

Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

Power, as we have seen, takes many forms. In most social groups, both human and animal, different roles and levels of power create hierarchies to maintain stability and safeguard the community, or at least some in the community.

• What types of power are possible in Paleolithic (forager) societies?
• What types of power (based on our vocabulary of power) are missing in these cultures?
• What are possible "power roles" that exhibit these kinds of power?
• What evidence exists for the formation of power hierarchies?
• How does power and the roles that wield power change as hominids develop permanent villages?

What two questions do you have about the exercise of power in the Paleolithic era?

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