Editor's Preface Introduction Chapter 1. Successive Reequilibrations as the Mechanism of Cultural Evolution Chapter 2. Structure, Function, and Equilibrium in the Evolutionism of Herbert Spencer Chapter 3. The Transition from Quantity to Quality: A Neglected Causal Mechanism in Accounting for Social Evolution Chapter 4. A Reappraisal of the Roles of Technology and Organization in the Origin of Civilization Chapter 5. Ascertaining, Testing, and Interpreting Sequences of Cultural Development Chapter 6. Stellar Evolution and Social Evolution: A Study in Parallel Processes Chapter 7. The Nature of the Chiefdom as Revealed by Evidence from the Cauca Valley of Colombia Chapter 8.

What Happened at the Flashpoint? Conjectures on Chiefdom Formation at the Very Moment of Conception Chapter 9. Process vs. Stages: A False Dichotomy in Tracing the Rise of the State Chapter 10. Was the Chiefdom a Congelation of Ideas? Chapter 11. A Theory of the Origin of the State Chapter 12. The Circumscription Theory: Challenge and Response Chapter 13. Political Expansion as an Expression of the Principle of Competitive Exclusion Conclusion Bibliography Index.