Shamanism and the Origins of States

Sarah Milledge Nelson's bold thesis is that the development of states in East Asia - China, Japan, Korea - was an outgrowth of the leadership in smaller communities guided by shamans. Using a mixture of historical documents, mythology, archaeological data, and ethnographic studies of contemporary shamans, she builds a case for shamans being the driving force behind the blossoming of complex societies. More interesting, shamans in East Asia are generally women, who used their access to the spirit world to take leadership roles. This work challenges traditional interpretations growth of Asian states, which is overlaid with later Confucian notions of gender roles. Written at a level accessible for undergraduates, this concise work will be fascinating reading for those interested in East Asian archaeology, politics, and society; in gender roles, and in shamanism.

ISBN 1598741330   Pages 304 ISBN13 9781598741339 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Left Coast Press Inc   Weight (grammes) 408 Imprint Left Coast Press Inc   Published in Walnut Creek Format Paperback   Height (mm) 229 Publication date 15 Jul 2008   Width (mm) 152 Library of Congress 2008019852   Spine width (mm) 18 DEWEY 950   Academic level Undergraduate DEWEY edition DC22

		List of Figures
Ch. 1		Orientation To Shamanism and the Origin of States: Spirit, Power, and Gender in East Asia		1
Case Study A		Niuheliang, China		14
Ch. 2		Landscapes, Legends, and Skyscapes		19
Case Study B		The Puyang Burial, China		47
Ch. 3		What Is a Shaman?		51
Case Study C		Yoshinogari, Japan		76
Ch. 4		Power, Leadership, and Gender		81
Case Study D		Anyang, China, Tomb No. 5 - Lady Hao		100
Ch. 5		Shamans in the East Asian Neolithic		105
Case Study E		Kamegoaka, Japan		140
Ch. 6		Shamanism in Early Chinese States		143
Case Study F		Sanxingdui, China		168
Ch. 7		Shamanism in Korea		171
Case Study G		Hwangnam Daecheong, Korea - Burial of a Ruling Queen?		192
Ch. 8		Shamanism in the Japanese Islands		199
Case Study H		Haniwa, Japan		213
Ch. 9		Retying the Knots: Leadership, Ideology, Cultural Patterns, Gender, and Shamans in East Asia		217
		References		233
		Index		265
		About the Author		283

'n this book Sarah Milledge Nelson suggests that shamanism was a significant building block for state formation in East Asia, and that women, who often had the shamanistic access to the spirit world, played an important role in this process. She shows how this would have been the case, by systematically going through archaeological, historical and ethnographic records of various regions of East Asia and surrounding areas, from Palaeolithic through early historic times, unravelling and rewinding various strands of mythological, ideological, documentary, and simply anthropological. Very convincingly, [Nelson] demonstrates the fun and value of an alternative approach to East Asian archaeology.' umiko Ikawa-Smith, McGill University

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