PRIMITIVE STATES.

This article analyzes the political organization of small-scale states. The author notes that detailed analysis of political organization in social anthropology has been relatively neglected. Here the history and findings of studies of authority and political structure in stateless societies is discussed. The author notes that often in stateless societies there is a distribution of authority not only among various kinds of kin groups but also among other forms of association. An implied dichotomy between segmentary political systems and states is discussed and assessed.