Introduction 1
1.Theories of legal evolution 6
Part one: classical theories of legal evolution 6
Part two: contemporary theories of legal development 32
Conclusion 48
2.A typology of legal institutions 50
Constructing a typology 50
Self- or kin-based redress 56
Advisor systems 66
Mediator systems 70
Elders’ and restricted councils 75
Chieftainships 86
Paramount chieftainships 91
State-level legal systems 95
Conclusion: a comparison with other typologies 98
3.Modes of production and the distribution of legal institutions 104
The concept of mode of production 106
Conflict, law, and the mode of production 109
Data analysis and findings 121
Nonstatistical summary 135
4.Modes of production and the functions of legal institutions 137
Food collectors: hunters, gatherers, and fishers 138
Pastoral societies 153
The cultivators: extensive agriculture 163
The cultivators: intensive agriculture 183
Summary 202
5.Conclusion: Materialism and legal systems 204
Appendixes 215
1.Sixty-society subsample by geographical region and subsistence type 215
2.Bibliographic sources for sixty-society subsample 217
3.Nonparametric measures of association 221
4.Social stratification by forces of production 222
5.Social stratification by social relations of production 228
6.Regression equations 233
7.Legal institution codes for sixty-society subsample 236
8.Legal institutions by social stratification 238
Bibliography 243
Index 259