HILLS,VALLEYS,AND STATES 5 literacy,and social integration.In practice,it has meant something else.The objective has been less to make them productive than to ensure that their economic activity was legible,taxable,assessable,and confiscatable or,fail- ing that,to replace it with forms of production that were.Everywhere they could,states have obliged mobile,swidden cultivators to settle in permanent villages.They have tried to replace open common-property land tenure with closed common property:collective farms or,more especially,the individual freehold property of liberal economies.They have seized timber and mineral resources for the national patrimony.They have encouraged,whenever pos- sible,cash,monocropping,plantation-style agriculture in place of the more biodiverse forms of cultivation that prevailed earlier.The term enclosure seems entirely appropriate for this process,mimicking as it does the English enclosures that,in the century after 1761,swallowed half of England's com- mon arable land in favor of large-scale,private,commercial production The novel and revolutionary aspect of this great enclosure movement is apparent if we open our historical lens to its widest aperture.The very earliest states in China and Egypt-and later,Chandra-Gupta India,classical Greece,and republican Rome-were,in demographic terms,insignificant. They occupied a minuscule portion of the world's landscape,and their sub- jects were no more than a rounding error in the world's population figures. In mainland Southeast Asia,where the first states appear only around the middle of the first millennium of the common era,their mark on the land- scape and its peoples is relatively trivial when compared with their over- sized place in the history books.Small,moated,and walled centers together with their tributary villages,these little nodes of hierarchy and power were both unstable and geographically confined.To an eye not yet hypnotized by archeological remains and state-centric histories,the landscape would have seemed virtually all periphery and no centers.Nearly all the population and territory were outside their ambit. Diminutive though these state centers were,they possessed a singular strategic and military advantage in their capacity to concentrate manpower and foodstuffs in one place.Irrigated rice agriculture on permanent fields was the key.As a new political form,the padi state was an ingathering of previously stateless peoples.Some subjects were no doubt attracted to the possibilities for trade,wealth,and status available at the court centers,while others,almost certainly the majority,were captives and slaves seized in war- fare or purchased from slave-raiders.The vast "barbarian"periphery of these small states was a vital resource in at least two respects.First,it was the
Hills, Valleys, and States literacy, and social integration. In practice, it has meant something else. The objective has been less to make them productive than to ensure that their economic activity was legible, taxable, assessable, and confiscatable or, failing that, to replace it with forms of production that were. Everywhere they could, states have obliged mobile, swidden cultivators to settle in permanent villages. They have tried to replace open common-property land tenure with closed common property: collective farms or, more especially, the individual freehold property of liberal economies. They have seized timber and mineral resources for the national patrimony. They have encouraged, whenever possible, cash, monocropping, plantation-style agriculture in place of the more biodiverse forms of cultivation that prevailed earlier. The term enclosure seems entirely appropriate for this process, mimicking as it does the English enclosures that, in the century after 1761, swallowed half of England’s common arable land in favor of large-scale, private, commercial production. The novel and revolutionary aspect of this great enclosure movement is apparent if we open our historical lens to its widest aperture. The very earliest states in China and Egypt—and later, Chandra-Gupta India, classical Greece, and republican Rome—were, in demographic terms, insignificant. They occupied a minuscule portion of the world’s landscape, and their subjects were no more than a rounding error in the world’s population figures. In mainland Southeast Asia, where the first states appear only around the middle of the first millennium of the common era, their mark on the landscape and its peoples is relatively trivial when compared with their oversized place in the history books. Small, moated, and walled centers together with their tributary villages, these little nodes of hierarchy and power were both unstable and geographically confined. To an eye not yet hypnotized by archeological remains and state-centric histories, the landscape would have seemed virtually all periphery and no centers. Nearly all the population and territory were outside their ambit. Diminutive though these state centers were, they possessed a singular strategic and military advantage in their capacity to concentrate manpower and foodstuffs in one place. Irrigated rice agriculture on permanent fields was the key.9 As a new political form, the padi state was an ingathering of previously stateless peoples. Some subjects were no doubt attracted to the possibilities for trade, wealth, and status available at the court centers, while others, almost certainly the majority, were captives and slaves seized in warfare or purchased from slave-raiders. The vast “barbarian” periphery of these small states was a vital resource in at least two respects. First, it was the
6 HILLS,VALLEYS,AND STATES source of hundreds of important trade goods and forest products necessary to the prosperity of the padi state.And second,it was the source of the most important trade good in circulation:the human captives who formed the working capital of any successful state.What we know of the classical states such as Egypt,Greece,and Rome,as well as the early Khmer,Thai,and Bur- mese states,suggests that most of their subjects were formally unfree:slaves, captives,and their descendants. The enormous ungoverned periphery surrounding these minute states also represented a challenge and a threat.It was home to fugitive,mobile populations whose modes of subsistence-foraging,hunting,shifting cul- tivation.fishing.and pastoralism-were fundamentally intractable to state appropriation.The very diversity,fluidity,and mobility of their livelihoods meant that for an agrarian state adapted to sedentary agriculture,this ungov- erned landscape and its people were fiscally sterile.Unless they wished to trade,their production was inaccessible for yet another reason.Whereas the early states were nearly everywhere the creature of arable plains and plateaus, much of the more numerous ungoverned population lived,from a state per- spective,in geographically difficult terrain:mountains,marshland,swamps, arid steppes,and deserts.Even if,as was rarely the case,their products were in principle appropriable,they were effectively out of range owing to disper- sal and the difficulties of transportation.The two zones were ecologically complementary and therefore natural trading partners,but such trade could rarely be coerced;it took the form of voluntary exchange For early state elites,the periphery-seen frequently as the realm of "barbarian tribes"was also a potential threat.Rarely-but memorably,in the case of the Mongols and the Huns and Osman and his conquering band- a militarized pastoral people might overrun the state and destroy it or rule in its place.More commonly,nonstate peoples found it convenient to raid the settlements of sedentary farming communities subject to the state,some- times exacting systematic tribute from them in the manner of states.Just as states encouraged sedentary agriculture for its"easy pickings,"so,too,did raiders find it attractive as a site of appropriation. The main,long-run threat of the ungoverned periphery,however,was that it represented a constant temptation,a constant alternative to life within the state.Founders of a new state often seized arable land from its previous occupants,who might then either be incorporated or choose to move away. Those who fled became,one might say,the first refugees from state power, joining others outside the state's reach.When and if the state's reach ex- panded,still others faced the same dilemma
Hills, Valleys, and States source of hundreds of important trade goods and forest products necessary to the prosperity of the padi state. And second, it was the source of the most important trade good in circulation: the human captives who formed the working capital of any successful state. What we know of the classical states such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as the early Khmer, Thai, and Burmese states, suggests that most of their subjects were formally unfree: slaves, captives, and their descendants. The enormous ungoverned periphery surrounding these minute states also represented a challenge and a threat. It was home to fugitive, mobile populations whose modes of subsistence—foraging, hunting, shifting cultivation, fishing, and pastoralism—were fundamentally intractable to state appropriation. The very diversity, fluidity, and mobility of their livelihoods meant that for an agrarian state adapted to sedentary agriculture, this ungoverned landscape and its people were fiscally sterile. Unless they wished to trade, their production was inaccessible for yet another reason. Whereas the early states were nearly everywhere the creature of arable plains and plateaus, much of the more numerous ungoverned population lived, from a state perspective, in geographically difficult terrain: mountains, marshland, swamps, arid steppes, and deserts. Even if, as was rarely the case, their products were in principle appropriable, they were effectively out of range owing to dispersal and the difficulties of transportation. The two zones were ecologically complementary and therefore natural trading partners, but such trade could rarely be coerced; it took the form of voluntary exchange. For early state elites, the periphery—seen frequently as the realm of “barbarian tribes”—was also a potential threat. Rarely—but memorably, in the case of the Mongols and the Huns and Osman and his conquering band— a militarized pastoral people might overrun the state and destroy it or rule in its place. More commonly, nonstate peoples found it convenient to raid the settlements of sedentary farming communities subject to the state, sometimes exacting systematic tribute from them in the manner of states. Just as states encouraged sedentary agriculture for its “easy pickings,” so, too, did raiders find it attractive as a site of appropriation. The main, long-run threat of the ungoverned periphery, however, was that it represented a constant temptation, a constant alternative to life within the state. Founders of a new state often seized arable land from its previous occupants, who might then either be incorporated or choose to move away. Those who fled became, one might say, the first refugees from state power, joining others outside the state’s reach. When and if the state’s reach expanded, still others faced the same dilemma
HILLS,VALLEYS,AND STATES 7 At a time when the state seems pervasive and inescapable,it is easy to forget that for much of history,living within or outside the state-or in an intermediate zone-was a choice,one that might be revised as the circum- stances warranted.A wealthy and peaceful state center might attract a grow- ing population that found its advantages rewarding.This,of course,fits the standard civilizational narrative of rude barbarians mesmerized by the pros perity made possible by the king's peace and justice-a narrative shared by most of the world's salvational religions,not to mention Thomas Hobbes This narrative ignores two capital facts.First,as we have noted,it ap- pears that much,if not most,of the population of the early states was unfree; they were subjects under duress.The second fact,most inconvenient for the standard narrative of civilization,is that it was very common for state sub jects to run away.Living within the state meant,virtually by definition,taxes, conscription,corvee labor,and,for most,a condition of servitude;these con- ditions were at the core of the state's strategic and military advantages.When these burdens became overwhelming,subjects moved with alacrity to the periphery or to another state.Under premodern conditions,the crowding of population,domesticated animals,and the heavy reliance on a single grain had consequences for both human and crop health that made famines and epidemics more likely.And finally,the early states were warmaking machines as well,producing hemorrhages of subjects fleeing conscription,invasion. and plunder.Thus the early state extruded populations as readily as it ab- sorbed them,and when,as was often the case,it collapsed altogether as the result of war,drought,epidemic,or civil strife over succession,its popula- tions were disgorged.States were,by no means,a once and-for-all creation Innumerable archeological finds of state centers that briefly flourished and were then eclipsed by warfare,epidemics,famine,or ecological collapse de- pict a long history of state formation and collapse rather than permanence. For long periods people moved in and out of states,and "stateness"was, itself,often cyclical and reversible.10 This pattern of state-making and state-unmaking produced,over time, a periphery that was composed as much of refugees as of peoples who had never been state subjects.Much of the periphery of states became a zone of refuge or "shatter zone.where the human shards of state formation and rivalry accumulated willy nilly,creating regions of bewildering ethnic and linguistic complexity.State expansion and collapse often had a ratchet effect as well,with fleeing subjects driving other peoples ahead of them seeking safety and new territory.Much of the Southeast Asian massif is,in effect,a shatter zone.The reputation of the southwestern Chinese province of Yun-
Hills, Valleys, and States At a time when the state seems pervasive and inescapable, it is easy to forget that for much of history, living within or outside the state—or in an intermediate zone—was a choice, one that might be revised as the circumstances warranted. A wealthy and peaceful state center might attract a growing population that found its advantages rewarding. This, of course, fits the standard civilizational narrative of rude barbarians mesmerized by the prosperity made possible by the king’s peace and justice—a narrative shared by most of the world’s salvational religions, not to mention Thomas Hobbes. This narrative ignores two capital facts. First, as we have noted, it appears that much, if not most, of the population of the early states was unfree; they were subjects under duress. The second fact, most inconvenient for the standard narrative of civilization, is that it was very common for state subjects to run away. Living within the state meant, virtually by definition, taxes, conscription, corvée labor, and, for most, a condition of servitude; these conditions were at the core of the state’s strategic and military advantages. When these burdens became overwhelming, subjects moved with alacrity to the periphery or to another state. Under premodern conditions, the crowding of population, domesticated animals, and the heavy reliance on a single grain had consequences for both human and crop health that made famines and epidemics more likely. And finally, the early states were warmaking machines as well, producing hemorrhages of subjects fleeing conscription, invasion, and plunder. Thus the early state extruded populations as readily as it absorbed them, and when, as was often the case, it collapsed altogether as the result of war, drought, epidemic, or civil strife over succession, its populations were disgorged. States were, by no means, a once-and-for-all creation. Innumerable archeological finds of state centers that briefly flourished and were then eclipsed by warfare, epidemics, famine, or ecological collapse depict a long history of state formation and collapse rather than permanence. For long periods people moved in and out of states, and “stateness” was, itself, often cyclical and reversible.10 This pattern of state-making and state-unmaking produced, over time, a periphery that was composed as much of refugees as of peoples who had never been state subjects. Much of the periphery of states became a zone of refuge or “shatter zone,” where the human shards of state formation and rivalry accumulated willy nilly, creating regions of bewildering ethnic and linguistic complexity. State expansion and collapse often had a ratchet effect as well, with fleeing subjects driving other peoples ahead of them seeking safety and new territory. Much of the Southeast Asian massif is, in effect, a shatter zone. The reputation of the southwestern Chinese province of Yun-
8 HILLS,VALLEYS,AND STATES nan as a museum of human races reflects this historv of migration.Shatter zones are found wherever the expansion of states,empires,slave-trading,and wars,as well as natural disasters,have driven large numbers of people to seek refuge in out-of-the-way places:in Amazonia,in highland Latin America (with the notable exception of the Andes,with their arable highland plateaus and states),in that corridor of highland Africa safe from slave-raiding,in the Balkans and the Caucasus.The diagnostic characteristics of shatter zones are their relative geographical inaccessibility and the enormous diversity of tongues and cultures. Note that this account of the periphery is sharply at odds with the offi- cial story most civilizations tell about themselves.According to that tale,a backward,naive,and perhaps barbaric people are gradually incorporated into an advanced,superior,and more prosperous society and culture.If,instead, many of these ungoverned barbarians had,at one time or another,elected, as a political choice,to take their distance from the state,a new element of political agency enters the picture.Many,perhaps most,inhabitants of the ungoverned margins are not remnants of an earlier social formation,left be- hind,or,as some lowland folk accounts in Southeast Asia have it,"our living ancestors."The situation of populations that have deliberately placed them- selves at the state's periphery has occasionally been termed,infelicitously, secondary primitivism.Their subsistence routines,their social organization, their physical dispersal,and many elements of their culture,far from being the archaic traits of a people left behind,are purposefully crafted both to thwart incorporation into nearby states and to minimize the likelihood that statelike concentrations of power will arise among them.State evasion and state prevention permeate their practices and,often,their ideology as well. They are,in other words,a "state effect."They are "barbarians by design.' They continue to conduct a brisk and mutually advantageous trade with low- land centers while steering clear of being politically captured. Once we entertain the possibility that the "barbarians are not iust "there"as a residue but may well have chosen their location,their subsistence practices,and their social structure to maintain their autonomy,the standard civilizational story of social evolution collapses utterly.The temporal,civili zational series-from foraging to swiddening(or to pastoralism),to sedentary grain cultivation,to irrigated wet-rice farming-and its near-twin,the series from roving forest bands to small clearings,to hamlets,to villages,to towns to court centers:these are the underpinning of the valley state's sense of su- periority.What if the presumptive"stages"of these series were,in fact,an ar- ray of social options,each of which represented a distinctive positioning vis-
Hills, Valleys, and States nan as a “museum of human races” reflects this history of migration. Shatter zones are found wherever the expansion of states, empires, slave-trading, and wars, as well as natural disasters, have driven large numbers of people to seek refuge in out-of-the-way places: in Amazonia, in highland Latin America (with the notable exception of the Andes, with their arable highland plateaus and states), in that corridor of highland Africa safe from slave-raiding, in the Balkans and the Caucasus. The diagnostic characteristics of shatter zones are their relative geographical inaccessibility and the enormous diversity of tongues and cultures. Note that this account of the periphery is sharply at odds with the official story most civilizations tell about themselves. According to that tale, a backward, naïve, and perhaps barbaric people are gradually incorporated into an advanced, superior, and more prosperous society and culture. If, instead, many of these ungoverned barbarians had, at one time or another, elected, as a political choice, to take their distance from the state, a new element of political agency enters the picture. Many, perhaps most, inhabitants of the ungoverned margins are not remnants of an earlier social formation, left behind, or, as some lowland folk accounts in Southeast Asia have it, “our living ancestors.” The situation of populations that have deliberately placed themselves at the state’s periphery has occasionally been termed, infelicitously, secondary primitivism. Their subsistence routines, their social organization, their physical dispersal, and many elements of their culture, far from being the archaic traits of a people left behind, are purposefully crafted both to thwart incorporation into nearby states and to minimize the likelihood that statelike concentrations of power will arise among them. State evasion and state prevention permeate their practices and, often, their ideology as well. They are, in other words, a “state effect.” They are “barbarians by design.” They continue to conduct a brisk and mutually advantageous trade with lowland centers while steering clear of being politically captured. Once we entertain the possibility that the “barbarians” are not just “there” as a residue but may well have chosen their location, their subsistence practices, and their social structure to maintain their autonomy, the standard civilizational story of social evolution collapses utterly. The temporal, civilizational series—from foraging to swiddening (or to pastoralism), to sedentary grain cultivation, to irrigated wet-rice farming—and its near-twin, the series from roving forest bands to small clearings, to hamlets, to villages, to towns, to court centers: these are the underpinning of the valley state’s sense of superiority. What if the presumptive “stages” of these series were, in fact, an array of social options, each of which represented a distinctive positioning vis-
HILLS,VALLEYS,AND STATES a-vis the state?And what if,over considerable periods of time,many groups have moved strategically among these options toward more presumptively "primitive"forms in order to keep the state at arm's length?On this view,the civilizational discourse of the valley states-and not a few earlier theorists of social evolution-is not much more than a self-inflating way of confounding the status of state-subject with civilization and that of self-governing peoples with primitivism. The logic of the argument made throughout this book would essentially reverse this logic.Most,if not all,the characteristics that appear to stigma- tize hill peoples-their location at the margins,their physical mobility,their swidden agriculture,their flexible social structure,their religious heterodoxy, their egalitarianism,and even the nonliterate,oral cultures far from being the mark of primitives left behind by civilization,are better seen on a long view as adaptations designed to evade both state capture and state formation They are,in other words,political adaptations of nonstate peoples to a world of states that are,at once,attractive and threatening. Creating Subjects Avoiding the state was,until the past few centuries,a real option.A thousand years ago most people lived outside state structures,under loose-knit empires or n situations of fragmented sovereignty Today it isan option that is fast vanishing.To appreciate how the room for maneuver has been drastically curtailed in the past millennium,a radically schematic and simplified fast- forward history of the balance of power between stateless peoples and states may be helpful. The permanent association of the state and sedentary agriculture is at the center of this story.12 Fixed-field grain agriculture has been promoted by the state and has been,historically,the foundation of its power.In turn sedentary agriculture leads to property rights in land,the patriarchal family enterprise,and an emphasis,also encouraged by the state,on large families Grain farming is,in this respect,inherently expansionary,generating,when not checked by disease or famine,a surplus population,which is obliged to move and colonize new lands.By any long-run perspective,then,it is grain agriculture that is"nomadic"and aggressive,constantly reproducing copies of itself,while,as Hugh Brody aptly notes,foragers and hunters,relying on a single area and demographically far more stable,seem by comparison"pro- foundly settled."13 The massive expansion of European power,via colonialism and white-
Hills, Valleys, and States à-vis the state? And what if, over considerable periods of time, many groups have moved strategically among these options toward more presumptively “primitive” forms in order to keep the state at arm’s length? On this view, the civilizational discourse of the valley states—and not a few earlier theorists of social evolution—is not much more than a self-inflating way of confounding the status of state-subject with civilization and that of self-governing peoples with primitivism. The logic of the argument made throughout this book would essentially reverse this logic. Most, if not all, the characteristics that appear to stigmatize hill peoples—their location at the margins, their physical mobility, their swidden agriculture, their flexible social structure, their religious heterodoxy, their egalitarianism, and even the nonliterate, oral cultures—far from being the mark of primitives left behind by civilization, are better seen on a long view as adaptations designed to evade both state capture and state formation. They are, in other words, political adaptations of nonstate peoples to a world of states that are, at once, attractive and threatening. Creating Subjects Avoiding the state was, until the past few centuries, a real option. A thousand years ago most people lived outside state structures, under loose-knit empires or in situations of fragmented sovereignty.11 Today it is an option that is fast vanishing. To appreciate how the room for maneuver has been drastically curtailed in the past millennium, a radically schematic and simplified fastforward history of the balance of power between stateless peoples and states may be helpful. The permanent association of the state and sedentary agriculture is at the center of this story.12 Fixed-field grain agriculture has been promoted by the state and has been, historically, the foundation of its power. In turn, sedentary agriculture leads to property rights in land, the patriarchal family enterprise, and an emphasis, also encouraged by the state, on large families. Grain farming is, in this respect, inherently expansionary, generating, when not checked by disease or famine, a surplus population, which is obliged to move and colonize new lands. By any long-run perspective, then, it is grain agriculture that is “nomadic” and aggressive, constantly reproducing copies of itself, while, as Hugh Brody aptly notes, foragers and hunters, relying on a single area and demographically far more stable, seem by comparison “profoundly settled.”13 The massive expansion of European power, via colonialism and white-