Split inheritance Bullae and Tokens Ur Adena and Draper site

Elements of the Prehistoric Period

Definition and Significance of Terms

Split inheritance is a policy that was practiced by the Chimu and Inca. Based on this policy, split inheritance was essentially a practice by which a successor to a throne obtained the inherited office of the supreme leader. However, under this practice, the personal wealth, land, and palace of the deceased leader were left to a joint group of other junior kinsmen. The implementation of this policy implied that it was the responsibility of each new leader to generate his own revenues, create his residential compound, and finance his reign. To achieve this, each new leader leveraged a large labor force that could work in agricultural, monumental construction, militaristic, and road-building ventures.

Bullae is an inscribed clay or soft token that was used as a round seal while token refers to clay symbols of various shapes that were used for the purpose of counting, storage, and communicating economic data during preliterate cultures. As noted by Douglas & Feinman (2012), bullae and tokens are critical images of the past as they were used during the preliterate cultures. Tokens were punched in order to be nipped to clay bullae and played a critical role in what became modern counting and writing. As symbols of multiple shapes, bullae and tokens were significant in economic data during the preliterate era. They were the basis for counting, storage, and communication of financial data during this period. According to Price & Feinman (2012), bullae and tokens provide evidence of writing that is nearly as old as Uruk tablets.

Adena site refers to a burial mound complex that emerged toward the end of the last millennium B.C. in the Ohio River Valley. As a result, Adena site was directly ancestral to the subsequent Hopewell sites in southern Ohio and the surrounding sites. The significance of Adena sites is the fact that they tend to be linked to earthen burial mounds. In addition, these sites are associated with larger and more comprehensive arrangements of grave offerings, friable pottery, and rudimentary cultivation. These sites provide significant insights into the early occupations of the region.

The Draper site is a large Iroquoian village in southern Ontario that was nearly totally excavated. The site provides a good view of the Great Lakes’ village plan and community organization before European contact. It is essentially a representation of lifestyles of the native peoples in southern Ontario before the arrival of European explorers and fur traders. This site is significant because it provides insights into the village plan and community organization during the late prehistoric era. The Draper site provides a wealth of information on community organization since nearly the entire settlement was excavated.