Bureaucracy in prehistory: case evidence from mammoth bone dwellers on the Russian steppes

Abstract

Archaeologists record and interpret the circumstances in which objects are found. They examine and describe archeological finds. Descriptions of the finds by archaeologists help scholars build a picture of the culture that produced the objects. This case study builds a picture of the rudiments of bureaucracy from a series of prehistoric finds near present day Kiev in the in the Ukrainian Republic. The case study uses Max Weber's characteristics of bureaucracy as a model for analyzing the evidence. The authors conclude that the rudiments of bureaucracy, as an organizing principle, likely existed at least 12,000-19,000 years ago in this area of the world. Rudiments of bureaucracy could have existed earlier and at different geographic locations. However, the sites examined in this case study represent the earliest documented evidence of the rudiments of bureaucracy in human social development.