Irrigation and State Formation in Hunza: The Anthropology of a Hydraulic Kingdom

by H. Sidky

Overview

Irrigation and State Formation in Hunza explores the evolution of political complexity and centralization in Hunza, a remote high-mountain kingdom in the western Karakoram mountains. The author follows the argument that the rise of the Hunza state is directly linked to the construction of Hunza's large-scale irrigation works during the late 18th and early-19th centuries. Sidky's theories are influenced by anthropological writings on irrigation and its impact on society. He pays special attention to Karl Wittfogel's 'hydraulic hypothesis' and goes on to examine linkages between specific ecological conditions, hydraulic agriculture, and the pattern of socioeconomic and political organization that emerged in Hunza due to a local ruler's construction of a large-scale hydraulic system. This unique study will appeal to historians, anthropologists, cultural geographers and South Asian specialists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761802044
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	01/10/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.66(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.62(d)

What People are Saying About This

Marvin Harris

"Sidky's book is essential reading for everyone who has an opinion about the relevance of Wittfogel's hydroagricultural and hydraulic theories for understanding the role of irrigation and state formation...remarkable..."
— Marvin Harris

T. J. Wilkinson

"...a valuable insight into the human ecology of this remote area."
— T. J. Wilkinson

Editorial Reviews

...a valuable insight into the human ecology of this remote area.

T. J. Wilkinson

Sidky's book is essential reading for everyone who has an opinion about the relevance of Wittfogel's hydroagricultural and hydraulic theories for understanding the role of irrigation and state formation...remarkable...

Marvin Harris