Divination and Power

@article{Flad2008DivinationAP,
  title={Divination and Power},
  author={Rowan K. Flad},
  journal={Current Anthropology},
  year={2008},
  volume={49},
  pages={403 - 437}
}
  • Rowan K. Flad
  • Published 1 June 2008
  • Political Science
  • Current Anthropology
Divination is a ritual practice frequently employed as a source of social and political power. Elaborate forms of divination can be crucial to state control and have widespread influence. In ancient China as elsewhere, divination was the domain of ritual specialists who used their skills to mediate uncertainty, but the role that these specialists played in society differed considerably from one place to another. An examination of divination remains from the Neolithic, Shang, and Zhou periods of… 
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References

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