Chiefdom
A society of many villages or communities led by a chief whose office is permanent and usually inherited.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for classrooms, newsrooms and the curious.
A chiefdom is larger and more ranked than a band or a village, but smaller than a state. The chief and the chief's family hold higher rank, collect goods or labour, and share them out again. The term is used by anthropologists and historians as a rough category, not a fixed type.