Ritual, Power, and the Weekend Arena (Gary M. Feinman, 2026) Gary Feinman 2026, Human Bridges

https://www.academia.edu/170350743/Ritual_Power_and_the_Weekend_Arena_Gary_M_Feinman_2026_?email_work_card=title In a March 2026 paper published in the journal Science Advances, which focused on variability in governance along the autocraticdemocratic axis, my coauthors and I found that one of the strongest associations for the 40 case observations, which were part of our study, was between the nature of rituals and the concentration of power. For this global sample, autocratically organized societies were characterized by spectacles that foment fear and awe, while participatory rituals predominated in more democratically organized contexts. For example, in the region where I study (Oaxaca, Mexico), when governance was typified by distributed power relations, the pre-Hispanic rubber ball game was played in a large court adjacent to a broad, flat open plaza, the Main Plaza at Monte Albán, a space that could accommodate many of the settlement's inhabitants. Later, however, as political power became more concentrated, the size of ball courts was reduced, access to them became more restricted, and some were even built immediately adjacent to the houses or palaces of ruling families.