ABSTRACT
Social complexity is conventionally defined in terms of the number of unlike parts in an integrated whole. Such parts might be functionally specialized units that contribute complementary goods and services to the whole, or they might be horizontally differentiated socio-economic strata in a non-egalitarian state. The interaction of unlike parts is an important process in the development of complex societies. However, I have recently been concerned with the importance of like parts in complex society. Like parts often exist as functionally and socially undifferentiated factions. Aztec ethnohistory suggests that such factions provide an important dynamic for change in complex societies. This chapter explores some aspects of this dynamic and suggests ways of identifying factionalism in the archaeological record.
