Re: Low-tech Nomadic Pastoralists
Size of the herd would depend on one's success as a warrior. A powerful chief would often be expected to potlatch with it. That is not unrelated: if you are slaughtering tons of livestock for guests the inference is that you rustled it.
A lot of wealth is in portable baggage. A chief will have a well-done tent rather than a palace. The effect is the same but it can be moved.
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"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison
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