Editing Heterarchy (section)

==General principles, operationalization, and evidence==
In a group of related items, heterarchy is a state wherein any pair of items is likely to be related in two or more differing ways. Whereas hierarchies sort groups into progressively smaller categories and subcategories, heterarchies divide and unite groups variously, according to multiple concerns that emerge or recede from view according to perspective. Crucially, no one way of dividing a heterarchical system can ever be a totalizing or all-encompassing view of the system, each division is clearly partial, and in many cases, a partial division leads us, as perceivers, to a feeling of contradiction that invites a new way of dividing things. (But of course the next view is just as partial and temporary.) Heterarchy is a name for this state of affairs, and a description of a heterarchy usually requires ambivalent thought, a willingness to ambulate freely between unrelated perspectives.

However, because the requirements for a heterarchical system are not exactly stated, identifying a heterarchy through the use of archaeological materials can often prove to be difficult.<ref>O’Reilly, D.J.W. 2003. Further evidence of heterarchy in Bronze Age Thailand. Current Anthropology 44:300–306.</ref>

In an attempt to operationalize heterarchies, Schoenherr and Dopko<ref name=Schoenherr/> use the concept of reward systems and [[Relational models theory]]. [[Relational models theory#The four relational models|Relational models]] are defined by distinct expectations for exchanges between individuals in terms of authority ranking, equality matching, communality, and market pricing. They suggest that discrepancies in the kind of reward that is used to assign merit and differences in merit assigned to specific groups of individuals can be used as evidence for heterarchical structure. Their study demonstrates differences in the number of women assigned PhDs, the number of women receiving academic appointments in high status academic institutions, and scientific awards.

Examples of heterarchical conceptualizations include the [[Gilles Deleuze]]/[[Félix Guattari]] conceptions of [[deterritorialization]], [[Rhizome (philosophy)|rhizome]], and [[body without organs]].