Final answer:
The most common form of human political organization throughout history has been tribes and chiefdoms, with chiefdoms being very pervasive. These societal structures are characterized by integrated economic, political, religious, and military power in the leadership position. The nation-state is a more recent development compared to these earlier forms.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the entire span of human existence, since approximately 100,000 years before the present (BP), the most common form of human political organization has been that of tribes and chiefdoms. These forms of social organization have been common for much of human history and predate the nation-state, which is a relatively recent development in the political landscape.
Anthropologist Elman Service categorized social organization into four main types: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. These are linked to subsistence patterns and the complexity of social structures. Bands and tribes represent simpler forms of social organizations that are more egalitarian with shared power, while chiefdoms and states feature more centralized leadership and formalized bureaucratic institutions.
Throughout history, humans have used various political systems to manage power, with chiefdoms being one of the most pervasive forms. These systems integrate economic, political, religious, and military power within the leadership position, typically that of a chief. Prior to the global spread of the nation-state form, these other systems - bands, tribes, and chiefdoms – were the norm for political structure.