Final answer:
Anthropologists call the process of chiefs enhancing their prestige through the display of valuable goods the use of 'prestige goods.' These items serve as symbols of wealth and power and play a role in legitimizing social and political hierarchies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process by which chiefs enhance their prestige and status through displaying valuable and elaborate materials such as stools, jewelry, and textiles is known in anthropology as the use of prestige goods. These items function not only as symbols of wealth and power but also as indicators of social and political status. Prestige goods are important in the forming and maintaining of social hierarchies, signaling a chief's command of resources, and in many cases, their ability to extract tribute or control trade.
In societies where chiefs used such prestige goods to assert their authority and garner respect, these items also served a role in legitimizing their political and social order. The display and accumulation of such goods often reinforced a chief's position and could even be implemented to expand their influence over a larger centralized government as seen in the evolution from chiefdoms to kingdoms.
Anthropologists have studied this phenomenon to understand how social hierarchies and political power are constructed and maintained within different cultures. They have also examined how European colonization and the resultant trade relationships affected the political dynamics and economy of indigenous societies, shifting their focus from local prestige goods to the trade of resources such as gold and, later, slaves.