SH1661

Hunting and Gathering Society

During the Paleolithic Period, which lasted from the beginnings of human life until about 10,000 BCE,
people were nomads. The societies are small consisting only 20 to 30 members and people depends
primarily on wild food for subsistence. Their strategies had been very diverse, depending greatly upon
the local environment which includes hunting or trapping wild animals, fishing, gathering shellfis h,
insects, and wild plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, tubers, seeds, and nuts. They combine a variety
of these strategies in order to ensure a balanced diet.

They move from one place to another in search for new food supplies, eat a large kill, because of
seasonal changes and conflict within the group. Ties of kinship are of vital importance. Kin groups
are of two types: nuclear and extended families. A nuclear family includes a man, his wife or wives,
and their unmarried children while an extended family contains multiple nuclear families linked by a
part-child relationship although the first is often inclusive in the latter. Though extended family is
important because it encourages sharing and serves as a welfare institution. Economic institutions are
not very complex. The combination of a simple technology and a nomadic way of life makes it
impossible for them to accumulate many possessions. The quest for food is obviously a crucial activity.
The work was divided between men and women; men hunting game animals and women gathering
fruits, berries, and other edibles. These early peoples developed simple tools such as spears and axes
made from bone, wood, and stone. Human beings lived in this manner from earliest times until about
10,000 BCE when they started to cultivate crops and domesticate animals.

The political institutions are very rudimentary because they are so small that they did not develop
political mechanisms of the kind required to control and coordinate larger or diverse populations. The
primitive nature of their political system can be seen clearly in their limited development of specialized
political roles and in the equally limited authority given to people in those roles. Individuals are hardly
free to do whatever they want and are restricted by several elements of social control such as blood
revenge, group pressure, ostracism or banishment, and fear of the supernatural. The society members
grapple with the problem of explaining the world especially those aspects that influence their own lives
because their store of information is limited; members quickly reach the limits of their ability to explain
things in naturalistic terms. The basis of their explanations are animistic. The central element of
animism is the belief that spirits inhabit virtually everything in the world of nature. Socialization of
the young is largely an informal process that stresses independence in which children learn both
through their play and through observing and imitating their elders. This informal socialization is often
supplemented by a formal process of initiation that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood.

References:
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. (2016). Hunting and gathering culture. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277071/hunting-and-gathering-culture
Chapter 5: hunting & gathering societies. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www2.fiu.edu/~grenierg/chapter5.htm
Watkins, Jeffrey. (1999-2003). Neolithic revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm
03 Handout 1 *Property of STI
Page 1 of 5
 SH1661

Horticultural and Pastoral Society

There are two (2) types of society that developed about 10,000 BCE. Some people use a hoe and other
simple hand tools to raise crops while other raise and herd sheep, goats, camels and other domesticated
animals and use them as their major source of food and also, depending on the animal, as a means of
transportation. Others combine both forms of the two (2) societies. Permanent settlements were
established though there’s still a division of work between men and women. However, women's status
declined as men took the lead in most areas of these early societies.

The first type of society tends to be less nomadic, as they are able to keep growing their crops in the
same location for some time. The second type of society, on the other hand, tends to be at least
somewhat nomadic, as they often have to move to find better grazing land for their animals. They often
produce excess food that allowed them to trade with other societies. Both societies often manage to
produce a surplus of food from vegetable or animal sources, respectively, and this surplus allows them
to trade their extra food with other societies. It also allows them to have a larger population size often
reaching several hundred members.

Accompanying the greater complexity and wealth of these societies is greater inequality in terms of
gender and wealth than in former societies. In the first type of society, wealth stems from the amount
of land a family owns, and families with more land are more wealthy and powerful. While, in the
second type of society, wealth stems from the number of animals a family owns, and families with
more animals are wealthier and more powerful than families with fewer animals.

Another side effect of the greater wealth of both societies is greater conflict. Sharing of food is a key
norm in former societies. In these societies, however, their wealth, and more specifically their
differences in wealth, lead to disputes and even fighting over land and animals. Whereas people from
former societies tend to be very peaceful; people from the two (2) societies tend to be more aggressive.

Societies were usually run by a Council of Elders composed of the heads of the villages’ various
families. Some of these villages may have had a chief elder as a single leader. When resources became
scarce, warfare among villages increased. During war, some men gained stature as great warriors.
This usually transferred over to village life with these warriors becoming the leaders in society. Early
social class divisions developed as a result. A person's social class was usually determined by the
work they did, such as farmers, craftsmen, priests, and warriors. Depending on the society, priests and
warriors were usually at the top while farmers and craftsmen were at the bottom.

First Type of Society: Horticultural

Second Type of Society: Pastoral

References:
Flat World Education, Inc. (2016). The development of modern society. Retrieved from
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/4306?e=barkbrief-1.1-ch02_s04
Watkins, Jeffrey. (1999-2003). Neolithic revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm
03 Handout 1 *Property of STI
Page 2 of 5
 SH1661

Agricultural Society

This society developed some 5,000 years ago in the Middle East through the invention of the plow.
When pulled by oxen and other large animals, the plow allowed much more cultivation of crops. The
wheel was also invented about the same time then written language and numbers began to be used.
The development of this community marked a watershed in the development of human society.
Ancient Egypt (Nile River), Iraq (Mesopotamia: Tigris Euphrates), China (Yellow River), Greece, and
Rome were all types of this community, as well as India (Indus River). They created a simple calendar
to keep track of planting and harvesting.

Agricultural societies produce so much food. They often become quite large, with their numbers
sometimes reaching into the millions. Their huge food surpluses lead to extensive trade, both within
the society itself and with other societies. The surpluses and trade both lead to degrees of wealth
unknown in the earlier types of societies and thus to unprecedented inequality, exemplified in the
appearance for the first time of peasants, people who work on the land of rich landowners.

Their greater size and inequality also produce more conflict. Some of this conflict is internal, as rich
landowners struggle with each other for even greater wealth and power, and peasants sometimes
engage in revolts. Other conflict is external, as the governments of these societies seek other markets
for trade and greater wealth.

If gender inequality became somewhat greater in former societies, it became very pronounced in this
society. An important reason for this is the hard, physically taxing work in the fields, much of it using
large plow animals, that characterizes these societies. Then, too, women are often pregnant in these
societies because large families provide more bodies to work in the fields and thus more income.
Because men do more of the physical labor in this society—labor on which these societies depend—
they have acquired greater power over women. Thus, this society are much more likely to believe that
men should dominate women.

References:
Flat World Education, Inc. (2016). The development of modern society. Retrieved from
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/4306?e=barkbrief-1.1-ch02_s04
Watkins, Jeffrey. (1999-2003). Neolithic revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm
03 Handout 1 *Property of STI
Page 3 of 5
 SH1661

Industrial Society

This society emerged in the 1700s as the development of machines and then factories replaced the
plow and other agricultural equipment as the primary mode of production. The first machines were
powered by steam and water, but eventually, of course, electricity became the main source of power.
The growth of this society marked such a great transformation in many of the world’s societies. This
revolution had enormous consequences in almost every aspect of society; some for the better and some
for the worse.

Positively, these technological advances improved people’s health and expanded their life spans. As
noted earlier, there is also a greater emphasis in this society on individualism, and people in these
societies typically enjoy greater political freedom than those in older societies. Compared to former
societies, this society also have lower economic and gender inequality. People do have a greater chance
to pull themselves up by their bootstraps than was true in earlier societies, and “rags to riches” stories
continue to illustrate the opportunity available under this society.

Negatively, there is a rise and growth of large cities and concentrated poverty and degrading conditions
in these cities. This urbanization changed the character of social life by creating a more impersona l
and less traditional Gesellschaft society. It also led to riots and other urban violence that, among other
things, helped fuel the rise of the modern police force and forced factory owners to improve workplace
conditions.

Today, these societies consume most of the world’s resources, pollute the environment to an
unprecedented degree, and compiled nuclear arsenals that could undo thousands of years of human
society in an instant.

Explanation:
Sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies divided societies into two (2) large categories:
· Gemeinschaft societies consist primarily of villages in which everyone knows everyone else.
Relationships are life-long and based on kinship.
· Gesellschaft societies are modernized. People have little in common with one another, and
relationships are short term and based on self-interest with little concern for the well-being of
others.

References:
Flat World Education, Inc. (2016). The development of modern society. Retrieved from
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/4306?e=barkbrief-1.1-ch02_s04
Watkins, Jeffrey. (1999-2003). Neolithic revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/global/themes/change/neo.cfm

03 Handout 1 *Property of STI

Page 4 of 5
 SH1661

Post-Industrial Society

We are increasingly living in what has been called the information age, as wireless technology vies
with machines and factories as the basis for our economy. We now have many more service jobs,
ranging from housecleaning to secretarial work to repairing computers. In these societies, informa tio n
technology and service jobs have replaced machines and manufacturing jobs as the primary dimensio n
of the economy. If the car was the sign of the economic and social status back then, then the smartphone
or netbook/laptop is the sign of the economic and social status today. If the factory was the dominant
workplace back then, with workers standing at their positions by conveyor belts, then cell phone,
computer, and software companies are dominant industries today, with workers, almost all of them
much better educated than their earlier factory counterparts, huddled over their wireless technology at
home, at work, or on the road.

For an instance, in the United States, many manufacturing companies have moved their operations
from U.S. cities to overseas sites. Since the 1980s, this process has raised unemployment in cities,
many of whose residents lack the college education and other training needed in the information sector.
Partly for this reason, some scholars fear that the emergence of this society will aggravate the
disparities we already have between the “haves” and “have-nots” of society, as people lacking a college
education will have even more trouble finding gainful employment than they do now. Internationa lly,
these societies may also have a leg up over former societies.

The advent of the information age transformed western societies in many unexpected ways. All the
machines and inventions for producing and transporting goods reduced the need for human labor so
much that the economy transformed again. These societies focus on ideas that tangible goods no longer
drive the economy; there is a need for higher education so that factory work does not require advanced
training. The new focus on information and technology means that people must pursue greater
education and there is a shift in workplace from cities to homes wherein new communicatio ns
technology allows work to be performed from a variety of locations.

References:
Flat World Education, Inc. (2016). The development of modern society. Retrieved from
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/4306?e=barkbrief-1.1-ch02_s04
Sparknotes LLC. (2016). Society and culture. Retrieved from
http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/society-and-culture/section2.rhtml
03 Handout 1 *Property of STI
Page 5 of 5