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Peoples of the World (Bilinda Straight)

Sociopolitical Types

Sociopolitical  type	Adaptive Strategy	Ranking/Stratification	Kin/Nonkin Basis	Political Structure
Band	Foraging	Egalitarian/Gender	Kinship/Marriage	Informal
Tribe	Horticulture/ Pastoralism	Prestige/Gender	Kinship/Marriage/ Descent	Temporary Regional
Chiefdom	Intensive  Horticulture	Differential Access/Ranked	Kinship/Descent/ Seniority	Permanent Regional
State:
Archaic	Agriculture	Differential Access/Stratification	Territorial/Government	Permanent Regional
Industrial	Industrialism	Class System	Territorial/Government	Permanent Regional

Social Organization--Key Concepts

Social OrganizationThe way a society is organized in order to perform functions necessary for the well being and maintenance of the society.In societies without centralized authority, such as many traditional African societies, systems of kinship and descent form the basis of social organization.

KinAnyone defined as a relative within a particular society.

DescentA specific type of kinship relationship based on descent from a common ancestor.In a patrilineal society, for instance, you will be related to your mother's brother through kinship, but not descent.This is because in a patrilineal society, descent is traced only through the father.

Corporate descent groupsA specific group of people tied together by virtue of descent, which in some sense exist as "one person" and hold property in common, like a business corporation in our society. The two principal types of descent groups are lineages and clans.

LineageA descent group based on demonstrated descent--that is, members can actually trace their genealogical relationships.

ClansA descent group based on stipulated descent--members claim common descent but (1) cannot demonstrate the steps, or (2) the genealogical connections are of a mythological nature.

Patrilineal descentDescent through the father.This is the most common system in Africa

Matrilineal descentDescent through the mother.This does not mean that women have more power. A woman's brother usually is invested with the authority which would belong to the husband in a patrilineal society.

Double descentDescent goes through both mother and father.Not common.Often the things that are passed through mother and father are different. For instance, a child might inherit land from the mother and livestock from the father.

Segmentary lineage organizationA system in which descent groups are divided and subdivided into equal and opposing segments.The closer the descent group relationship, the greater the mutual support.

TribeUsed to describe political groupings of non-centralized societies, such as many found in traditional Africa.The term is problematic for a number of reasons: A "tribe" may not really be a bounded entity; Many "tribes" are of recent invention; The term "tribe" can have ethnocentric connotations—e.g., in Europe there are ethnic groups, in Africa there are tribes.