Conrad P. Kottak,
University of Michigan
| age set | Group uniting all men or women born during a certain time span; this group controls property and often has political and military functions.
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| big man | Regional figure often found among tribal horticulturalists and pastoralists. The big man occupies no office but creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others. Neither his wealth nor his position passes to his heirs.
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| chiefdom | Form of sociopolitical organization intermediate between the tribe and the state; kin-based with differential access to resources and a permanent political structure. A rank society in which relations among villages as well as among individuals are unequal, with smaller villages under the authority of leaders in larger villages; has a two-level settlement hierarchy.
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| differential access | Unequal access to resources; basic attribute of chiefdoms and states. Superordinates have favored access to such resources, while the access of subordinates is limited by superordinates.
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| fiscal | Pertaining to finances and taxation.
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| head, village | A local leader in a tribal society who has limited authority, leads by example and persuasion, and must be generous.
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| law | A legal code, including trial and enforcement; characteristic of state-organized societies.
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| office | Permanent political position.
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| power | The ability to exercise one's will over others-to do what one wants; the basis of political status.
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| prestige | Esteem, respect, or approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary.
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| segmentary lineage organization (SLO) | Political organization based on descent, usually patrilineal, with multiple descent segments that form at different genealogical levels and function in different contexts.
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| sodality | See pantribal sodality.
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| state (nation-state) | Complex sociopolitical system that administers a territory and populace with substantial contrasts in occupation, wealth, prestige, and power. An independent, centrally organized political unit; a government. A form of social and political organization with a formal, central government and a division of society into classes.
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| stratification | Characteristic of a system with socioeconomic strata, sharp social divisions based on unequal access to wealth and power; see stratum.
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| subordinate | The lower, or underprivileged, group in a stratified system.
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| superordinate | The upper, or privileged, group in a stratified system.
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| tribe | Form of sociopolitical organization usually based on horticulture or pastoralism. Socioeconomic stratification and centralized rule are absent in tribes, and there is no means of enforcing political decisions.
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| wealth | All a person's material assets, including income, land, and other types of property; the basis of economic status.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education