Primate societies are comprised of the collective relationships among individuals. In primate social organization there is wide variation in the degree of that recognition from species to species. All groups of living organisms require some mechanism to coordinate the actions of their members. A common characteristic among anthropoid apes is a strong bond among individuals who are closely related biologically. Large-brained primates who rely on learned behavior for survival exhibit a more complex and variable group organization. Among anthropoid apes such as the baboon, chimpanzee, and bonobo, the identity, characteristics, and relationships among individuals are important in the establishment and maintenance of social organization.

In the human primate, the basis for social organization is, not surprisingly, the family, the basic reproductive and economic unit. For most human societies throughout most of our evolutionary history, social organization has been based on kinship. But even when populations become large, complex, and composed of many biological kinship groups, the organizational structure may still be based on the biological model. Now, however, kinship units are culturally defined and may crosscut or lump biological categories, and so we see all manner of variation—in one's individual identity as a member of a kinship group and in the identity and number of potential marriage partners. These variations may be examined and understood under the assumption that the form of organization works for the people who practice it and is an integral part of their whole cultural system.

When societies become so large and complex that kinship alone cannot operate to organize and coordinate them, broader forms of integration must be devised. These are political units. Although many of these still have kinship-based aspects, they are largely based on residence and socioeconomic interaction.

In all these aspects of social organization, there are certain correlations with other facets of cultural behavior that we have examined and will examine—things such as subsistence patterns and economics.