| age set | Group uniting all men or women (usually men) born during a certain time span; this group controls property and often has political and military functions.
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| big man | 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.
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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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| sociopolitical typology | Classification scheme based on the scale and complexity of social organization and the effectiveness of political regulation; includes band, tribe, chiefdom, and state.
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| sodality, pantribal | A non-kin-based group that exists throughout a tribe, spanning several villages.
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| 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; see also 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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