Table 1.

Subsistence ecology and major dimensions of social organization.

subsistence system (resource base)	intergenerational relations	male–female relations	scale of cooperation, leadership	inequality
foragers (mobile prey and widely distributed gathered resources)	intergenerational provisioning, little inheritance	predominant monogamy, bride service	cooperative production and risk reduction, small-scale leadership	relative egalitarianism
stratified foragers (concentrated and predictable foraging sites)	intergenerational provisioning, inheritance of foraging sites	some polygyny, bride capture	cooperation and leadership in production and warfare	stratification, slavery, unequal access to prime foraging sites
horticulturalists (labour-limited cultivation)	intergenerational provisioning, little inheritance	some polygyny, bride capture	cooperative field labour, big men manage conflict over land	relative egalitarianism
pastoralists (livestock)	intergenerational provisioning, inheritance of herds	significant polygyny, bride wealth and bride capture	cooperative husbandry, chiefs manage conflict over herds and grazing land	significant inequality in herd-based wealth
agriculturalists (concentrated, high-quality land)	intergenerational provisioning, inheritance of land, primogeniture	significant polygyny, female claustration and dowry	cooperation and leadership in large-scale warfare and public works	stratification, slavery, high inequality in land-based wealth