"Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political)."
Understanding the social structures and hierarchies of ancient societies is critical for understanding the political systems they developed.
Kinship systems: Patterns of relationships and social organization based on family ties and descent.
Caste systems: Social stratification based on birth, occupation, and social status.
Feudalism: A political and economic system in which lords (nobles) control land and offer protection to serfs (peasants) in exchange for labor and loyalty.
Monarchy: A system of government in which a single person, usually a king or queen, rules over a country.
Aristocracy: A social class of privileged and wealthy individuals who hold titles of nobility and have power and influence over society.
Democratic governance: A system of government in which people have a say in who is elected to make decisions on their behalf.
Religion: A system of beliefs and practices through which people understand and interact with the world around them, often influencing social behaviour and hierarchies.
Gender roles: Cultural and social norms that dictate appropriate behaviour and expectations for men and women, and shape social stratification based on gender.
Race and ethnicity: Social identities based on shared cultural, historical, or biological backgrounds, and may create social structures and hierarchies.
Citizenship and nationalism: A system of social organization based on a shared sense of identity and belonging to a nation, often creating hierarchies based on citizenship status, ethnicity, or language.
Monarchy: A system of government in which a single individual holds supreme power, often based on hereditary succession.
Republic: A form of government in which power is held by the people or their elected representatives.
Feudalism: A system of government in which lords grant land to vassals in exchange for their loyalty and military service.
Tribalism: A social structure based on clans or tribes, often with a leader who is chosen or hereditary.
Slavery: A social structure in which individuals are held as property and forced to provide labor for their masters.
Castes: A social structure based on inherited status and occupation, with limited social mobility.
Aristocracy: A social structure in which a privileged class of nobles holds power and wealth.
Theocracy: A system of government in which religious leaders hold power and authority.
Oligarchy: A system of government in which a small group of individuals, often wealthy or powerful, hold control.
Imperialism: A system in which one state or empire exercises control over other territories or states outside its own borders.
"In modern Western societies, social stratification is typically defined in terms of three social classes: the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class; in turn, each class can be subdivided into the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum."
"Moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship, clan, tribe, or caste, or all four."
"The categorization of people by social stratum occurs most clearly in complex state-based, polycentric, or feudal societies, the latter being based upon socio-economic relations among classes of nobility and classes of peasants."
"Whether social stratification first appeared in hunter-gatherer, tribal, and band societies or whether it began with agriculture and large-scale means of social exchange remains a matter of debate in the social sciences."
"Determining the structures of social stratification arises from inequalities of status among persons, therefore, the degree of social inequality determines a person's social stratum."
"Generally, the greater the social complexity of a society, the more social stratification exists, by way of social differentiation."
"For instance, the stratification of neighborhoods based on spatial and racial factors can influence disparate access to mortgage credit."
"...based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political)."
"...each class can be subdivided into the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum."
"...a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship, clan, tribe, or caste, or all four."
"...each class can be subdivided into the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum."
"The categorization of people by social stratum occurs most clearly in complex state-based, polycentric, or feudal societies."
"The categorization of people by social stratum occurs most clearly in complex state-based, polycentric, or feudal societies."
"Generally, the greater the social complexity of a society, the more social stratification exists, by way of social differentiation."
"Determining the structures of social stratification arises from inequalities of status among persons, therefore, the degree of social inequality determines a person's social stratum."
"For instance, the stratification of neighborhoods based on spatial and racial factors can influence disparate access to mortgage credit."
"Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political)."
"...socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political)."
"Stratification is the relative social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic region, or social unit."