Sociology 1301
Professor: Linda Cook
SOCIOCULTURAL EVOLUTION
-Gerhard and Jean Lenski
This is a theory of how societies (socio) and cultures (cultural) have changed throughout the course of
the history of humanity. The Lenskis believe the key driving force behind this change is technology.
They define technology as including both objects (material culture) and stores of knowledge and
information (nonmaterial culture). In fact, they believe the two cannot be separated. The creation of
new objects frees some humans to engage in generating new knowledge which, in turn, leads to the
creation of new objects which, again, frees more humans to generate more knowledge, in an ongoing
process. The Lenskis trace how technology has led to the development of, and changes in, the social
institutions (GREEF), beginning with the earliest human societies and continuing all the way to the
current era. All societal types can still be found in existence today. They are as follows:
1) Hunting and Gathering Societies (250,000+ years ago)
The first and longest lasting societies, Hunting and Gathering societies, were small societies, most bands
of 25-100 people. The main food sources were wild animals and plants. While some challenge this, most
archaeological evidence to date supports the view that men did the hunting and women the gathering.
This is thought to be based on biological differences. Men tend to have more upper body strength,
needed for hurling crudely fashioned weapons. Women generally have greater lower body strength,
needed for the bending and stooping required for gathering vegetation. Even today, on average, men
are better at spotting moving objects and women at spotting stationary objects. Hunting and Gathering
societies were nomadic (constantly moving) because food sources became depleted as the herds moved
and all the plants in an area had been gathered. Interestingly, these societies were highly egalitarian
(equal). Since they were nomadic, they didn’t accumulate much property and food was shared to
ensure survival of the group. The sexes were also quite equal because women made substantial
contributions to the food supply, usually providing more food/calories than men (though hunting
provided needed protein). Collective violence was limited; there was no war as we think of it. Think
back to the definition of a social institution and you will realize that, at this stage of societal evolution,
all the needs met in modern societies by other institutions were met in Hunting and Gathering societies
by the family. There was no structured political system and deviance was controlled informally, one’s
job was learned by “doing”, there were no separate religious positions (in some cases, shamans claimed
special knowledge of the supernatural but this was not a full-time position), and traditions and other
knowledge were handed down orally. Therefore, the GREEF for Hunting and Gathering Societies is as
follows:
G = no
R = no
Ec= no
Ed= no
F= yes; the only social institution, responsible for addressing all basic social needs
2) Horticultural Societies (~10-12,000 years ago)
Tech advance - the knowledge of planting
crops using hand tools
3) Pastoral Societies (~10-12,000 years ago)
Tech advance - the knowledge of herding,
breeding, and domesticating animals
Horticultural societies and Pastoral societies are two different types of societies. However, they began
appearing in the same time period and shared some institutional similarities (enough that, for the
purposes of an introductory course, we will consider their GREEF as one). In both cases, humans were
developing more sophisticated knowledge (nonmaterial culture) and tools (material culture). The
technologies may sound primitive to us but they led to dramatic changes in social life, including growing
to tribes of between 100-2,000+ people. The main determining factor as to whether a society became
Horticultural or Pastoral was geography. To become horticultural, fertile soil and a consistently available
water supply to water crops were needed. To become Pastoral, herd animals that could be
domesticated were necessary. While Pastoralists were still somewhat nomadic, both types of societies
became semi sedentary, meaning they had temporary settlements. This allowed for the development
of social surplus – producing enough for your own needs and having some left over, which changed
society in momentous ways. This surplus led to greater inequality and disputes as some had more
surplus than others, i.e. a bigger herd or a larger crop, but this surplus was also traded and bartered for
goods and services, freed some from daily subsistence work so that they could focus their attention on
creating new knowledge and tools, thus allowing three additional social institutions to emerge –
government, religion, and economy. The family changed from encompassing the entire society to a
kinship system based on clan affiliation. Three of the world’s great religions – Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity - trace their roots to Pastoral societies. Warfare and slavery across societies, in addition to
trade and diffusion, began to appear. The GREEF for these two types of societies is as follows:
G = beginning: a full-time tribal leader to make rules and settle disputes
R = beginning: a full-time religious leader to pray (for rain, abundant crops/herds) and heal
Ec= beginning: barter and trade of social surplus
Ed= no
F = kinship system; clans
4) Agrarian Societies (~6,000 years ago)
Tech advance – animal drawn plow
We often speak about the Industrial Revolution but harnessing animal power led to the Agrarian
Revolution. One of the most obvious changes was an unprecedented increase in population size, with
the largest societies swelling to several million people. This was because the animal plow allowed
humans to produce huge levels of surplus and, very significantly, to create permanent settlements.
Horticultural and Pastoral techniques quickly use up the nutrients in the topsoil. The animal drawn plow
turns the soil more deeply. Also, since so much more food can be planted during the planting season, it
is possible to practice crop rotation and allow fields to lie fallow (unplanted) for a season while they
regenerate nutrients. This meant that numerous people were freed from the need to contribute to food
production, so human knowledge and creation of new objects increased at a rapid pace. Early Agrarian
societies are sometimes referred to as the “dawn of civilization” because, in a relatively short period,
money, the wheel, mathematics, and writing were invented, leading to “high culture” in the form of
philosophy, theology, literature, art, architecture, and science. However, inequality became
pronounced, with up to ¾ of the population of some Agrarian societies consisting of slaves. The scale of
war also expanded as empires rose and fell. The three institutions that emerged/began in Horticultural
and Pastoral societies became complete social institutions with multiple statuses, roles, etc. Writing
allowed for laws and also books, so education began to emerge as a social institution, although it was
not available to women, commoners, or slaves. Societal size and permanent settlements once again
changed the nature and composition of the family. The GREEF for Agrarian societies is as follows:
G = complete: monarchs and their advisors, military, written laws, governmental buildings
R = complete: religious hierarchy; churches, temples, mosques; books of religious instruction
Ec= complete: money; many new jobs (shopkeepers, blacksmiths, construction, etc.)
Ed= beginning: only for an elite few
F = extended, or three generations
5) Industrial Societies (~200 years ago)
Tech advance – machines
Stop and think for a minute: up until a little more than 200 years ago, all work was done by humans and
animals and yet, now, we take machines for granted in our everyday lives. Machines radically changed
society. Life expectancy increased dramatically, population exploded, cities mushroomed, economic
production multiplied, environmental damage increased, and warfare became much more deadly. The
most important social change of industrialization was the expansion of education to more and more of
the public until it ultimately became universal (for all). Education became necessary because people
needed to know how to read and write, add and subtract, etc. to work the machines. However,
education becoming a complete social institution transformed the other institutions and had profound
impacts on society. This is because educated people wanted a say in their own governance, religious
choice, and economic rights. They formed unions and demanded the right to vote. They moved to the
cities for factory jobs and the family structure changed as people earned their own wages instead of
remaining on the family farm. Therefore, in early industrialization (before the expansion of education)
levels of inequality increased whereas this trend later reversed, and industrial societies became more
equal than what preceded them (Agrarian societies). The GREEF for Industrial societies is as follows:
G = increasing democracy based on increased voter participation
R = increasing diversity based on increased choice
Ec= large middle class
Ed= complete; public (for all)
F = nuclear, or two generations
6) Postindustrial Societies (~50 years ago)
Tech advance – “Thinking machines”*
*Clearly, machines do not think! The idea is that the machines of the postindustrial era are qualitatively
different from those of the industrial era. While the industrial machines were designed to produce
goods (automobiles, toasters, washing machines), the postindustrial machines are designed to provide
information and services (computers, satellites, lasers, ultrasound, robots). The Postindustrial societies
are sometimes referred to as ‘knowledge and information’ societies. Work is increasingly moving from
manufacturing goods to providing services and well paying jobs require high level s of education and
‘thinking ‘skills. The full transition to Postindustrial societies is likely to be just as revolutionary as the
Agrarian and Industrial revolutions. While it is the job of sociologists to analyze this new type of society,
and we are doing so, it is far too early to conclude exactly how it will change society and the social
institutions (GREEF) over time. For example, if you had told someone in the early stages of
industrialization that industrial society was characterized by democracy, public education, and a large
middle class, they would have stared at you and assumed you were from another planet! Early on, as
previously noted, industrial societies were highly unequal with low wages, horrible working conditions,
long hours, and young children working alongside their parents in the factories. As societies became
fully industrialized, these things changed in what most would consider a very positive direction. So, with
Postindustrial societies, all we can do is study what has occurred thus far, knowing full well those things
may be modified or drastically altered as time goes on. In terms of equality of the sexes, it appears the
Postindustrial societies are even more egalitarian than Industrial societies, which were moving in that
direction. Economically, the initial changes are toward increased inequality and what sociologists and
others call the Hourglass Economy (see below). Industrial societies, over time, with child labor laws,
minimum wage laws, worker safety laws, etc., created good middle class jobs in the manufacturing
sector. The loss of manufacturing jobs, or deindustrialization, is occurring in Postindustrial societies as
blue collar manufacturing jobs are increasingly performed by robots. An example is the U.S. steel
industry which has been able to maintain, even increase, steel output but is highly ‘roboticized’,
requiring fewer workers than ever before. As fewer workers are needed on the factory floor,
Postindustrial societies are even shedding white collar management jobs in factories, as fewer managers
are needed for fewer people. This has resulted in “middle class squeeze”. This means that new job
creation is concentrated in the high and low ends of the hourglass. The jobs in the high end require high
skill and education levels and receive high pay. The jobs in the low end require low skill and education
levels and receive low pay. Former manufacturing workers’ skills do not translate to the high end so, as
their jobs are lost, they tend to fall to the low end, increasing inequality. Some sociologists, economists,
etc. argue that we are rapidly moving beyond middle class squeeze to ‘job squeeze’ more generally as
even jobs at the high and low ends can be done by the ‘thinking machines” . We see this at the low end
as scanners in grocery stores mean fewer cashiers are needed and online shopping means fewer retail
sales clerk jobs. At the high end, lasers and ultrasound mean fewer surgeons are needed, robots sorting
and bottling pills for online pharmacies means fewer pharmacists are needed, and distance education
requires fewer college professors. Do not commit anomic suicide! We talked at the beginning of the
semester about how hard it is to step outside of your own historical time period and envision the future,
and it is. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the future will be bad. All we know is it will be
different. Now that you’ve gotten a brief history of human societies via Sociocultural Evolution, ask
yourself, “How long have the majority of people gone to work and been compensated in the form of
wages”? If you’ve been paying attention, you know that it’s only been about 200 years, since the
Industrial Revolution. So, if it was different throughout human history, it will be different in the future.
The way we define work and how we are compensated must, and will, change. It always has. You guys
can discuss possibilities and I’ll be happy to discuss possibilities when I return.
High Education High Paying
Middle Class Squeeze
Low Education Low Paying