Knowra Social complexity Social complexity Social complexity is the degree to which a society differentiates roles and groups, coordinates their activities, and organizes authority and hierarchy.
Social differentiation : The division of a society into distinct roles, groups, or institutions with different functions or status. It captures how specialized roles and social groups contribute to complexity.
Bureaucracy : An administrative system organized through offices, specialized roles, rules, and formal procedures. It coordinates tasks and decisions across large, differentiated organizations.
Neolithic Revolution : The transition in several regions from foraging toward farming and settled life beginning about 12,000 years ago. Agriculture supported larger settlements and new demands for coordination.
Archaeological record : The material remains of past human activity preserved at archaeological sites. Artifacts, settlements, and monuments provide evidence for past social organization.
Economic inequality : Unequal distribution of income, wealth, or other economic resources among people or groups. Specialization and hierarchy can accompany unequal control of resources.
Social stratification : The structured ranking of people or groups into unequal layers of status, power, or wealth. Hierarchy is one dimension of social complexity, though it need not rise with every form of differentiation.
Centralization : The concentration of decision-making authority in a central person, institution, or level of government. Central authority can coordinate distant groups, while also concentrating power.
Agricultural surplus : Food produced beyond immediate subsistence needs, available for storage, exchange, or supporting non-farming roles. Stored surplus could sustain specialists and administrators beyond food production.
Settlement hierarchy : A pattern in which settlements differ in size, function, or regional influence. Differences among settlements can indicate administrative and economic differentiation.
Political hierarchy : An arrangement in which political authority is ranked across people, offices, or levels of government. It describes how authority becomes differentiated within complex political systems.
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