This study provides a cross-cultural examination of the definitions of old age. Further research on these definitions and their implications is suggested.

This article uses cross-cultural methodology to examine the classification and treatment of the aged. Results suggest that the combination of supportive/unsupportive treatment is associated with the intact/decrepit age grouping.

This study discusses the distribution of the treatment of the aged across a sample of pre-industrial societies. Data illustrate that the elderly were treated in a non-supportive or death-hastening manner in the majority of societies, dispelling the notion that a golden age/isle existed in pre-industrial societies in which the elderly were revered and supported. Results also suggest a relationship between age and treatment of the elderly and climate, social, and subsistence variables and the treatment of the aged.

This study examines the status and treatment of the elderly in non-industrial societies. Associations are found between social complexity, subsistence type, and the status and treatment of the elderly.