In this study, the authors examine pathways to social inequality, specifically social class hierarchy, in 408 non-industrial societies. In a path model, they find social class hierarchy to be directly associated with increased population size, intensive agriculture and large animal husbandry, real property inheritance (unigeniture) and hereditary political succession, with an overall R-squared of 0.45. They conclude that a complex web of effects consisting of environmental variables, mediated by resource intensification, wealth transmission variables, and population size all shape social inequality.

In this study, the authors examine pathways to social inequality, specifically social class hierarchy, in 408 non-industrial societies. In a path model, they find social class hierarchy to be directly associated with increased population size, intensive agriculture and large animal husbandry, real property inheritance (unigeniture) and hereditary political succession, with an overall R-squared of 0.45. They conclude that a complex web of effects consisting of environmental variables, mediated by resource intensification, wealth transmission variables, and population size all shape social inequality.

In this study, the authors examine pathways to social inequality, specifically social class hierarchy, in 408 non-industrial societies. In a path model, they find social class hierarchy to be directly associated with increased population size, intensive agriculture and large animal husbandry, real property inheritance (unigeniture) and hereditary political succession, with an overall R-squared of 0.45. They conclude that a complex web of effects consisting of environmental variables, mediated by resource intensification, wealth transmission variables, and population size all shape social inequality.

This article examines direction of succession and inheritance as they relate to culture area and kinship system. Several hypotheses are presented and all are supported.

Using a new expert survey, the authors explore the democraticness of traditional political systems (TPS) in 159 ethnic groups in Africa. Their initial analysis finds that measures of public preference input and political process control are particularly strong contributors to the degree that a society may develop democracy in their TPS. They also find that societies with powerful elders are more likely to be democratic, while more hierarchically organized political systems and those with kings, chiefs, and segmentary lineages are less likely.

The author builds upon previous research (Winkelman 1998) to further elucidate the cross-cultural predictors of institutionalized human sacrifice. The author considers a range of ecological factors and political variables, particularly geopolitical dynamics and intra- and inter-group relations. Other factors were explored, including social complexity and social structures. The author identifies the lack of an effective superordinate political authority as a main determinant in similar behaviors contemporarily (e.g. suicide bombers, beheadings, public brutality in civil war).

This article examines the evolution of social inequality through tests of the influence of political, economic and social factors. “Analysis of comparative data shows that while some dimensions of the stratification system (such as measures of social complexity) exhibit a monotonic trend of increasing inequality with level of technology from the hunting-and-gathering to the agrarian type, others (such as measures of freedom and sexual inequality among males) exhibit a pattern of “agrarian reversal” in which inequality increases from the hunting-and-gathering to the advanced horticultural type but then declines with the agrarian type” (292).

This article explains the variation in inequality using a model in which a population's inequality depends on the extent to which its most important forms of wealth are transmitted within families across generations. Results suggest that economic systems differ substantially in the intergenerational transmission of wealth.

This article examines direction of succession and inheritance as they relate to culture area and kinship system. Several hypotheses are presented and all are supported.

The author analyzes conditions that might favor social resilience during the Late Antique Little Ice Age (ca. 536-556 CE). The assumption is made that climatic conditions in the Northern Hemisphere during this period of time are very similar to those that would occur during a nuclear winter. These conditions include a drop in temperature and decreased solar radiation from volcanic eruptions. Measures for social resilience come from multiple variables for social change, which are tested against measures for type of political engagement. It is argued that broad political participation is correlated with resilience.