ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by considering how hunter-gatherer societies are organized, covering notions of ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ societies and egalitarian and ranked groups. It considers the range of hunter-gatherer societies, focusing on the diversity of social organization found among groups across the globe. Anthropologists have noted that there is considerable diversity in terms of how society is organized among peoples who make a living through hunting, gathering and fishing. Following on from notions of egalitarian or ranked societies, anthropologists also describe modern hunter-gatherer groups as either ‘simple’ or ‘complex’. This relates not only to their social organization but also to other aspects of their lifestyle. Anthropological studies have been important as they have revealed how there is no simple correlation between subsistence economy and social organization, specifically that there are farmers that anthropologists would class as ‘simple’ and hunter-gatherers that could be considered ‘complex’.
