ABSTRACT

In an egalitarian society, there are as many positions of prestige as there are people to fill them. In a ranked society, there are fewer positions of prestige than there are people to fill them, and there is a hierarchy of prestige that is not linked to age, gender, or ability. The basis for prestige is often a simple attribute, such as birth order. In such a society, the firstborn son might have higher prestige than his siblings. Although there is a hierarchy in a ranked society, there is no real political power or exploitation. The role of a person occupying a high-status position is to collect rather than expropriate, to redistribute rather than consume.