Social Structure and Status of the Aged: Toward Some Valid Cross-Cultural Generalizations

Aging, like the proverbial elephant, has been partially defined by many, yet still remains an incompletely known phenomenon. To describe the process in terms of accumulated intra-nerve cell deposition of the pigment lipofuscin, or in terms of a host of other specific accumulating physical-chemical changes is to describe somewhat the condition of the vessel (e.g., Lansing 1959). The “cargo,” however, is quite another matter.