ABSTRACT
This chapter provides discussion on social anthropological approach in order to relate anthropological materials on pre-industrial societies to the framework of current sociological theory. It argues that stratification consists in the principles that regulate the distribution of social advantages. The chapter explores relations between the prevailing distributions of advantage and the structural principles that regulate the processes of distribution. It shows why these principles are more significant for the analysis of social stratification than the mere distribution of advantages. The chapter deals with the following questions: In what sense does an unequal distribution of advantages indicate stratification? Whether "functionally requisite" or not, is stratification universal and coextensive with society? How useful is the dichotomy between ascription and achievement for an analysis and typology of status systems? How valid is the assertion that stratification expresses normative consensus? How valid is the thesis that "positions which are combined in the same family cannot be made the basis of stratification?"
