ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the emergence of "old age" as a new stage of life in the context of the discovery of other stages of life; it addresses the emergence of discontinuities in the life course; Age and aging are related to biological phenomena, but the meanings are socially and culturally determined. "Social age" is a relative concept and varies in different cultural contexts. The social experience of each cohort is influenced not only by the historical conditions it encounters currently but also by the cumulative impact of past historical events over the life course of its members. Under the impact of industrialization and the demographic changes of the nineteenth century, however, a gradual differentiation in age groups and a greater specialization in age-related functions began to emerge, although it was by no means complete by the end of the century. The chapter discusses the contribution of historical changes in the family and the life course to age segregation.
