SOC 1100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Sociocultural Evolution, Information Revolution, Pastoralism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1100
• Professor: Deanna Behnke- Cook

Document Summary

4. 1: gerhard and jean lenski: society and technology. The lenskis point to the importance of technology in shaping any society. They use the term socio-cultural evolution to mean changes that occur as a society gains new technology. In hunting/gathering societies, men use simple tools to hunt animals and women gather vegetation. Hunting/gathering societies: have only a few dozen members and are nomadic, are built around the family, consider men and women roughly equal in social importance. Horticultural and pastoral societies developed some 12 000 years ago as people began to use hand tools to raise crops and shifted to raising animals for food instead of hunting them. Horticultural and pastoral societies: are able to produce more food, so populations expand to hundreds. Agrarian societies developed 5000 years ago as the use of ploughs harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources enabled large-scale cultivation.