SOCIOCULTURAL AND POLITICAL
EVOLUTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETIES FROM
THE HUNTING AND GATHERING TO THR
AGRICULTURAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND POST-
INDUSTRIAL STAGES
INTRODUCTION
As societies respond o the threats
and challenges posed by
environment, they develop culture. The
development of culture through time
called as cultural evolution, led to the
transformation of different societies and
political systems, a process called
sociopolitical evolution.
transformation produces major level of
sociocultural and political
developments, namely, hunting and
gathering, horticultural and pastoral,
agricultural, industrial and post- industrial
societies.
THE SOCIAL AS “DRIVER OF
INTERACTION”
The process of sociocultural
evolution explains why human societies
change through time.
Gerhard Lenski, an American
sociologist, argued that human society
undergoes transformation and evolution
an in the process develops
technological advancement. This is
called sociocultural evolution. For lenski,
the development of technology, the
information acquired by humans on how
to apply societal resources as a response
to humans needs and wants, leads to the
evolution and transformation of society.
HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES
Societies that rely primarily or
exclusively on wild animals, fishing, and
gathering wild fruits, berries, nuts, and
vegetables to support their diet. Until
humans began to domesticate plants
and animals about ten years ago, all
human societies were hunter gatherers.
the The oldest and most basic way of
economic subsistence is hunting and
gathering. Hunting and gathering
societies produce simple forms or tools
used to hunt for animals and gather
plants for vegetation for food.
This
In this society, the men are tasked
to hunt large animal game like deer, elk,
, moose and other animals available on
their areas.
The women, on the other hand are
responsible for the collection of
vegetation, berries, and small edible
crops.
Most people were hunters and
food gatherers. Since hunting and
gathering societies rely on nature for their
food, they frequently move and do not
have permanent settlements. hence
they are nomadic societies.
During the Paleolithic period
(2,500,000- 10,000 BCE). These societies
lived in small groups with only 20 to 30
members. They usually have a shaman
or a priest who acts as the leader of the
group. Since hunters and gatherers rely
on nature for food and survival, they
believe that spirits live in the world.
HORTICULTURAL AND PASTORAL
SOCIETIES
Horticultural societies developed
around 10,000 years ago and they are
described as semi sedentary societies
because they do not frequently move as
opposed to hunting and gathering
societies.
They produce and use simple
forms of hand tools to plant crops. They
use hoes and digging sticks to bore holes
in the grounds for seed planting. Pastoral
societies developed around 10,000 years
ago. The principal means of subsistence
of pastoralists is animal domestication.
In horticultural societies, people
use hoes and other simple hand tools to
raise crops. In pastoral societies, people
raise and herd sheep, goats camels, and
other domesticated animals and use
them as their major source of food and
also, depending on the animal, as a
means of transportation.
These societies are classified as animal
herders and subsist based on the
resources provided by their animals.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND THE
NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
Agricultural societies began 5,000
years ago during the Neolithic period
(8000- 4000 BCE). During this time, the
Neolithic Revolution occurred. With this
major sociocultural and economic
development, agricultural societies
started to cultivate wheat, barley, peas,
rice, and millet between 8000 and 3500
BCE.
During this time, humans began to farm
and domesticate animals. As their form
of subsistence. By 7000 BCE, Neolithic
people produced cultivation tools and
developed farming skills that can support
and sustain a town with a population of
over a thousand people. This new form of
economic subsistence eventually spread
in different parts of the world and it
became known as the Neolithic
Revolution, which transformed societies
into agricultural societies.
During the Neolithic Revolution,
agricultural societies developed and
their population increased into millions.
They also settled permanently and
improvised the technology for farming.
Through agricultural members of society
produced surplus of food supply that
were transported by animal-powered
wagons. As the society developed and
its members developed specialization,
money became a form of exchange
replacing the barter system. The
development of agriculture also led to
an increase in social inequality because
most people in society acted as serfs and
slaves while a few members became
elites and acted as owners of lands and
other resources
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
Industrial societies began when
the Industrial Revolution swept through
Europe during the late eighteenth
century and the first half of the
nineteenth century (from 1780s to
1850).During the Industrial Revolution,
new sources of energy were harnessed,
advanced forms of technology were
applied and machineries were invented.
This was made possible by the use
of advanced sources of energy that
operated factory machineries. It
created centralized workplaces,
economic interdependence, formal
education, and complex social systems
POST – INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
With the development of
information technology and computers,
many societies transformed into post-
industrial societies. The Post- Industrial
Revolution is an important development
from the Industrial Revolution as
economic production focused on the
use and application of new information
technology rather than factories.
In the post-industrial era, Macionis
(2002) writes that production “centers on
computers and other electronic devices
that create, process, and apply ideas
and information.”
Compared to industrial
economies, we now have many more
service jobs, ranging from housecleaning
to secretarial work to repairing
computers. Societies in which this
transition is happening are moving from
an industrial to a post industrial phase of
development.
Daniel Bell, an American
sociologist at Harvard University,
introduced the rise of the post-industrial
society. According to Bell (1999), post-
industrial societies are characterized by
the following:
1. Transfer of labour workforce from
manufacturing to service
2. a significant increase in the number of
professional and technical employment
and a decline of skilled and semiskilled
workers
3. Education as the basis of social
mobility
4. Human capital as an essential aspect
of understanding the strength of society
5. Application of “intellectual
technology” which is based on the
application of mathematics and
linguistics and the use of algorithms and
software programming models
6. Focus on communication
infrastructure
7. Knowledge as source of invention and
innovation
POLITICAL EVOLUTION
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY
CIVILIZATION
The development of the early
civilizations showed the political
evolution of society. A civilization
develops because of a society’s highly
advanced level of culture, social
organization, political developments,
judicial system, arts, and other forms of
culture at a particular time.
The four major civilizations in the
world flourished along the rich river plains
or river valleys. These included the
Sumerian Civilization that developed
along the Tigris and Euphrates River in
West Asia; the Indus Valley civilization
that started along the Indus River Valley
in India; the Shang Civilization of China
that developed near the Huang
Ho/Huang He River; and the Egyptian
civilization that started along the Nile
River. These river valley civilizations are
considered the cradles of human
civilization because it was in these river
valley systems where the Chinese, Indian,
Egyptian and Sumerian Civilizations
developed and flourished.
THE IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Developed and highly advanced
cities
2. Well-defined city centres
3. Complex and systematic institutions
4. Organized and centralized system of
government
5. Formalized and complex form of
religion
6. Job specialization
7. Development of social classes
8. implementation of large-scale public
works and infrastructure like defense
walls, monuments, temples,
mausoleums, government edifices,
trading centers and markets
9. Sophisticated and detailed forms of
arts and architecture
10. Advanced technology
11. System of writing and recording
The political system of the early
civilizations had a clear hierarchy of
officials with specific functions and
responsibilities. They also had codified
laws and rules that were obeyed and
followed by the people.
The early civilizations also
developed an organized, stable, and
effective government to ensure the
safety of the people and supervise the
production and distribution of the food
supply. Political leaders of early
civilization were also tasked to do the
following:
AS A POLITICAL LEADER…
1. Craft Laws
2. implement Laws
3. Impose justice and punishment
4. Collect taxes
5. Sometimes act as religious leaders as
well

Political systems of civilizations

have a highly centralized and well
organized form of government whose
leaders are powerful enough to order
the building of massive infrastructure and
implement new policies for citizens.