社會結構分類：氏族、部落、酋邦及國家
Classifying Societies

Apples are classified according to size.
蘋果按大小分等級。

The advantages of the plan outweigh its disadvantages.
這個計劃的優點超過了它的缺點。

Many students are attracted by the prestige of studying in top 100 colleges of the world.
很多學生對於在世界排名前百大的大學念書非常嚮往。

They are exploiting the oil under the sea.
他們在開發海底石油。

Many Americans are of African descent.
許多美國人有非洲裔血統。

Although there are huge disparities of wealth and income, those are remarkable achievements.
儘管他們之間存在著巨大的貧富差距，他們都達成了不可抹滅的成就。

These protesters are composed of students, local residents and law legislators.
這些抗議者是由學生、當地居民及立法委員所組成。

Debris from the dried-painting was all over the floor.
乾掉的油漆散落在整個地板上。

After the harsh winter and failed crops, the settler’s subsistence was in jeopardy.
經過嚴冬及作物欠收之後，當地居民的生計岌岌可危。

The nomadic tribe moved their camp several times a year.
遊牧民族一年內會遷徙數次。

Classifying Societies

Although humans have established many types of societies throughout history, sociologists and anthropologists tend to classify different societies according to the degree to which different groups within a society have unequal access to advantages such as resources, prestige or power, and usually refer to four basic types of societies. From least to most socially complex they are clans, tribes, chiefdoms and states.

Clan
These are small-scale societies of hunters and gatherers, generally of fewer than 100 people, who move seasonally to exploit wild (undomesticated) food resources. Most surviving hunter gatherer groups are of this kind, such as the Hadza of Tanzania or the San of southern Africa. Clan members are generally kinsfolk, related by descent or marriage. Clans are lack of formal leaders, so there are no marked economic differences or disparities in status among their members. Because clans are composed of mobile groups of hunter-gatherers, their sites consist mainly of seasonally occupied camps, and other smaller and more specialized sites. Among the latter are kill or butchery sites—locations where large mammals are killed and sometimes butchered—and work sites, where tools are made or other specific activities carried out. The base camp of such a group may give evidence of rather insubstantial dwellings or temporary shelters, along with the debris of residential occupation.

Tribe
These are generally larger than mobile hunter-gatherer groups, but rarely number more than a few thousand, and their diet or subsistence is based largely on cultivated plants and domesticated animals….