6 Types and

Characteristics of
Societies Through
History
Since time immemorial, people have
understood the fact that they need to join
forces and form communities to survive the
harsh environment and weather conditions.
The sense of camaraderie and unity is what
kept them alive what has lead to the society we
live in now.
Societies have evolved manifold, and people in
them assume different roles, depending on the
actual needs of the community. Sociologists
and anthropologists have studied their
development carefully and can discern them
into different types, mostly according to their
level of technology and characteristics. Here
are 6 types of societies that we have lived in
throughout the history.
 Hunters and gatherers
One of the first societies formed was that of
hunters and gatherers. Since food is the primal
source of life for humans, the main focus of
hunters and gatherers was to hunt down
animals for food, gather fruits and nuts, and
search for water sources.
The roles in this society were divided between
men and women, where men hunted bigger
animals and were in charge of providing food
and shelter, while women collected fruit and
hunted smaller prey. Their nomadic tribal
structure allowed them to form close unions
and, as there were not many of them, they
could quickly move from one place to another,
wherever there were food and water.
 Pastoral society
Pastoral societies were the first ones to
domesticate animals and to form permanent
settlements. They emerged in areas which
were not very suitable for growing plants and
where they needed to have food within reach.
With storing food, these societies could thrive
and even form the first traces of trade with
other pastoral tribes.
 Agricultural society
Agricultural societies emerged from what is
referred to as the ‘Agricultural Revolution’.
Growing crops and having greater
technological means allowed them to grow in
numbers and form more prominent families.
This gave rise to the first form of nobility and
division among labor. There were warriors,
educators, farmers, artisans and others. All of it
began to appear like a functioning system.

Feudal society
The systems above were first officially
established with feudalism. A system that
began as early as the 9th century implied that a
wealthier member of the nobility lay claim to
lands which were farmed and worked on by
common people in exchange for food and
housing. The families of commoners worked
for feudal lords for generations and thus
helped them amass great wealth.
Industrial society
With the further advent of technology, people
were able to put the machines to work and
establish factories. This revolution began in
18th century Britain and quickly spread to the
rest of the world. What this meant to people
was that many of them could get employment
and support their families. With the rise of the
industry, transportation and housing also grew,
education was institutionalized and made
available.
Post-Industrial society
We are now in what can be referred to as a
post-industrial society. Factories are still
present, but with a lot more technology and
with the appearance of the digital age. We now
have computers in our pockets, social networks
on the internet and even intelligent machines.
Final Thoughts
The history is long, so is our progress. No
matter how far we have reached, we are still
carrying the seeds of our predecessors to
create a better society in the future.