Lesson 1 & 2:

Cultural, Social, Political and

Economic Symbol &
Practices
Symbols are the basis of culture. A symbol is an object, word,
or action that stands for something else with no natural
relationship that is culturally defined. Everything one does
throughout their life is based and organized through cultural
symbolism.
Symbolism is when something represents abstract ideas or
concepts. Symbols mean different things to different people,
which is why it is impossible to hypothesize how a specific
culture will symbolize something.

Some symbols are gained from experience, while others are

gained from culture. One of the most common cultural symbols is
language.
For example, the letters of an alphabet symbolize the sounds of a
specific spoken language
Types of Symbols
 • Cultural practices are the
manifestation of a culture or sub-
Lesson 3 culture, especially concerning the
Significance of traditional and customary practices of
a particular ethnic or another cultural
Cultural, Social, group.
Political and • It plays an important role for a
Economic civilization and character of its citizens
Symbols and and society. It helps in striking the
balance with Mother Nature,
Practices conservation of natural resources and
respecting each other.
• The examples of cultural practices
are religious and spiritual practices,
medical treatment practices, forms of
artistic expression, culinary practices,
housing and construction and
childcare practices.
Social Practices refer to
everyday practices and the way
these are typically and
habitually performed in a
society.
• It shapes everyday life and are
familiar to all members of the
community, even if not
everybody participates in them.
• They are relevant to
community and help reinforce a
sense of identity and continuity
with the past.
What is sociocultural evolution?
Sociocultural evolution are theories of
cultural and social evolution that
describe how cultures and societies
change over time.
Sociocultural evolution is "the process
by which structural reorganization is
affected through time, eventually
producing a form or structure which is
qualitatively different from the ancestral
form.
Sociologist Gerhard Lenski (1924–)
defined societies in terms of their
technological sophistication. As a
society advances, so does its use of
technology
 Sociologists have classified the different types of societies into
six categories, each of which possesses their own unique
characteristics:
Earliest Societies
Hunting and gathering societies are the earliest form of society. The
members survive primarily by hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering edible
plants. The majority of the members' time is spent looking for and gathering food.
A hunting and gathering society have five characteristics:
1. Family is the society's primary institution. Family determines the distribution
of food and how to socialize children.
2. These societies are small compared to the others. They generally have less
than 50 members.
3. Hunting and gathering societies are nomadic, which means that they move
constantly in order to find food and water.
4. Members of hunting and gathering societies are mutually dependent upon
each other.
5. Although there is an equal division of labor among the members of hunting
and gathering societies, there is a division of labor based on sex. Men are
typically responsible for hunting, and women are typically gatherers
• Pastoral
• Pastoral societies rely
on the domestication
of animals as a
resource for survival.
Pastoral groups were
able to breed livestock
for food, clothing, and
transportation, and
they created a surplus
of goods. Herding, or
pastoral, societies
remained nomadic
because they were
forced to follow their
animals to fresh
feeding grounds.
Horticultural societies formed in areas
where rainfall and other conditions
allowed them to grow stable crops.
They were similar to hunter-gatherers in
that they largely depended on the
environment for survival, but since they
didn’t have to abandon their location to
follow resources, they were able to start
permanent settlements.
This created more stability and more
material goods and became the basis for
the first revolution in human survival
Agricultural societies relied on permanent tools for
survival. Farmers learned to rotate the types of crops
grown on their fields and to reuse waste products such
as fertilizer, which led to better harvests and bigger
surpluses of food. New tools for digging and harvesting
were made of metal, human settlements grew into
towns and cities, and particularly bountiful regions
became centers of trade and commerce.
This is also the age in which people had the time and
comfort to engage in more contemplative and
thoughtful activities, such as music, poetry, and
philosophy.
This period became referred to as the “dawn of
civilization” by some because of the development of
leisure and humanities. Craftspeople were able to
support themselves through the production of creative,
decorative, or thought-provoking aesthetic objects and
writings.
As resources became more plentiful, social classes
became more divisive. Those who had more resources
could afford better living and developed into a class of
nobility. Difference in social standing between men and
women increased. As cities expanded, ownership and
preservation of resources became a pressing concern.
Feudal
These societies contained a
strict hierarchical system of
power based around land
ownership and protection.
The nobility, known as lords,
placed vassals in charge of
pieces of land. In return for the
resources that the land
provided, vassals
promised to fight for their lords.
Post-Industrial Society

Information societies, sometimes known as postindustrial or digital

societies, are a recent development. Information societies are based
on the production of information and services.
Digital technology is the steam engine of information societies, and
computer moguls such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are its John D.
Rockefellers and Cornelius Vanderbilts.
Since the economy of information societies is driven by knowledge
and not material goods, power lies with those in charge of storing
and distributing information.
Members of a postindustrial society are likely to be employed as
sellers of services—software programmers or business consultants,
for example—instead of producers of goods. Social classes are
divided by access to education, since without technical skills, people
in an information society lack the means for success.
These individual pieces of land, known as fiefdoms, were
cultivated by the lower class. In return for maintaining the
land, peasants were guaranteed a place to live and
protection from outside enemies. Power was handed
down through family lines, with peasant families serving
lords for generations and generations.
Ultimately, the social and economic system of feudalism
failed and was replaced by capitalism and the
technological advances of the industrial era
Thank You 