Type 6 Societies

Wealth and prosperity signal an Age of Discovery and an Industrial Revolution, permanently transforming this society, and eventually ushering in the Atomic Age and the dawn of space exploration. Space will become the Final Frontier --the only remaining way for this civilization to expand.

The Industrial revolution and its underlying philosophy (that things of a type should be identical and interchangeable) will influence society from here onward. (picture from Getty Images)

Type 5 Societies

Type-5 societies tend to be unstable: while the leader of a Type-4 civilization can exert direct authority over an entire kingdom, the Type-5 society has grown too large and widespread. The ruler must now rely on territorial lords and administrators, who will have ample opportunity to act in secret.

The Roman Senate was the true power in this Type-5 society. (HBO's Rome, 2005)

Type 4 Societies

Early Type-4 societies face dangers from climate (a single bad drought/flood/harvest can starve the growing population), plague (dense populations, often with limited hygiene, and frequent new arrivals due to trade), and war (larger populations allow for the growth of armies, and will also strain resources). The high mortality rate (due to wars and plague) will push society toward large families, in the hope that at least some children will grow to old age. The dangers of plague and war will only add to this society's xenophobia --shunning outsiders is a valuable survival strategy.

A typical Iron-age city. (image from Ancient Architecture)

Type 3 Societies

A stable neolithic society has the opportunity to make long-term observations --recognizing that a buried seed can become a plant, and that the seasons change according to the stars and moons. This will trigger an agricultural revolution, which will completely transform society. Agriculture means more food, which means a larger, healthier, and more socially-complex population, which also means more problems with internal organization and raids from less-prosperous neighbours.

An advanced Type-3 society built Göbekli Tepe as a place of worship. (Picture by Fernando Baptista)

Type 2 Societies

Members of a paleolithic Type-2 society are capable of crafting; altering found objects into tools intended for specific uses. They are also more intellectually advanced, capable of complex problem-solving, abstract reasoning, foresight, and more complex communication. They may be on the cusp of an agricultural revolution.

A New Caledonian crow uses a cut leaf as a tool to forage for insects (photograph by Gavin Hunt)

Type 1 Societies

Type-1 societies are marked by the use of tools and/or language, albeit usually in a limited form. Other than this, they remain indistinguishable from animals.

A wild dolphin carrying a sponge to use for foraging. (photograph by Ewa Krzyszczyk)

Measuring Societal Levels

I've been looking for a system of classifying different societies. This ended up being a lens through which I (and hopefully others) can examine other science fiction, discuss actual real-world history, and maybe even a tool for other writers wanting to correct/rationalize/subvert some of the tropes that tend to creep into sci-fi (like single-industry planets, alien bazaars, casual space-travel, the cyberpunk/space-opera divide, etc).

The Kardashev Scale is so vague as to be useless and doesn't really scale down (without needing multiple decimal places), and the Three Age system doesn't really scale up. Neither of them gives a handy way to know just what goes on in any of the societies they "describe," or what kind of challenges each society might face.