Types of Societies Reading Answers

We have provided Types of Societies reading answers along with the practice test. It contains 13 questions with 3 reading question types - IELTS Reading True False Not Given, IELTS Reading Summary Completion, and IELTS Reading Short Answer Question.

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Table of Contents:

• Solution for Types of Societies
• Types of Societies IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for Types of Societies

The Types of Societies Reading Answers are provided below in the table for your information and comprehension.

Answer Table

1. TRUE	5. True	9. Nomadic	13. Craft specialists
2. Not Given	6. True	10. Grouped (together) / clusters of buildings
3. FALSE	7. Not Given	11. Foodstuffs
4. FALSE	8. Tools	12. 20,000 persons

Types of Societies IELTS Reading Practice Test - Exam Review

We have given this types of societies practice test to improve your reading skills. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions. After you completed the practice test, check the types of societies reading answers with explanations.

Passage

You should spend 20 minutes reading the provided passage and answering all the questions (1–13). Analyse your answers after completing them by using the Types of Societies reading answers.

Types of Societies

Despite the fact that humans have created a wide variety of societies throughout history, sociologists and anthropologists typically distinguish between them based on how unequally access diverse communities within a society have to perks like resources, prestige, or power. They typically distinguish between four basic types of societies. Clans, tribes, chiefdoms, and states are ranked from least to most socially complex.

Clan

These are small-scale hunter-gatherer cultures that typically have less than 100 members and travel about seasonally to take advantage of wild (undomesticated) sources of food. This category includes the majority of still-existing hunter-gatherer societies, including the Hadza of Tanzania and the San of southern Africa. Members of a clan are typically kinsmen who are related by marriage or descent. Clans don't have official leaders, thus there aren't any obvious social or economic divisions among their members. Due to the fact that clans are made up of dispersed bands of hunters and gatherers, the majority of their locations are seasonal camps as well as other, more specialised and smaller sites. They include work sites, where tools are created, kill or butchery sites, where large mammals are slaughtered and occasionally butchered, and other such areas. Such a group's base camp may show signs of very poorly constructed homes or temporary shelters, alongside the remains of residential occupation.

Tribe

They usually number and over a few thousand people, are typically larger than nomadic hunter-gatherer communities, and rely heavily on domesticated animals and cultivated vegetables for their diet and livelihood. Although they tend to be nomadic farmers with a completely diverse, mobile economy based on the intensive exploitation of animals, they are typically established farmers. These civilizations typically consist of several different groups that are connected to one another by familial relationships. Despite the fact that some tribes have representatives and even a "capital" or seat of government, these representatives lack the economic foundation required for the efficient utilisation of Tribal communities typically consisting of villages or settled agricultural homesteads. It is typical of the area that no one settlement predominates over the others. Instead, the archaeologist discovers proof of solitary, continuously inhabited homes or continuously inhabited settlements. The original farms in the Danube valley in Europe were made up of a group of free-standing homes, much like these settlements. Or they could be grouped together with clusters of buildings, such as the pueblos in the American Southwest and the historic farming community or small town of (catalhoyuk in contemporary Turkey).

Chiefdom

They work on the ranking principle, or the idea that people have different social positions. A scale of prestige is used to rank the lineages, and the senior lineage—and thus the society in its entirety—is led by a chief. A lineage is a collection of people who claim similarity. There is no real class division; prestige and rank are decided by how strongly one is associated with the chief. The chief's job is very important. Locals frequently specialise in handicrafts, and surpluses of both of these and foodstuffs are periodically paid as a courtesy to the chief. They are used by him to keep up his retainers, and he can also distribute them to his subjects. The chiefdom typically has a centre of power, which is frequently home to temples, the chief's and his retainers' dwellings, and craftsmen . The population of chiefdoms varies widely, although the average range is between 5000 and 20,000 people.

Early state

They maintain many of the characteristics of chiefdoms, but the ruler (who may be a king or occasionally a queen) has the express right to enact laws and to enforce them using a standing army. Society is now split into various groups and no longer solely rests on blood bonds. The lowest classes are made up of agricultural labourers and the impoverished urban residents, followed by craft specialists, clerics, and members of the ruler's family. The duties of the ruler are frequently distinguished from those of the priest: palace and temple. The society is seen as a realm controlled by the royal family, inhabited by tenants, and subject to taxation. A bureaucratic administration of officials is located in the central capital, and one of its main responsibilities is to collect money (typically in the form of taxes and tolls) and give it to the government, army, and craft specialists. To support these fundamental services, many early nations created intricate redistribution schemes.

Elman Service's and William Sanders' and Joseph Marino's relatively straightforward social typology is open to criticism, thus it shouldn't be applied carelessly. But, using words and thus concepts is necessary if we are to discuss early cultures. The types of services offer a helpful framework for structuring our thoughts.

Questions

Questions 1-4

Are the following claims accurate with the passage's information?
on your answer sheet write in boxes 1-4:

TRUE                   if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE                   if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN        if there is no information on this

1. The economic status of clan members is generally similar.

2. A tribe's farmers cultivate a variety of plants.

3. In a tribe, a single settlement is more significant than all the others combined.

4. The amount of land a person possesses determines his rank inside the chiefdom.

Questions 5-7

Complete the provided summary below.
Select NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR/AND A NUMBER from the passage for every answer.
Fill in your responses in boxes 5-7 on the answer sheet.

They still resemble chiefdoms in many ways, but the ruler has the explicit authority to create laws and to enforce them with a 5._____________ . The foundation has changed and is no longer just based on familial ties. The roles of the ruler and the priest are frequently separated in the contexts of the palace and the temple. The 6._____________is perceived as a kingdom ruled by the royal family, populated by tenants, and governed by taxes. The central capital is headquarters to a bureaucratic administration of officials, its main responsibility is to 7. ___________  as well as distribute it to the authority, military, and craftspeople. Several early societies developed complex infrastructure to supply these core services.

Questions 8-13

Answer the following questions.
Select NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR/AND A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Fill in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet with your responses.

     8. What are the clan work sites producing?

     9. What other activities do tribes engage in outside established farming?

    10.  How are the residences in Catalhoyuk set up?

    11.  In addition to handcrafted goods, what else does a leader treat his subjects with?

    12.  What is a chiefdom's maximum allowable population?

    13. Which social class is higher than farmers yet at the bottom of an early state?

Answers for Types of Societies with Explanations

The Types of Societies reading answers with explanations are given below. It will be helpful for you to identify mistakes and rectify them. 

(Note: The language highlighted in bold refers to the passage's location and answer. The explanatory sentences from the reading passage are shown in italics.)

1. Answer: True

Answer Location: Paragraph Clan, Line 5.
Explanation: The fifth line of the paragraph says that, “Clans don't have official leaders, thus there aren't any obvious social or economic divisions among their members”.Therefore, the statement that the economic status of clan members is generally similar is correct. 

2. Answer: Not Given

Answer Location: Not available
Explanation: There is no context for the following sentence and it is not included in the text.

3. Answer: False

Answer Location: Paragraph Tribe, Line 9.
Explanation: The line clearly depicts that, “It is typical of the area that no one settlement predominates over the others.” Hence, the statement in a tribe, a single settlement is more significant than all the others combined is incorrect.

4. Answer:  False

Answer Location: Paragraph Chiefdom, Line 1.
Explanation: The first line of the paragraph depicts the information, “They work on the ranking principle, or the idea that people have different social positions. A scale of prestige is used to rank the lineages, and the senior lineage—and thus the society in its entirety—is led by a chief. A lineage is a collection of people who claim similarity.”Therefore, the statement that the amount of land a person possesses determines his rank inside the chiefdom is false as instead of looking at the land a chief has, one should look to his ancestry to evaluate his strength.

5. Answer: Standing army

Answer Location: Paragraph Early state, Line 1.
Explanation: It is illustrated in the paragraph first line that, “They maintain many of the characteristics of chiefdoms, but the ruler (who may be a king or occasionally a queen) has the express right to enact laws and to enforce them using a standing army.”

6. Answer: Society

Answer Location: Paragraph Early state, Line 7.
Explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the paragraph, “The society is seen as a realm controlled by the royal family, inhabited by tenants, and subject to taxation.”

7. Answer: Collect money

Answer Location: Paragraph Early state, Line 8.
Explanation: Again in the paragraph it is stated that,“A bureaucratic administration of officials is located in the central capital, and one of its main responsibilities is to collect money (typically in the form of taxes and tolls) and give it to the government, army, and craft specialists.”

8. Answer: Tools

Answer Location: Paragraph Clan, Line 9.
Explanation: It is illustrated in the text that,“They include work sites, where tools are created, kill or butchery sites, where large mammals are slaughtered and occasionally butchered.”

9. Answer: Nomadic

Answer Location: Paragraph Tribe, Line 3.
Explanation: The passage's phrases paint a vivid picture that “Although they tend to be nomadic farmers with a completely diverse, mobile economy based on the intensive exploitation of animals, they are typically established farmers” the solution is stated quite clearly. Hence, the appropriate answer is nomadic.

10. Grouped together

Answer Location:Paragraph Tribe, Last Line.
Explanation: The passage's phrases, “Or they could be grouped together with clusters of buildings, such as the pueblos in the American Southwest and the historic farming community or small town of (catalhoyuk in contemporary Turkey)”Thus, the residences in Catalhoyuk were grouped together.

11. Answer: Foodstuffs

Answer Location: Paragraph Chiefdom, Line 5.
Explanation: The sentence reveals the information that, “Locals frequently specialise in handicrafts, and surpluses of both of these and foodstuffs are periodically paid as a courtesy to the chief.” So, in addition to handcrafted goods, a leader treats his subjects with foodstuffs.

12. Answer: 20,000

Answer Location: Paragraph Chiefdom, Last Line.
Explanation: According to the paragraph, “The population of chiefdoms varies widely, although the average range is between 5000 and 20,000 people.” On this account, a chiefdom's maximum allowable population is 20,000.

13. Answer: Craft specialists

Answer Location: Paragraph Early state, Line 4.
Explanation: As per the paragraph , “The lowest classes are made up of agricultural labourers and the impoverished urban residents, where craft specialists are above, clerics, and members of the ruler's family higher still.” Hence, craft specialists are higher than farmers yet at the bottom of an early state.

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Conclusion

The "Types of Societies reading answers" will improve your skimming and scanning abilities, which will be helpful while completing reading tasks. You could practise answering questions from other categories based on the same reading material to get a higher band score.