This study takes an economic approach in examining the practice of human sacrifice as it relates to notions of the economic value of human life. Codes are included.

This article suggests that the relationship of monogamy and independent families to societal complexity is best represented by a curvilinear rather than a linear model. Though the variance explained in this relationship is low, it is somewhat increased when variables are scored as dummy variables rather than ordinal.

This article posits a theory of social evolution based on agriculture. The author suggests that a society’s energy source, type of tool materials, and systems of agriculture constitute a variable cluster, and that they are associated with societal scale, economic differentiation, and mode of political integration. Empirical analysis supports this neoevolutionary theory of agriculture.

This article provides a descriptive account of the prevalence and variation in out-of-body experiences (OOBEs) worldwide. The author suggests that contemporary social science explanations for OOBEs (i.e. social control, crisis, and dream theories) are inadequate. Certain beliefs regarding OOBEs, such as whether they occur and the conditions for their occurrence, were shown to be relatively similar cross-culturally.

Based on prior findings, the present study tests the theory that subsistence type, specifically agricultural level, influences descent type, conjugal formation, and marriage type. All three of the latter variables are predicted to be antecedents of ancestor worship. The author claims support for the theory.

"In an earlier study of the evolution of elements of legal organization, a Guttman scale was developed having as scale steps (elements of legal organization) counsel, police, and mediation. In this study, one further step, that of courts, is discussed, and a new Guttman scale for legal evolution presented."

This study examines why conflict emerges and how societies resolve it. The authors posit that increasing societal scale and differentiation create more potential for conflict but also more complex forms of conflict resolution. Analysis supports this theory, showing that measures of cultural complexity are positively associated with legal mechanisms for conflict resolution.

This article examines causes of political participation in pre-industrial societies, particularly the level of resources and organization of resources. Hirschman’s concepts of exit, voice, and loyalty are also discussed. A distinction is made between range of community decision-making and the degree of adult involvement. Results from a multiple regression analysis favor the more structural variables (i.e. organization of resources) in the prediction of political participation.

This article examines structural and dispositional explanations for complexity of political institutions. Analysis suggests that both socioeconomic organization and socialization variables are useful in understanding the concentration, specialization, and centralization of political power, but socioeconomic organization variables have stronger associations.

This paper explores societal-level mechanisms associated with women’s participation in and exclusion from political life. Analysis suggests there are two statistically independent types of female political participation: involvement in decision-making and the existence of positions controlled by or reserved for women. Multiple regression analysis identifies several social-structural, psychocultural, and behavioral correlates for both types of female political participation and explanatory theory is discussed.