Which term denotes a society that is organized around land ownership and protection, forming a strict hierarchy?

• A. Feudal societies
• B. Industrial Societies
• C. Agricultural Societies
• D. Horticultural Societies

Answer: (A)

Feudal societies are defined by a system built around land ownership and the protection tied to it, which creates a highly stratified social order. In feudalism, power and status flow from landholders who grant parcels of land to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty, while peasants work the land in return for protection and the right to live on and farm that land. This arrangement produces a clear, rigid hierarchy—lords and kings at the top, followed by vassals or knights, with peasants at the bottom—anchored in the control of land and the reciprocal obligations that sustain it.

Industrial societies, in contrast, revolve around industrial production and wage labor; agricultural and horticultural societies focus more on farming practices, but do not inherently hinge on a formal, protection-based hierarchy tied to land tenure in the same way.