Final answer:
In preindustrial societies, smaller social structures facilitated enhanced social cohesion due to limited resources and technology. Early examples indicate that survival favored smaller groups and the reliability of food supply improved with agricultural advancements. Modernization theory provides insight into how societies evolve technologically and culturally.
Step-by-step explanation:
Smaller structures in a preindustrial society enable it to enhanced social cohesion. Preindustrial societies were small, rural, and largely dependent on local resources, leading to a limited economic production based on individual labor. Sociologist Gerhard Lenski Jr. highlights the importance of technology in society's development, indicating that as societies advanced, so did technological sophistication. Therefore, in a preindustrial setting, without complex technology or specialized occupations, smaller social structures were necessary for survival and maintaining close-knit communities.
For example, during the Paleolithic Age, small groups of humans were better suited to survival because larger groups were harder to feed and manage. Additionally, the advent of agriculture brought about a more reliable food supply, which significantly impacted social and economic institutions. This evolution, often examined through approaches such as modernization theory, shows that as societies become more technologically advanced, they gain different cultural features and increase in complexity.