Table of contents : Introduction -- Section I. Affiliation and recognition. What a society isn't (and what it is) What vertebrates get out of being in a society On the move Individual recognition -- Section II. Anonymous societies. Ants and humans, apples and oranges The ultimate nationalists Anonymous humans -- Section III. Hunter-gatherers until recent times. Band societies The nomadic life Settling down -- Section IV. The deep history of human anonymous societies. Pant-hoots and passwords -- section V. Functioning (or not) in societies. Sensing others Stereotypes and stories The great chain Grand unions Putting kin in their place -- Section VI. Peace and conflict. Is conflict necessary? Playing well with others -- Section VII. The life and death of societies. The lifecycle of societies The dynamic "us" Inventing foreigners and the death of societies -- Section VIII. Tribes to nations. Turning a village into a conquering society Building and breaking a nation -- Section IX. From captive to neighbor...to global citizen? The rise of ethnicities Divided we stand The inevitability of societies -- Conclusion: Identities shift and societies shatter -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- References -- Index.