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UCSP – 11
Self-Learning Module (SLM)
Quarter 1 – Module 4: Sociocultural Evolution
First Edition, 2020

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Development Team of the Module

Writers: Lorna Solo / Sharon Cabatingan

Editors: Joel Andres
Reviewers: Judith Alba
Illustrator: Patrick Ebuetada
Layout Artist: Edward Ryan Gulam / Maylene Grigana
Cover Art Designer: Ian Caesar E. Frondoza
Management Team: Allan G. Farnazo, CESO IV – Regional Director
Fiel Y. Almendra, CESO V – Assistant Regional Director
Gildo G. Mosqueda CEO V -Schools Division Superintendent
Diosdado F. Ablanido, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Gilbert B. Barrera – Chief, CLMD
Arturo D. Tingson Jr. – REPS, LRMS
Peter Van C. Ang-ug – REPS, ADM
Johnny Sumugat - REPS – Subject Area Supervisor
Donna S. Panes, Ph.D - CID Chief
Elizabeth G. Torres- EPS In Charge of LRMS
Judith B. Alba Division ADM Coordinator
Judith B. Alba EPS – Araling Panlipunan Supervisor

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Office Address: Regional Center, Brgy. Carpenter Hill, City of Koronadal
Telefax: (083) 2288825/ (083) 2281893
E-mail Address: region12@deped.gov.ph
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Introductory Message
This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear learners,
can continue your studies and learn while at home. Activities, questions,
directions, exercises, and discussions are carefully stated for you to
understand each lesson.
Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each part shall guide you
step-by-step as you discover and understand the lesson prepared for you.
Pre-test are provided to measure your prior knowledge on lessons in each SLM.
This will tell you if you need to proceed on completing this module, or if you
need to ask your facilitator or your teacher’s assistance for better
understanding of the lesson. At the end of each module, you need to answer
the post-test to self-check your learning. Answer keys are provided for each
activity and test. We trust that you will be honest in using these.
In addition to the material in the main text, Notes to the Teachers are also
provided to the facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders on how
they can best help you on your home-based learning.
Please use this module with care. Do not put unnecessary marks on any part
of this SLM. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises and tests.
Read the instructions carefully before performing each task.
If you have any questions in using this SLM or any difficulty in answering the
tasks in this module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator.
Thank you.

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
the Sociocultural Evolution. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary
level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the
course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the
textbook you are now using.
The module is divided into three lessons, namely:
Lesson 1. Cultural, Social, Political and Economic Symbols Lesson 2.
Cultural, Social, Political and Economic Practices
Lesson 3. Significance of Cultural, Social, Political and Economic Symbols and
Practices
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Identify cultural, social, political and economic symbols
2. Discuss cultural, social, political and economic practices
3. Explain the significance of cultural, social, political and economic symbols and
practices
4. Compare and contrast the significance of cultural, social, political and economic
symbols and practices.

What I Know

Hello dear students! Do you know that the world is filled with symbols and practices?
Sports uniforms, company logos, and traffic signs are symbols. In some cultures, a
gold ring is a symbol of marriage. Some symbols are highly functional; stop signs, for
instance, provide useful instruction. Humans, consciously and subconsciously, are
always striving to make sense of their surrounding world. Symbols—such as gestures,
signs, objects, signals, and words—help people understand the world. Symbols provide
clues to understanding experiences. They convey recognizable meanings that are
shared by societies.

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 In this module, we will analyze the significance of cultural, social, political and
economic symbols of practices shared and played by members of society. In this
part, let’s check your knowledge on cultural, social, political and economic
symbols and practices.
Choose the correct answer in the following statements below. Write your answers on
the space provided.
___1. Which of the following cultural symbols of Philippines represents nationalism?
a. Sandata c. Philippine Flag
b. Baybayin d. Mungul Jar
___2. An object, word, or action that stand for something else with no natural
relationship that is culturally defined.
a. culture c. symbols
b. practices d. beliefs
___3. What is the best-known symbol used to represent Islam?
a. Cross c. Aum
b. Star and Crescent d. Pratik
___4. A symbol that is perceived as visible, external denotation of one’s
social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status.
a. Political symbol c. social symbol
b. economic symbol d. cultural symbol
___5. An object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or
historical interest.
a. Symbol c. Artifacts
b. Culture d. Dove
___6. An american sociologist who argued that human society undergoes
transformation and evolution and in the process develops technological
advancement.
a. Gerhard Lenski c. Max Weber
b. Karl Marx d. George Herbert Mead
___7. It is the change that occurs in a population over time.
a. culture c. politics
b. evolution d. society
___8. Type of societies that grow crops with simple tools and raise livestock.
a. Hunting and gathering c. industrial
b. Horticultural and pastoral d. Postindustrial
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 ___9. All human cultures evolve over time. Which of the following things is
responsible for this?
a. culture is an adaptive mechanism
b. culture is instinctive
c. culture is cumulative
d. all of the above
___10. It is the communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary
symbols.
a. tools c. culture
b. language d. symbols

Good Job! You are done on the first part of this module. Now, let us proceed to the next
activity.

Lesson
Cultural, Social, Political and
1 Economic Symbols
What’s In

Let’s take a review from your previous lesson by answering the statements below.
Direction: If the statement is true, write the word AGREE. If the statement is false,
write the word DISAGREE.
__1. Society and culture is a complex whole.
__2. Cultural relativism mitigates ethnocentrism.
__3. Man’s behavior is greatly shaped by the society and culture where he belongs.
__4. Culture is an organized body of conventional understanding manifested in art
only.
__5. People live together always in a large-scale grouping.

Awesome! I know you are ready to the next topic in this module.

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 What’s New
Symbols often get noticed when they are used out of context. Used unconventionally,
symbols convey strong messages. A stop sign on the door of a corporation makes a
political statement, as does a camouflage military jacket worn in an anti-war protest.
Symbols are the basis of culture. A symbol is an object, word, or action that stands
for something else with no natural relationship that is culturally defined. Everything
one does throughout their life is based and organized through cultural symbolism.
Symbolism is when something represents abstract ideas or concepts. Symbols mean
different things to different people, which is why it is impossible to hypothesize how a
specific culture will symbolize something. Some symbols are gained from experience,
while others are gained from culture. One of the most common cultural symbols is
language. For example, the letters of an alphabet symbolize the sounds of a specific
spoken language.
Cultural Symbols are a physical manifestation that signifies the ideology of a
particular culture or that merely has meaning within a culture. Cultural symbols don't
have to be actual symbols or signs; they can also be gestures such as handshakes and
hand signals. Additionally, the same symbol can mean different things in different
cultures. Americans should be careful in Greece, for example. The thumbs up, which
symbolizes that everything is great in American culture, is just like giving the middle
finger in Greek culture.
Social Symbols are relating to human society and its modes of organization: social
classes; social problems or a social issue. A symbol that something people want to
have or do because they think other people will respect or admire them for it such as
education, occupation, marital status, accomplishments, or other factors.
Political Symbols are symbolism that is used to represent a political standpoint. The
symbolism can occur in various media including banners, acronyms, pictures, flags,
mottos, and countless more. For example, Red flags have traditionally been flown by
socialists, left-wing radicals, and communist groups to represent the "blood of the
workers". Black flags have traditionally been flown by anarchism, and left-wing
radicals to represent the absence of all oppressive structures. A combination of the
two colors in a black flag represents social anarchism, such as anarchist communism
and anarcho syndicalism.
Economic Symbols are symbols used in production, distribution, and consumption
of goods and services like currency, market, labor, demands and other economic
activities.
Activity No. 1: “I KNOW THAT SYMBOL”

Instruction: Identify the pictures below, state if it is a cultural, social, political or

economic symbol, and answer the guide questions given.
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 Symbols Name Exemplify

Processing Questions
1. What are the symbols that you have seen in the picture?
2. What are the uses of these symbols? 3. What are the
significance of these symbols in the society?

Good Job!
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 Have you ever wondered what society was like before your lifetime? Maybe you
wonder in what ways has society transformed in the past few centuries? Human
beings have created and lived in several types of societies throughout history. In this
activity, you are going to cite the practices of the different societies in social, cultural,
economic and political.
Activity No. 2: “PRACTICES THAT I REMEMBER”
Instruction: Cite the cultural, social, economic and political practices in the different
societies.

Type of Societies Cultural Social Economic Political

Practices Practices Practices Practices
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Processing Questions:
1. How does society emerged?
2. What type of society do we live in today?
3. Why do you think many different societies existed in the course of history?
4. Why these practices and symbols are important?

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 Lesson
2 Cultural, Social, Political
and Economic Practices

What is It
What is sociocultural evolution?
Sociocultural evolution are theories of cultural and social evolution that describe
how cultures and societies change over time. Sociocultural evolution is "the process by
which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form
or structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form. Sociologist
Gerhard Lenski (1924–) defined societies in terms of their technological sophistication.
As a society advances, so does its use of technology.
Sociologists have classified the different types of societies into six categories, each of
which possesses their own unique characteristics:
Earliest Societies
Hunting and gathering societies are the earliest form of society. The members
survive primarily by hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering edible plants. The
majority of the members' time is spent looking for and gathering food. A hunting and
gathering society have five characteristics:
1. Family is the society's primary institution. Family determines the distribution of
food and how to socialize children.
2. These societies are small compared to the others. They generally have less than
50 members.
3. Hunting and gathering societies are nomadic, which means that they move
constantly in order to find food and water.
4. Members of hunting and gathering societies are mutually dependent upon each
other.
5. Although there is an equal division of labor among the members of hunting and
gathering societies, there is a division of labor based on sex. Men are typically
responsible for hunting, and women are typically gatherers.

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Pastoral
Pastoral societies rely on the domestication of animals as a resource for survival.
Pastoral groups were able to breed livestock for food, clothing, and transportation, and
they created a surplus of goods. Herding, or pastoral, societies remained nomadic
because they were forced to follow their animals to fresh feeding grounds.
Horticultural
Horticultural societies formed in areas where rainfall and other conditions allowed
them to grow stable crops. They were similar to hunter-gatherers in that they largely
depended on the environment for survival, but since they didn’t have to abandon their
location to follow resources, they were able to start permanent settlements. This
created more stability and more material goods and became the basis for the first
revolution in human survival.
Agricultural
Agricultural societies relied on permanent tools for survival. Farmers learned to
rotate the types of crops grown on their fields and to reuse waste products such as
fertilizer, which led to better harvests and bigger surpluses of food. New tools for
digging and harvesting were made of metal, human settlements grew into towns and
cities, and particularly bountiful regions became centers of trade and commerce.
This is also the age in which people had the time and comfort to engage in more
contemplative and thoughtful activities, such as music, poetry, and philosophy. This
period became referred to as the “dawn of civilization” by some because of the
development of leisure and humanities. Craftspeople were able to support themselves
through the production of creative, decorative, or thought-provoking aesthetic objects
and writings.
As resources became more plentiful, social classes became more divisive. Those who
had more resources could afford better living and developed into a class of nobility.
Difference in social standing between men and women increased. As cities expanded,
ownership and preservation of resources became a pressing concern.
Feudal
These societies contained a strict hierarchical system of power based around land
ownership and protection. The nobility, known as lords, placed vassals in charge of
pieces of land. In return for the resources that the land provided, vassals promised to
fight for their lords.
Post-Industrial Society
Information societies, sometimes known as postindustrial or digital societies,
are a recent development. Information societies are based on the production of
information and services.
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 Digital technology is the steam engine of information societies, and computer moguls
such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are its John D. Rockefellers and Cornelius
Vanderbilts. Since the economy of information societies is driven by knowledge and
not material goods, power lies with those in charge of storing and distributing
information. Members of a postindustrial society are likely to be employed as sellers of
services—software programmers or business consultants, for example—instead of
producers of goods. Social classes are divided by access to education, since without
technical skills, people in an information society lack the means for success.
These individual pieces of land, known as fiefdoms, were cultivated by the lower class.
In return for maintaining the land, peasants were guaranteed a place to live and
protection from outside enemies. Power was handed down through family lines, with
peasant families serving lords for generations and generations. Ultimately, the social
and economic system of feudalism failed and was replaced by capitalism and the
technological advances of the industrial era.
Industrial Society
In the eighteenth century, Europe experienced a dramatic rise in technological
invention, ushering in an era known as the Industrial Revolution. What made this
period remarkable was the number of new inventions that influenced people’s daily
lives. Within a generation, tasks that had until this point required months of labor
became achievable in a matter of days.
Steam power began appearing everywhere. Instead of paying artisans to painstakingly
spin wool and weave it into cloth, people turned to textile mills that produced fabric
quickly at a better price and often with better quality. Rather than planting and
harvesting fields by hand, farmers were able to purchase mechanical seeders and
threshing machines that caused agricultural productivity to soar. Products such as
paper and glass became available to the average person, and the quality and
accessibility of education and health care soared. Gas lights allowed increased
visibility in the dark, and towns and cities developed a nightlife.

What’s More
Societies are classified according to their development and use of technology. For
most of human history, people lived in preindustrial societies characterized by limited
technology and low production of goods. After the Industrial Revolution, many
societies based their economies around mechanized labor, leading to greater profits
and a trend toward greater social mobility. At the turn of the new millennium, a new
type of society emerged. This post-industrial, or information, society is built on digital
technology and nonmaterial goods.
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Activity No. 3: “MY COMMUNITY in the NEW ERA”
Instruction: Identify at least three (3) on the social, economic, political and cultural
practices and symbols that you observed in your municipality and cite its importance
to the society as a whole.
Ex. ALABEL
Cultural Social Political Economic Significance

Processing questions:
1. If given a chance to be born again biologically (after death), what type of
society would you like to live again? Why?
2. By the year 2050, what type of society we will have in this world? Describe
the life and practices of the people in this society.

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 Lesson Significance of Cultural, Social,
3 Political and Economic Symbols
and Practices

What I Have Learned

The significance of Cultural, Social, Political and Economic Symbols and
Practices
Cultural practices are the manifestation of a culture or sub-culture, especially
concerning the traditional and customary practices of a particular ethnic or other
cultural group. It plays an important role for a civilization and character of its citizens
and society. It helps in striking the balance with Mother Nature, conservation of
natural resources and respecting each other. The examples of cultural practices are
religious and spiritual practices, medical treatment practices, forms of artistic
expression, culinary practices, housing and construction and childcare practices.
Social Practices refer to everyday practices and the way these are typically and
habitually performed in a society. It shapes everyday life and are familiar to all
members of the community, even if not everybody participates in them. They are
relevant to community and help reinforce a sense of identity and continuity with the
past.
Economic system or practices are the means by which societies distribute
resources and trade goods and services. They are used to control the five factors of
production, including: labor, capital, entrepreneurs, physical and information
resources.
Political practices is a set of activities that are associated with making decisions in
groups, or other forms of power relations to individual such as the distributions of
resources.

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 What I Can Do
Activity No. 3. “THE SIGNIFICANCE”
Instruction: From your responses from activity number 1 and 2. Write the significance
of these cultural, social, political and economic symbols and practices in our time.
Symbols and Practices Significance

1.
The Philippine Eagle

2. Great Seal of the Philippines

3.
National Sport & Martial Arts

4.
Ifugao Rice Terraces

6.
Metro Manila
You are almost done! We will try to evaluate your learning on this module.
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 Assessment
Direction: Read the statement carefully. If the statement is true, write the word
AGREE. If the statement is false, write the word DISAGREE on the space provided.
___1. Hunting and gathering societies is the oldest and most basic way of
economic subsistence.
___2. In the industrial society, human began to farm and domesticate animals.
___3. Culture is the entire way of life for a group of people.
___4. A symbol is a word, sign, or action that stands for something else.
___5. Cultural evolution focuses on the progression of only modern cultures.
___6. In horticultural societies, people use hoes and other simple hand tools to raise
crops.
___7. Symbol secures the preservation of the group.
___8. Artifact is an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or
historical interest.
___9. The development of agriculture led to an increase in social equality.
___10. Status symbol relates to how individuals and groups interact and interpret
various cultural symbols.

Additional Activities
Activity No. 4. “I CAN COMPARE”
Instruction: Using the Venn diagram, compare and contrast the significance of
cultural, social, political and economic symbols and practices.
SYMBOLS PRACTICES

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 Answer Key

References
• Ariola, Mariano Understanding Culture, Society & Politics Unlimited Books Library
Services & Publishing,Inc. 2016
• Wilfredo San Juan and Ma Luz J. Centino ., General Sociology with Anthropology and
Family Planning
• Banaag, Lee Mark T., SOCIO-ANTHRO An Integrated and Interdisciplinary Approach to
the Study of Society, Culture and Politics Books ATBP. Publishing Corp. 2016

Internet Links:

• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.columbia.edu
/itc/anhttps://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.columb
ia.edu/itc/anthropology/rothschild/g6352/client_edit/pdfs/dec5.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjE
ieuD2dbpAhUB_GEKHWEQBqoQFjABegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw0tQtCp8qrMcax
6z71DhmqZ
• https://quizlet.com/257616954
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/cultural-symbol-definition-examples.html •
https://www.symbols.com/category/10

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 DISCLAIMER
This Self-learning Module (SLM) was developed by DepEd SOCCSKSARGEN
with the primary objective of preparing for and addressing the new normal.
Contents of this module were based on DepEd’s Most Essential Learning
Competencies (MELC). This is a supplementary material to be used by all
learners of Region XII in all public schools beginning SY 2020-2021. The
process of LR development was observed in the production of this module. This
is version 1.0. We highly encourage feedback, comments, and
recommendations.
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – SOCCSKSARGEN

Learning Resource Management System (LRMS)

Regional Center, Brgy. Carpenter Hill, City of Koronadal

Telefax No.: (083) 2288825/ (083) 2281893

Email Address: region12@deped.gov.ph

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