Age grade  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:
navigation, search  In sociology and anthropology, an age grade
or age class is a form of social organization based on age,
within a series of such categories, through which individuals
pass over the course of their lives.  This is in contrast to an
age set, to which individuals remain permanently attached as the
set itself becomes progressively more senior.  The number of age
classes, the determining ages and the terminology vary
significantly between traditions. Even within a single society,
a person may belong to several overlapping grades in different
spheres of life, e.g. per year a different school class and yet
for several years on end a child, then an adolescent, finally an
adult.  In tribal societies entry into an age grade - generally
gender-separated - is often marked by an initiation rite, which
may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes
in retreat. After a period of some years, during which they
often perform certain