Age impinges on social organization, for social roles are often linked to age. Aging is a universal process, experienced by every individual. Moreover, different people conceive of age in different ways. In all of these respects -- in terms of social structure, the life course of individuals, and culture -- age is clearly a major variable, but it has yet to receive the systematic attention it deserves. The essays in this volume address the question of how investigations of these manifold aspects of age can help to develop deeper insight into areas of traditional anthropological concern, such as domestic groups, kinship, political organization, and sociolinguistics.