Running head: SOCIAL SCIENCESocial ScienceName:University:Course:Tutor:Date:Richman, Poor man, Beggar man, chief: The Dynamics of Social Inequality, Brian HaydenThe purpose of this paper is to outline the archaeological evidence on the origins of socioeconomic inequality and a critique of the evidence. The concept of inequality brings about various other concepts including dominance, ranking, hierarchies and stratification. Inequality can be measured in two main dimensions; vertical dimension (hierarchy) whereby inequality is measured in terms of wealth, chain of command and ritual knowledge and horizontal inequality representing individual differences. The main questions being asked include the evidence of socioeconomic inequality and the reliability of such evidence as well as the factors that have led to the changes from egalitarian way of life. Historical evidence has been given regarding the evolution of socioeconomic inequalities.