Human Culture: Primitive, Nomad, Barbarian, Civilized

In RuneQuest 3 they used the concept of Culture to help determine a characters background. The cultures were culled from archeological or sociological research so they sound a bit 'harsh' to modern ears but they are specially referring to the size of settlements, cohesiveness between settlements, and available occupations and not to the morality or civility of the folks within. As far as I know there are no other labels that fit as accurately so take no offense. Also, within a game nobody is likely to use the terms as described here (Cimmeria from Conan the Barbarian is more of a Primitive culture for example).

• Primitive - Hunter Gatherers, barter economy, leadership based on clan and tribe. No serious settlements above a village unless its because they overran the place. Examples, pretty much any group referred to as tribes. Germans and Celts during the Roman Empire, most First Nation peoples, Bantu and Zulu peoples.
• Nomad - Culture with no permanent settlements of their own, constantly traveling and stopping at settlements run by others. Examples, Beduins, Mongols, Sioux Nation.
• Barbarian - Generally barbarian equals Feudal but not always. They may have coins or a barter system. They have settlements but they tend to be small towns or smaller unless they inherited the settlement through conquest or a collapsed Civilized culture. Examples, Dark Ages Europe, Mogul India.
• Civilized - Administrative government with major settlements and, coins, a permanent military, & regulated and documented taxation. Examples, Romans, Byzantine Empire, Europe after the Norman conquest, Islamic Caliphate, China, Japan, Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, Egyptians, and the Aztec and Inca Empires.

A note about cultures

Typically an Empire will be a mix of cultures For example the Roman Empire is civilized (Greece, Italy, Spain, Anatolia) with sections of Barbarians (Gaul, Britain, North African Coast), with spots of Primitive at the fringes (Picts and Germans). The Abbasid Caliphate was civilized in the Levant and Persia, with Nomads in Arabia and barbarians across North Africa. The Mongols were a Nomadic Empire that contained Civilized China, Civilized Persia, etc... Hopefully you get the point. The cultures should be used to define regions more than peoples or nations and things change over time.