Editing Status symbol (section)

== By region and time ==
As people aspire to high status, they often seek also its symbols. As with other [[symbol]]s, status symbols may change in value or meaning over time, and will differ among countries and cultural regions, based on their economy and technology.
[[File:Excellent airborne.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Military symbol of excellence]]
[[File:Cusanus schedel chronicle.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Galero]] hat, symbol of ecclesiastical status]]

For example, before the invention of the [[printing press]], possession of a large collection of laboriously hand-copied [[book]]s was a symbol of wealth and scholarship. In later centuries, books (and literacy) became more common, so a [[private library]] became less-rarefied as a status symbol, though a sizable collection still commands respect.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-12|date=2016-10-20|language=en|title=Are book collectors real readers, or just cultural snobs? – Aeon Essays|url=https://aeon.co/essays/are-book-collectors-real-readers-or-just-cultural-snobs|website=aeon.co}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In some past cultures of East Asia, [[pearl]]s and [[jade]] were major status symbols, reserved exclusively for royalty. Similar legal exclusions applied to the [[toga]] and its variants in [[ancient Rome]], and to [[cotton]] in the [[Aztec Empire]]. Special colors, such as [[Imperial yellow jacket|imperial yellow]] (in China) or [[royal purple]] (in ancient Rome) were reserved for royalty, with severe penalties for unauthorized display. Another common status symbol of the European medieval past was [[heraldry]], a display of one's family name and history.