Hunters and gatherers live in far less centralized power structures than other ways of living. I had a professor who described conflict resolution in these societies as "voting with your feet", that is to say that if you have issue with how things are going you can just leave. There are no contracts or taxes that you owe, no one has means to force you to stay. This also means that leadership is usually merit based, and is often a role that shifts between members in certain situations. A skilled hunter may be in charge while hunting, but they may answer to an elder when deciding where to go as winter approaches. Social hierarchies do not form as easily nor as binding when the power dynamics are shifting with the needs of the community.