290 final Flashcards
political anthropology
the study of power and authority and systems of organizing social life
power
influencing or controlling the behavior of others
authority
the right granted to exercise power
coercive power
the use of force, legitimate or illegitimate, by individuals or groups
persuasive power
the use of words, relationships, and actions that influence others
hegemonic power
the dominance of ideas or culture which serve to maintain balance in a society
social sanctions
the responses, positive and negative, that people receive for their behavior
formal sanctions
approved or delivered by institutions holding official power (fines and other punishments)
informal sanctions
positive or negative actions or words intended to shape behavior
bands
existing of few than 100 members, most of whom are related to one another through kinship
what is the most ancient political system?
bands
what political organization has flexible membership, hunts and gathers, where decisions are made by consensus, is egalitarian and have conflict resolution through informal sanctions?
bands
tribes
a decentralized political system that may be associated with any economic form
what political system has leadership based on personal ability, where several of them may be united as a society by culture, language, or heritage.
tribes
what political system creates associations for temporary purposes and its conflict resolution is informal
tribes
chiefdoms/kingdoms
a system of political organization involving an inheritable office, which usually passes down through a family line
in what political system is the authority a family or individual?
chiefdoms/kingdoms
what political system is the status of the other members of the society understood in relation to the distance between the authority figure, has the ability to consolidate control through coercive means, where the division of labor is more specialized.
chiefdoms/kingdoms
what political system redistributes food surpluses through taxation, and has formal conflict resolution?
chiefdom/kingdom
states
highly centralized forms of political organizations in which authority rests in institutions and offices
what political system’s power resides in an office rather than a person and the members of the society trust the holder of the office to represent their interests
states
oligarchy
a small group holding power over the majority
why is it important for humans to live in groups?
- takes a long time for physical and social maturation
- need for companionship
- the need to stay together to survive
5 properties of groups
- consists of two or more people
- interaction between the people
- symbolic objects are present
- relation to other people and objects
- unit awareness
kinship
the way in which people selectively interpret the common human experiences of reproduction and nurturance
what is a “road map” or structure of interpersonal relationships?
kinships
what type of relationships are the basis of the social structure in most nonwestern societies
kinship relationships
descent
a societal rule that assigns identity to a person based on his or her ancestry
unilateral descent
a kinship system which traces the descent through one side of the family
cognatic descent
traces descent through both maternal and paternal ancestors
patrilineal descent
descent traced through the fathers ine
matrilineal descent
descent traced through both the mothers lines
dual
descent traced through both the mothers and fathers lines
bilateral descent
kinship is understood to exist equally through both the mothers and fathers lines
ambilineal descent
individuals choose a lineage upon reaching adulthood ( his or her mother or father or the maternal or paternal line of his or her spouse)
affinial ties
kinship relationships based on marriage (in-laws)
consanguine ties
kinship relationships tied together by biological relationships (blood)