ANTH Mid Term Flashcards
MEMORIZE
Anthropology
The study of the similarities and differences of living communities and cultural groups
About observation
Observation
A useful tool for understanding the world around us
Participant Observation
A method of immersive research that involves living, working, being and participating in the everyday lives of the community you work with. You cannot really know a community of people without full immersion participation and relationship building.
Ethnocentrism
Believing your own culture way of life is better more correct or more normal than others Judginging others based on your own cultural values
Holism
Looking at all aspects of human life language religion biology as interconnected
Fieldwork
Participant observation
Ethnography
Field notes interviews surveys
Cultural Relativism
Opposes Ethnocentrism
Understanding a cultural group their beliefs and practices within their own cultural context and on their own terms
Armchair anthropology
Ethnographers gather and utilize information from many sources, such as
fieldwork, museum collections, government records, and archaeological data. In the 19th century, a form of
ethnography developed that was called armchair anthropology, in which theories about human societies and
human behaviors were proposed solely based on secondhand information.
Emic
viewing and attempting to
evaluate other peoples and cultures according to
the standards of those cultures; an “insider’s”
point of view.
Etic
(or ethnocentric) perspective viewing a
culture from the perspective of an outsider
looking in
Cultural Appropriation
the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.
“his dreadlocks were widely criticized as another example of cultural appropriation”
Functionalism
seeks to understand the purpose of the elements and
aggregates of culture in the here and now.
Historical particularism
Bosian - an approach to cultural
change that describes the combination of internal
and external factors that shapes the unique
historical trajectory of each culture
Ontology
the study of the nature of existence.
Ritual
repeated, patterned action conventionally
associated with a particular meaning, often
incorporating symbolic objects and actions
Structuralism
the study of culture as a system of
symbolic categories embedded in the myths,
religion, kinship, and other realms of a culture.
Unilineal Evolution
the idea that all cultures pass
through a single set of developmental stages.
Worldview
a very broad ideology that shapes how
the members of a culture generally view the world
and their place in it. Worldviews tend to span
several realms, including religion, economics,
and politics
Societies
Are complex and diverse several characteristics make every society a particular one
Ethnography
A research method used by cultural anthropologists to study and describe cultures in detail
Characteristics
Involves immersive fieldwork participant observation and the collection of qualitative data
Defining Cultures
Cultures refers to the shared beliefs values norms behavior and practices that characterize a particular group of people
Purpose
To gain a deep understanding of cultural practices beliefs values and social structures within a specific community or society
Basic elements of culture
Material, Behavioral, Cognitive
Material culture
encompasses physical objects created or used by a society such as tools clothing art architecture and technology
Behavioral culture
refers to the actions rituals traditional customs and practices that are performed within a culture including ceremonies dances celebrations and daily routines
Cognitive culture
includes the beliefs ideologies, worldviews perceptions knowledge systems and attitudes that shape the mindset of individuals within a culture
Aggregates of cultures
These basic elements combine and interact to form more complex cultural phenomena known as aggregates
Some common aggregates include
symbols, rituals, social structures
Symbols
Objects words gestures or images that carry meaning within a culture and represent abstract concepts or ideas (eg national flags religious symbols logos)
Rituals
Formalized repetitive behaviors or ceremonies that hold symbolic meaning and reinforce cultural values beliefs and norms (religious rituals rites of passge holiday traditions)
Social structures
Patterns of relationship roles studies
The Neur
The Neur tend to define all social processes and relationships in terms of cattle
Their social idiom is a bovine idiom
Symbols: Cattle horns and hides serve as symbols of wealth status and social prestige among the Nuer
Rituals: Marriage initiation rites funeral practices Cattle play a central role in Nuer rituals and ceremonies including marriage initiation rites and funeral practices
Social Structures: Lineage symptoms and clan affiliations are closely tied to cattle ownership and management
Foraging
Gathering wild plants and hunting wild animals Little to no food shortage Often people are frequently mobile
99.9% of human history
What types of food are foraged?
Nuts, berries, livestock, small animals, fruits
Is there a division of labor?
Man would be hunting
Woman gathering (better object memory and color distinction)
Which foraging strategy appears to be more reliable?
Gathering
If hunting and gathering is so successful, why do human societies farm?
To eliminate competition
Horticulture
Cultivation of gardens or small fields to meet basic household needs Modest surplus can be generated
Not full blown agriculture/farming
Not really making use of irrigation or building canals and such
Kinda just like dropping seeds
Slash and burn practices in the Bolivian Amazon
Pastoralism
Breeding care and use of domestic herding animals
Occurs in ecologies where farming is difficult or impossible
Incans - Llamas
Nuer - Cows
Egyptians/Middle East - Camels
Mongolians - Horses
Agriculture
Increasing yields through intensification to feed larger communities
High surplus of food and resources
hOW DID PEOPLE ESTABLISH an agriculture based economy in the Andes
High environmental instability and variability
Variable precipitation
Nightly frosts
Strong winds
Poor soil quality
Frequent erosions
Terraces
Allowing farming in steep areas retain water prevent erosion
Canals
Transport water from distant areas buffer against insufficient rainfall
Raised fields
At night fog rises from water and protects fields from crop killing forests
Diversifying the economy
Conditions that lead to poor crop harvest do not necessarily lead to bad herding the success of each is somewhat independent
Agropastoralism
Growing crops and raising livestock as the primary means of economic activity
Power
The ability to influence and or shape social structures and processes
Concentrated power (formal or informal) is authority
pOWER IS aCEPHALOUS sOCIETIES
Power is spread widely among members of society
Every one has a say
Big Men (Ace)
An informal position of leadership where a man does not hold formal political power but ditringuishes himself through wealth public generosity or other means
Helps with disputes in the community
Onka Big Moka:
Onka is an example of a Big Man
Band Societies (ACE)
Hunter gatherer forager groups living in small groups of 20-30 people
Think: The Hadza these groups are usually egalitarian decisions through consensus those with knowledge and expertise may influence but they do not control
Age sets (ACE)
Grouping societies by age groups where each group fulfills specific societal roles Usually are gendered
Village Democracy (ACE)
Public councils town meetings to establish decision making. These take on more of an advisory role
Democracy was not invited in Athens and the lgbo of eastern Nigeria practiced democracy long before colonization by the British
pOWER are centralized societies
Power is concentrated in one or more sociocultural roles
Centralized societies
Agricultural intensification leads to the accumulation of wealth and centralization of power
Chiefdoms
Formal inherited position of leadership
Control over territory trade and production of goods
A chief can become a king when they increase their domain to encompass several ethnic groups
Militarism and Coercive power
Use religious ideology to promote their rule and legitimacy
States (CS)
Government control with economic extraction (taxes) and social control with law and policing Complex and bureaucratic
Monopoly on violence only the government can use extreme forms of violence as punishment
_________________States arise from:
Integrative pressures:
The need for greater coordination to serve the needs of a growing population (infrastructure and food production)
Conflict pressures:
Need for leaders to manage internal and external threats and maintain social hierarchy
War to obtain land and external resources
kinship
Something to remember: Power structures can be transferred and legitimized by kinship
Marriage (defined by anthropology)
A cultural union between two or more people that established rights and obligations between the people their children and family including sex labor property child rearing exchange and status
Forms of marriage
Monogamy:
1 + 1
Polygyny:
1 man +++ women
Polyandry:
1 woman ++++ men
Group marriage:
Multiple men and multiple women
Household types
Nuclear and Extended
Nuclear family
A household is comprised of parents and their dependent offspring
Extended family
A household is comprised of grandparents their children their spouses and children etc
