Band Societies Flashcards
World View
Encompassing picture of reality.
Myth
explanatory narrative the rationalizes religious beliefs and ceremonies.
Religous rituals
the means through which a person relates to the supernatural.
Shamans
Part-time religious specialists with special powers to contact and mani
Immitative magic
based on the principle of immitaition
Contagious magic
things or persons once in contact, can remain in contact after death.
Cultural Evolution
The belief that all cultures pass through progressive levels of evolutionary stages.
Band
a small group of people tied together by close kinship relations.
Hunter-gatherer society
Highly mobile small grouped scavagers and foragers who relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering foods.
Extreme and Marginal Enviornments
Those that are not suitable for intensive agriculture or a dense increase of population.
What arctic hunter and gatherers were discussed in class?
Inuit
Eskimo
How many people usually make up a band society?
20-100 people
Explain the idea of carrying capacity limiting the population growth of band societies.
This idea suggests that band societies have small unchanging populations because the “land” can only support so many people until resources are depleated.
Fissioning
the fragmenting of a band society into smaller subgroups.
Infanticide
The killing or abandoning of newborns.
What are some technologies as discussed in class?
Kayaks
Bone tipped weapons
Shelters made from available raw materialss
Reciprocity
the exchange of goods and services within a society. Based on kinship and trust. The main economic system within band societies.
What are the three reciprocal systems discussed in class.
Generalized -?
Balanced - trading or bartering
Negative - wanting Something for nothing
What are the three characteristics of the Egalitarian political system as discussed in class.
No political power
no military
Lead by persuasion and personal influence
-this method serves as authority without power.
head man
Important informal leaders of bands
how is conflict resolved in bands?
informally, no trial, judges
Nuclear family
Typical mother father and children.
patrilocal exchange
two bands exchange women through marriage.
Cosmic religion
Religion is intimately associated with nature.
Animism
Spirits reside in organic and inorganic things.
What are four charateristics of modern hunters and gatherers?
Live in nation states
Depend on outside assistance
have a significant contact with others
influence from politics
